Gonzaga overwhelms UC Riverside, 84-48

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Freshman Austin Daye scored 16 points to lead four players into double figures and No. 14 Gonzaga routed UC Riverside, 84-48, on Saturday night.

Jeremy Pargo and Abdullahi Kuso each added 13 points and Robert Sacre had 12 to help Gonzaga (3-0) post its third blowout win in a row. The Zags are holding opponents to an average of 48 points.

Larry Cunningham led UC Riverside (0-4) with 11 points. Sean Cunningham and Severin Gates added nine points each.

The Highlanders shot only 37% in the game; Gonzaga made 52% of its shots. Gonzaga also forced 17 turnovers and blocked seven shots.

Daye has led the team in scoring all three games this season.

Riverside scored the first basket of the game but quickly fell behind by double digits and only challenged the Zags with a couple of runs in the first half.

A 25-5 spurt that spanned the final three minutes of the first half and the opening eight minutes of the second half buried the Highlanders in a 54-29 hole.

In the first half, Gonzaga jumped to a 17-6 lead against the smaller Highlanders. But Riverside closed to 25-17.

Two baskets by Kuso rebuilt a 29-17 lead for the Zags. The Highlanders scored seven points in a row to close to 29-24 with 2:41 left.

Then the Zags scored the final nine points of the half to take a 38-24 lead into the break.

“We didn’t have the ability to sustain it,” Riverside Coach Jim Woolridge said of his team’s run.

“As much talent as they [Gonzaga] have, they play well together and they play hard,” Woolridge said. “Their level of intensity remained high and they broke us.”