National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Gonzaga 104, Santa Clara 54
When: 11:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 16, 2020
Where: McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, Washington
Officials: # David Hall, # Larry Spalding, # Jim Schipper
Attendance: 6000

Joel Ayayi recorded 19 points, six rebounds and three steals and top-ranked Gonzaga won its 11th straight game with a 104-54 rout of Santa Clara on Thursday night in West Coast Conference play at Spokane, Wash.

Filip Petrusev had 18 points and seven rebounds and Admon Gilder added 18 points and three steals as the Bulldogs (19-1, 5-0 WCC) defeated Santa Clara for the 20th straight time. Gonzaga has won the past five meetings by an average of 43.2 points and four of the wins have come by 43 or more points.

Corey Kispert scored 16 points and Drew Timme added 15 points and matched his season high of 11 rebounds, set in Gonzaga's previous game at LMU on Saturday. The Bulldogs stretched their homecourt winning streak to 33 games, the longest active one in the nation.

Josip Vrankic scored 12 points while Trey Wertz and Jaden Bediako added 11 points apiece for the Broncos (15-4, 2-2), who dropped to 1-4 on the road. The away setbacks are by an average of 29.5 points.

Santa Clara shot just 30.4 percent from the field, including 3 of 25 from 3-point range.

The Bulldogs were without freshman forward Anton Watson, who will soon undergo season-ending surgery on his left shoulder. The school announced his loss shortly before the start of Thursday's game.

Gonzaga entered the game as the nation's top-scoring team at 87.8 points per game. The Bulldogs shot 51.5 percent from the field -- including 8 of 21 from behind the arc -- as they topped 100 points for the fourth time this season.

Ayayi scored 14 first-half points as Gonzaga held a 58-22 lead at the break.

Santa Clara trailed 12-9 after Vrankic's basket with 15:21 left in the first half before the Bulldogs went on a 23-3 burst.

Gilder's three-point play with 9:52 left pushed the lead over 20 for the first time and Killian Tillie scored in the interior 36 seconds later to make it 35-12.

Ryan Woolridge's layup increased the advantage to 51-20 with 1:49 remaining.

Tillie and Gilder capped the half with 3-pointers for the 36-point edge.

The Broncos displayed life early in the second half as Vrankic knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers. A short time later, Vrankic converted a three-point play to pull Santa Clara within 62-36 with 16 minutes remaining.

Gonzaga pushed its lead over 40 for the first time when Ayayi's three-point play made it 84-43 with 8:58 left.

The lead topped out at 52 points as the Bulldogs finished off their 43rd win in the past 45 meetings with Santa Clara.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Santa Clara   Gonzaga
Josip Vrankic 12 Scoring Joel Ayayi 19
Trey Wertz 2 Assists Ryan Woolridge 5
Jaden Bediako 10 Rebounds Drew Timme 11
Tahj Eaddy 2 Free Throws Made Admon Gilder 8
Josip Vrankic 3 Steals Joel Ayayi 3
Jaden Bediako 1 Blocks Killian Tillie 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Santa Clara 54 30.4 3-25 9-19 6 32 2 6 15
Gonzaga 104 51.5 8-21 28-32 16 46 7 11 10