Gonzaga Obliterates Colorado State, 93-61

In the relatively short history of the McCarthey Athletic Center, Gonzaga fans have seen some remarkable performances.  Well, I would put tonight's effort up there with some of the best as Gary Bell Jr. absolutely put on a show as the Zags dominated Colorado State by a score of 93-61.  Bell finished the contest with 24 points on 8-13 shooting from beyond the arc as the Bulldogs made this one a laugher.

Bell stole the show for the Zags but it was, as any dominant performance like this indicates, a complete team effort.  Carrying on with his performance in the first game, Sam Dower came out with plenty of energy and grabbed a number of quick boards.  The Rams were dedicated to stopping him so his interior touches were not as prevalent as they were against Bryant but that did not matter as the perimeter players for the Zags took the load and made CSU pay for their gameplan.

Kevin Pangos came out early and it looked like it would be his night as he connected on some early threes and jumpers.  He was saddled with two fouls after the first ten minutes and hit the bench which is when his teammates took over.  At that point, it was a combination of Bell Jr. from outside and Gerard Coleman inside that took over.  Coleman, in particular, was a pleasure to watch in the first half because he was able to penetrate the Rams defense and score at the rim.  Coleman scored the last seven points of the first half and shoved the Zags lead to 21 points.

In the second half, Gary Bell came out and drained two consecutive three-pointers and that basically squashed any chance of a Rams comeback.  For what is is worth, Przemek Karnowski looked far more assertive in the second half.  While he still has work to do, he finished with a nice 8 points and 10 rebounds.  Mark Few began clearing the bench with about 10 minutes left in this one as the young guys got their first extended minutes.  Lucas Meikle looked very solid albeit in mop up time but he was active and showed some good skill and body control.

The Zags get a few days off before taking on Oakland on November 17th.