National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Gonzaga 88, San Diego 52
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 16, 2016
Where: McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, Washington
Officials: # Daryl Gelinas, # Rob Rorke, # Justin Shamion
Attendance: 6000

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Kyle Wiltjer continues to play in pain, but that hasn't stopped him from continuing to be a pain for opponents.

The senior forward, who has been limited in practice the past two weeks with an injured left foot, poured in 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field Saturday night to lead 25th-ranked Gonzaga to an 88-52 romp past San Diego.

"He didn't look like he busted a sweat out there," San Diego coach Lamont Smith said.

The young Toreros offered little resistance against the Bulldogs, who were eager to bounce back from a 69-68 home loss to BYU on Thursday. Gonzaga (14-4, 6-1 West Coast Conference) shot 56.7 percent from the field, including 61.1 percent on 3-pointers. San Diego shot 31.3 percent and 19.2 percent, respectively.

"When we are hitting shots, we are such a deadly team," Wiltjer said.

Wiltjer scored 16 points in the first half when a 14-0 run midway through pushed Gonzaga to a 46-27 lead at intermission. Wiltjer might have finished with his fourth consecutive 30-point game, but he sat out the final 6:27.

"You can't let him get going early," said Brett Bailey, a 6-foot-6 forward who often guarded the 6-10 Wiltjer. "When he does, just like the rest of their guys, he's hard to stop."

Smith added, "Obviously, we were giving up some size to him. He kind of had his way. I thought we made him take some pretty tough shots, and he made them. We have to tip our hat to him. He’s a tremendous offensive player."

Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga's other standout forward, added 14 points and 15 rebounds. Wiltjer and Sabonis have carried most of the scoring load for the Bulldogs, but the guards contributed 39 points on 15-of-27 shooting from the field against San Diego.

"I loved how our guards stepped up ... (and) were shooting with confidence," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.

Bailey said, "Our game plan was mostly to try to take away their 'bigs' (Wiltjer and Sabonis) because they're so good. Their auxiliary guys really stepped up and made it tough on us."

Bailey starred at University High School in suburban Spokane. The Toreros have lost 17 in a row at Gonzaga, but Bailey said he always enjoys playing in front of the standard sellout crowd of 6,000 at McCarthey Athletic Center.

"It's such a great atmosphere," Bailey said. "It's always a good time. I love it. You just wish the outcome was a little different."

The Toreros briefly built momentum by scoring the first eight points of the second half. Gonzaga responded with the next 12 points.

Guard Duda Sanadze, the only San Diego player with more than seven points, scored 21. He also led the Toreros with six rebounds and was one of eight players who accounted for San Diego's eight assists. Gonzaga had twice as many assists (16), led by the five from point guard Josh Perkins.

NOTES: Gonzaga visits first-place Saint Mary's on Thursday. ... San Diego plays the third of four consecutive road games on Thursday at Pepperdine. ... Gonzaga has won three in a row and 36 of 39 against San Diego. ... The Bulldogs and Toreros combined for just 12 turnovers (seven by Gonzaga). ... Gonzaga outrebounded San Diego 46-29, but the Toreros led 30-26 in points in the paint and 13-6 in second-chance points. ... Lamont Smith, a former San Diego player in his first year as a head coach, started all four of his foreign players. F Brett Bailey from suburban Spokane was the other San Diego starter. ... The Toreros have just two seniors and one junior. ... Gonzaga improved to 8-3 at home. The Bulldogs have not lost as many home games since going 11-4 at their former arena in 1990-91.
Top Game Performances
 
San Diego   Gonzaga
Duda Sanadze 21 Scoring Kyle Wiltjer 25
Brett Bailey 1 Assists Josh Perkins 5
Duda Sanadze 6 Rebounds Domantas Sabonis 15
Duda Sanadze 4 Free Throws Made Domantas Sabonis 4
Vasa Pusica 3 Steals Jack Beach 1
Jito Kok 1 Blocks Josh Perkins 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
San Diego 52 31.3 5-26 5-7 8 25 1 5 5
Gonzaga 88 56.7 11-18 9-10 16 41 3 4 7