Gonzaga 82, Pepperdine 56
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Kevin Pangos led four players in double figures with 14 points in No. 6 Gonzaga's 82-56 victory over Pepperdine on Thursday night.
Kelly Olynyk added 13 points for the Bulldogs (22-2, 9-0 West Coast Conference) in their 24th consecutive win over Pepperdine.
Freshman forward Stacy Davis led the Waves (10-13, 2-8) with 16 points and nine rebounds. Nikolas Skouen scored 12 points for the Waves, who made 15 of their 21 turnovers in the first half.
The 26-point margin of defeat was the largest of the season for the Waves, who have lost four in a row and seven of eight. Pepperdine shot just 36.2 percent from the field, including 27.3 percent in the first half.
Pepperdine grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and topped the Bulldogs 39-29 on the boards.
Gonzaga led 16-2 after forcing eight turnovers in the first 8 1/2 minutes. A half-court trap frustrated the young Waves, who have one active senior and consist mostly of freshmen and sophomores.
Pepperdine missed 7-of-8 shots to open the game and trailed 35-20 at the half.
NOTES: Earlier Thursday, Gonzaga's Kelly Olynyk was named the WCC Player of the Month for January. The junior forward averaged 21.1 points and 7.5 rebounds in nine games. It was the second straight WCC Player of the Month award for Olynyk, one of 12 players on the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List for national player of the year. ... Gonzaga coach Mark Few was named an assistant coach for the U.S. team that will play in the World Under-19 Championships June 17 through July 7 in Prague, Czech Republic. Virginia Commonwealth coach Shaka Smart will serve as the other assistant to Florida coach Billy Donovan. The three men handled the same roles last summer when they guided the U.S. 18U team to the FIBA Americas tournament championship in Brazil. "Anytime you can represent your country, it is something special," Few said. He said the three coaches "are great friends. We complement each other on the floor and off with our philosophies." ... Half of the starters were foreigners. Gonzaga started Canadians Olynyk and Kevin Pangos and German Elias Harris. Pepperdine started Nikolas Skouen from Norway and Moriba De Freitas from Trinidad. ... Memphis transfer Drew Barham, a junior guard, made his first start for Gonzaga. He replaced senior defensive specialist Mike Hart.
