Gonzaga Streak Puts USD Away

Guard Doug Spradley scored 8 of his 20 points during a key stretch in the second half as the Gonzaga University men’s basketball team defeated the University of San Diego, 70-52, Thursday in a West Coast Athletic Conference game at Spokane, Wash.

USD fell to 9-11, 1-6 in the WCAC. Gonzaga is 11-9 and 2-5.

After trailing at halftime, 29-24, USD closed within one, 31-30, when Marty Munn scored off a drive with 17:52 to play.

But Gonzaga outscored USD, 19-2, over the next seven minutes to make it 50-32 lead. Center Jim Pelton scored USD’s only points.

“We have a lot of new guys, and we got out of our offense a bit,” USD Coach Hank Egan said. “We tried to do things on our own. We had trouble with man and zone (defense). It didn’t matter what they played.”

Gonzaga shot 54% (27 of 50) and USD shot only 46.9% (23 of 49). But a key was Gonzaga’s 6-of-11 performance on three-point attempts; USD made only 4 of 13. USD made only 2 of 4 from the free-throw line compared with Gonzaga’s 10 of 15.

USD’s last lead was 15-13 with 11:30 to play in the first half. Gonzaga went on a 16-5 streak to take the lead at halftime.

Gonzaga forward Danny Roe scored 18 points. Munn led USD with 19, and Pelton added 10.

USD will play at the University of Portland Saturday night.