National Basketball Association
Gonzaga 109, St. Thomas Aquinas 55
When: 9:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 22, 2014
Where: McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, Washington
Officials:
# Jimmy Casas, # Gregory Nixon, # Kevin Bell
Attendance:
6000
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 11 Gonzaga 109, St. Thomas Aquinas 55: Angel Nunez scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Byron Wesley added 22 points as the host Bulldogs routed the Spartans in the NIT Season Tip-off.
Domantas Sabonis notched 19 points on a perfect night of shooting (8-of-8) for Gonzaga (4-0), which plays Wednesday against Georgia at Madison Square Garden in the semifinals. Kyle Wiltjer had 17 points with 11 boards and Przemek Karnowski added 10 points.
Matthews Lee paced St. Thomas Aquinas (0-3) with 13 points and Sam Berlin chipped in nine.The Spartans were outrebounded 43-21 and shot 30.8 percent from the floor.
The Spartans held their own for the first 8:25, keeping the Bulldogs within 10 points until Gonzaga ended the charade with a massive 26-8 run led by Wesley's 18 first-half points. The Bulldogs did not let up in the second half as Gary Bell Jr. sank back-to-back 3-pointers in the midst of a 17-1 spurt to make it 71-27.
Nunez and Sabonis made consecutive layups and Wiltjer drained a 3-pointer with 9:31 to go as Gonzaga's lead grew to 50. The Bulldogs have outscored their last two opponents 203-97 and the 54-point victory over St. Thomas Aquinas topped the previous record at McCarthey Athletic Center, which came Wednesday against St. Joseph's - a 52-point margin of victory.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Bell finished with eight points for the Bulldogs. ... Gonzaga has won 29 consecutive home games. ... The Spartans will play their last game in the Season Tip-off at Stony Brook on Nov. 29.
Top Game Performances
| St. Thomas Aquinas |
|
Gonzaga |
|
Matthew Lee 13 |
Scoring |
Angel Nunez 24 |
|
Matthew Lee 2 |
Assists |
Kevin Pangos 7 |
|
Marcus Henderson 3 |
Rebounds |
Angel Nunez 11 |
|
Justin Reyes 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Byron Wesley 6 |
|
James Mitchell 2 |
Steals |
Byron Wesley 3 |
|
N/A |
Blocks |
Przemek Karnowski 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| St. Thomas Aquinas |
55 |
30.8 |
7-20 |
16-25 |
7 |
17 |
0 |
5 |
16 |
| Gonzaga
|
109 |
67.7 |
7-17 |
18-23 |
26 |
40 |
6 |
11 |
9 |
For more information, contact us