Gonzaga leads Baylor 29-27 at half, despite playing the last five minutes without Steven Gray, who left with back spasms. It appeared he tweaked his back while picking up the ball after Demetri Goodson drew a charging foul.

More below.

A quick first-half recap:

Kansas State scored the first seven points and its second 3-pointer in the first 2-plus minutes bumped the lead to 10-2. Gonzaga got a nice boost from redshirt freshman guard David Stockton, who had a pair of assists and drove for a layup, and closed the gap to two, but the Wildcats often responded with quick, easy baskets.

The Wildcats beat GU’s defense down court several times, once after the Bulldogs made a free throw. Late in the half, Gray connected in the lane, but Kansas State’s Jacob Pullen drove the length of the court and fed Victor Ojeleye for an open 3-pointer.

The Wildcats shot 53.1 percent from the floor, 9 of 15 on 3-pointers, to move on top 49-38 at half. The margin would have been wider if not for Kansas State’s 11 turnovers and spotty free-throw shooting (6 of 11), and a late 6-0 run by the Zags.

Robert Sacre and Steven Gray combined for 25 first-half points. Jacob Pullen and Will Spradling each had 11 for the Wildcats. Those two were 5 of 9 on 3-pointers. Kansas State’s bench outscored GU’s 23-9.  

Two nights after struggling to make shots in a 74-66 loss to LMU, the Gonzaga men’s basketball team couldn’t miss for the first nine minutes of Saturday’s game against Pepperdine.

During that time frame, Gonzaga went 10 for 10 from the field, including 5 of 5 on 3-pointers, and 3 of 3 at the free-throw line to build a 28-12 lead en route to a 40-19 advantage at the break. The Zags unleashed their transition game when they were able to get the rebound or after a couple of Waves’ turnovers.

Steven Gray had 10 points before five minutes had elapsed. He made his first four shots, two of those were 3s, and finished the half with 12 points. Matt Bouldin added a pair of 3s and had 10 points to go with three assists.

Gonzaga’s defense was solid, holding Pepperdine to 7 of 31 shooting (22.6 percent). Mychel Thompson had a team-high seven points, but made just 2 of 9 attempts. Of the Waves’ first 12 points, nine came on putbacks.

More at the final buzzer.

Gonzaga stretched its lead to 10 early and was on top by nine with 4 minutes left, but Loyola Marymount shot its way back, closing within 39-36 at half.

Steven Gray had nine points, four assists and two steals for the Zags, who shot 14 of 34 from the field. They made just 6 of their last 16 shots. GU did connect on five 3-pointers, led by Gray’s two. Manny Arop scored seven of GU bench’s 15 points.

Gonzaga led 22-12 after Kelly Olynyk’s 3-pointer. It was 36-27 after Demetri Goodson’s tip-in with 4:21 left, but the Lions closed the gap behind 3s by Drew Viney and Kevin Young.

Viney made his first four shots and scored 10 points. Ashley Hamilton, Jarred DuBois and Davis — all three missed the game in Spokane last month with injuries — combined for 17 points. DuBois picked up three fouls.

More just after the buzzer.

Gonzaga weathered a shaky start offensively, caught Memphis just past the midpoint of the first half and used a late 9-0 run to take a 28-23 lead at intermission.

Matt Bouldin had eight points and two assists, both to Will Foster, who finished with a layup and a dunk. Steven Gray made two 3-pointers and added seven points.

Gonzaga made just 4 of its first 18 shots, but stayed close by keeping Memphis’ offense in check. Later in the half, GU switched to a zone defense and the Tigers committed several of their 10 turnovers.

The Bulldogs hit 6 of their last 9 shots, two of those 3-pointers by Bouldin. Wesley Witherspoon scored 11 points for the Tigers, who made 8 of 22 shots (36.4 percent).

More later.

Gonzaga used a 14-4 run in the middle of the first half to take a 33-26 lead over San Francisco at intermission.

The Bulldogs took the lead for good, 14-12, on Elias Harris’ transition layup with 14:53 left. The margin grew to five on Matt Bouldin’s 6-foot bank shot and nine on Robert Sacre’s dunk with 7:24 left.

San Francisco scored the next six points, but Gonzaga countered with eight of the last 12 points, capped by Steven Gray’s bank shot with 46 ticks left.

Harris scored eight points, Sacre seven and Demetri Goodson six. Grant Gibbs (four points) gave GU its only bench points. Rashad Green led USF with nine points, but the Dons starting frontcourt of Tomas Bruha and leading scorer Dior Lowhorn each picked up three fouls.

The Bulldogs made 15 of 31 shots (48.4 percent), but just 1 of 7 free throws. The Dons hit 10 of 24 shots (41.7 percent).

More at the buzzer.

Gonzaga ran off 11 unanswered points late in the first half to take a 33-24 lead at half against San Diego.

The Bulldogs trailed 18-17, not coincidentally after allowing USD two offensive rebounds that led to De’Jon Jackson’s basket with 7:30 left. That was USD’s seventh offensive board to that point, but the Bulldogs kept the Bulldogs off the glass and scoreboard until Roberto Mafra’s putback with 1:30 left. By then, Gonzaga had taken a 10-point lead.

Elias Harris (11 points) and Demetri Goodson (10) fueled the Zags’ offense. The two also combined for five of Gonzaga’s nine assists.GU made 13 of 23 shots (56.5 percent), including 3 of 4 3-pointers. The Bulldogs were highly efficient when they weren’t committing turnovers — seven in the half.

Jackson led USD with eight points. The Toreros made just 11 of 30 shots (36.7 percent).

(Strange to see the Jenny Craig Pavilion with so many empty seats, but it’s probably twice as full compared to the 2,553 that watched San Diego lose to Portland on Thursday. The students don’t return to classes until Jan. 25th).

Back with an update at the final buzzer.

Connecticut raced out to leads of 13-2, 24-13 and 33-23 before Gonzaga roared back to move in front, 37-36, late in the first half. A.J. Price’s two free throws with 4.1 seconds left that gave UConn a 38-37 edge at halftime in the Battle in Seattle.

Steven Gray came off the bench to score 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting (he had 15 on the stat monitor when I began writing this, but it’s been changed). He was also GU’s top rebounder with four, but the second-ranked Huskies had the upperhand on that statistic 18-14. Jeremy Pargo added 10 points. Micah Downs, Josh Heytvelt and Austin Daye each had two fouls.

UConn center Hasheem Thabeet (6 points, 1 rebound) also sat with two fouls. Reserve post Gavin Edwards gave the Huskies a boost with six points and six rebounds. Price topped Connecticut with eight points and five of his teammates had at least four points.