Gonzaga cruises by San Diego in 94-59 win

The Gonzaga Bulldogs honored the legendary Adam Morrison with a pre-game jersey ceremony, and then bounced back from their second loss of the season with a comfortable 94-59 win against the San Diego Toreros to lock up sole possession of the WCC regular season title.

Filip Petrusev led all scorers with 21 points and 9 rebounds, and Corey Kispert had a better night than he did on Saturday with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Ryan Woolridge had a complete performance as well with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Killian Tillie and Admon Gilder both scored 12 points. Joey Calcaterra led USD in scoring with 19 points on 8-12 shooting in a strong outing.

It was not a blistering start to the game, as the two teams combined to miss the first five field goal attempts before Corey Kispert sank a jumper to open the scoring. That seemed to free up both squads as the offenses began to establish a rhythm.

Despite having one of the nation’s least efficient offenses, the Toreros kept pace with Gonzaga’s scoring output for the first 13 minutes of the game thanks to a strong shooting performance up and down their lineup. Though Gonzaga’s defense struggled to string stops together, the offense had no issue filling it up led by Tillie and Kispert who were sharp in the perimeter and inside the paint.

As the minutes ticked by in the first half, Gonzaga began to turn the screws with its inside-out game which established some separation with a 46-34 lead at halftime.

The Zags built on their strong finish to the first by quickly extending their lead over 20 points. After putting up a stinker from long distance on Saturday, Gonzaga’s three-point shooting was much better as they converted on the good looks that USD conceded for much of the evening.

Once Gonzaga’s defense began to force turnovers that led to runouts and transition baskets, it was the end of the road for the Toreros as they watched their deficit balloon quickly under an onslaught led by Woolridge who came alive in the second half.

Despite Gonzaga having a significant size advantage in the second half thanks to some USD foul trouble that sidelined their forwards, it was the activity of Woolridge midway through the second half that truly blew the game open, and reminded just how deadly he can be when he gets going in the open floor.

With Saint Mary’s coming to town on Saturday for the last regular season game, the Zags were able to close out the evening comfortably while resting key members of the rotation for what should be a fun senior night.