Gonzaga Rolls to 71-48 Victory

Cory Violette had 24 points and 10 rebounds Thursday night as No. 7 Gonzaga won its 13th consecutive game, a 71-48 West Coast Conference victory at San Francisco.

Blake Stepp and Kyle Bankhead each added 11 points as Gonzaga improved to 7-0 in road games and won its 13th in a row against the Dons, including a seventh consecutive victory at Memorial Gym.

The Bulldogs (20-2, 10-0) can clinch their eighth WCC regular-season title with a victory Saturday at St. Mary’s. They have reached 20 victories for the 11th time since 1992.

If Gonzaga wins Saturday, it will match the school record for consecutive victories.

Tyrone Riley led San Francisco (14-12, 4-6) with 15 points and six rebounds.

Violette scored 10 points, including two three-point plays, in the first 6:54 as the Bulldogs quickly built a commanding lead.

Gonzaga’s two losses were to No. 2 Stanford and No. 3 Saint Joseph’s -- the only remaining unbeaten Division I teams.

San Francisco struggled early against the Bulldogs’ zone defense, which rarely allowed the Dons to get the ball inside. The Dons made only 28.6% of their shots from the field.

Charlotte 77, No. 9 Louisville 71 -- Curtis Withers scored 23 points, including two free throws with 30 seconds left at Charlotte, N.C., to lift the 49ers to their fourth consecutive victory.

It was Charlotte’s third victory over a top-10 opponent -- they also won at then-No. 7 Syracuse and then-No. 8 Cincinnati -- and strengthened the NCAA tournament hopes of the 49ers (15-5, 7-2 Conference USA).

Louisville (17-4, 7-3) lost for the third time in four games and blew a 12-point lead.

No. 20 Wake Forest 82, Clemson 67 -- Justin Gray scored a career-high 29 points and the Demon Deacons (14-6, 5-5 Atlantic Coast), who had lost six of eight games, rebounded to defeat the Tigers (9-12, 2-8) at Clemson, S.C.

OTHER GAMES

St. Mary’s (15-9, 6-3 WCC) overcame a slow start to defeat Portland (10-13, 4-6) at Moraga, Calif. The Pilots are 10-13, 4-6.... John Tofi scored 16 points and Chris Craig added 15 as Texas El Paso (18-4, 9-3 Western Athletic) defeated Fresno State, 58-55, at Fresno. The Bulldogs (11-10, 7-6) lost for the third time in four games.