No. 8 Gonzaga steamrolls Texas Southern

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — After playing three consecutive games against Pacific-12 teams, No. 8 Gonzaga needed a break.

The Bulldogs got one.

Kyle Wiltjer scored 21 points to help No. 8 Gonzaga rout Texas Southern 94-54 on Monday night.

Wiltjer made 9 of 11 shots, including all three of his 3-point attempts to help the Zaps improve to 10-1.

"I was finding open shots in a variety of ways," Wiltjer said.

Eleven players scored for the Zags as coach Mark Few went heavily to his bench.

"To have those guys contribute tonight was great," Wiltjer said. "It shows our depth."

Domantas Sabonis added 16 points, Silas Melson 13 and Kevin Pangos 11 for Gonzaga. Pangos had six assists.

"A whole lot of unselfish guys got after it on defense," Gonzaga's Gary Bell Jr. said.

Melson, a freshman, said Texas Southern did not compare to No. 3 Arizona, Washington State and UCLA, the Zags' previous three opponents.

"It was nice to get our feet under us," Melson said.

Madarious Gibbs and Deverell Biggs each scored 12 points for Texas Southern (1-8). David Blanks added 11.

Texas Southern coach Mike Davis did not immediately speak to reporters after the game.

Gonzaga has a 32-game home winning streak, second-longest in the nation behind Duke's 37 straight home wins.

Gonzaga's only loss this season was in overtime at No. 3 Arizona.

Gonzaga's size and athleticism were too much for the Tigers, who made just 36 percent of their shots. The Bulldogs shot 64 percent and made 10 of 19 3-pointers. Gonzaga won the rebound battle 38-27.

Gonzaga made its first five field goal attempts and built a 14-2 lead in the early going. Texas Southern made just one field goal in the first 6 1/2 minutes.

The Tigers started hitting some baskets, but still trailed 23-12 with 7:54 left in the first.

Angel Nunez scored to put Gonzaga up 30-14, as the Tigers made only seven of their first 20 shots.

Wiltjer's 3-pointer highlighted a 10-0 run that lifted Gonzaga to a 40-16 lead at halftime. Texas Southern was scoreless for the last 4 1/2 minutes of the first half.

The Tigers shot just 27.6 percent in the first half, including going 0-for-9 from 3-point range. Gonzaga shot 57.7 percent in the first, with nine different players scoring.

Gonzaga made three unanswered 3-pointers — by Bell, Pangos and Wiltjer — to open the second half and take a 49-16 lead.

The Bulldogs made eight of their first 10 shots of the second half to push their lead to 62-28 and coasted to victory.

The teams met once before, with Gonzaga winning in 2008.