Gonzaga blitzes Broncos at Leavey
Przemek Karnowski scored 19 points on just seven shots from the field and No. 4 Gonzaga remained the only undefeated team in Division I with an 88-57 rout of Santa Clara at the Leavey Center on Thursday night.
Karnowski made six field goals and added seven points from the line to help the Bulldogs (18-0, 6-0) extend the best start in school history with another lopsided win.
Zach Collins had 16 points and Nigel Williams-Goss added 11 points and 10 rebounds in Gonzaga’s 11th straight double-digit win.
Jared Brownridge scored 23 points to lead the Broncos (10-10, 4-3) but got little help from his teammates as Santa Clara dropped its 13th straight to Gonzaga and 37th in the past 39 meetings.
Gonzaga scored 13 straight points midway through the first half to open a 20-point lead.
Brownridge keyed a 15-5 run early in the second half that cut a 21-point lead to 11 but the Bulldogs quickly built the lead back to 20 and coasted to the win. USF 75, Portland 50: On the Hilltop, the Dons (13-7, 3-4) broke from a 17-17 tie with a 13-0 run late in the first half and cruised from there.
Freshman guard Charles Minlend led a balanced USF offense with 14 points. Sophomore forward Matt McCarthy had 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds. The Dons had a 43-27 edge on the glass.
“I thought we were really good defensively and we rebounded well tonight,” USF head coach Kyle Smith said.
“We’re coming together as a team and developing an understanding of what it takes to win. We play 10-11 guys and no one cares who gets the credit as long as we are winning.”
The Dons went 27-for-54 from the floor. They were barely better than that from the line at 12-for-23.
Gabe Taylor led the Pilots (9-9, 2-4) with 15 points. Portland has lost four straight. It faces Gonzaga in Spokane on Saturday and in Portland on Monday. Monday’s matchup is the makeup of a postponed game Jan. 7.