Gonzaga Still Hot, Routs Loyola

Gonzaga should have been due for a big letdown Saturday against Loyola Marymount, particularly after shooting a blistering 66.7% the night before in its emotional victory at Pepperdine.

Instead, the Bulldogs showed further proof why they are the class of the West Coast Conference with another smoking performance in defeating the Lions, 84-64, before 2,063 at Gersten Pavilion.

Gonzaga (16-5, 8-0) was on fire again. Led by forward Casey Calvary and point guard Dan Dickau, the Bulldogs made 32 of 49 from the field (65.3%) against one of the league’s better defenses.

“Gonzaga showed why they are a first-place team,” Loyola Coach Steve Aggers said. “As soon as they got an eight-point lead, they were very efficient in their offense and controlled the game. They don’t turn it over and they execute very well.

“They never let us make much of a run.”

The Lions (7-14, 3-5), who defeated Portland on Friday night, came into the game banged up. Forward Greg Lakey missed his first game with a bruised right heel and forward Elton Mashack was hobbled by a sprained ankle.

Mashack did finish with 13 points and 10 rebounds. But Loyola was overmatched inside against a Gonzaga team that goes 6 feet 8 across the front line.

“We were thin on the front line,” Mashack said. “There were some things that we still could have done better defensively.”

Calvary finished with 19 points on eight-of-10 shooting and Dickau had 16. Zach Gourde made five of six shots and scored 12.

Gonzaga took control late in the first half, stopping the Lions on four consecutive possessions and scoring eight unanswered points to take a 39-28 halftime lead. Between the second half of the Pepperdine victory and the first half Saturday, the Bulldogs made 32 of 45 shots.

They only got better, shooting 66% in the second half.