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Gonzaga Basketball

GU-SD: 3 keys to Bulldogs’ 102-65 win over Coyotes

Gonzaga center Przemek Karnowski fights through the South Dakota defense on Dec. 21, 2016. He hasn’t been home in Poland for the holidays since his first year at Gonzaga in 2012. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)
Gonzaga center Przemek Karnowski fights through the South Dakota defense on Dec. 21, 2016. He hasn’t been home in Poland for the holidays since his first year at Gonzaga in 2012. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)Buy a print of this photo

No. 7 Gonzaga defeated South Dakota 102-65 on Wednesday at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane. Here are the three keys to the Zags’ win:

Key moment

Nigel Williams-Goss hit a 3-pointer with 6:24 left in the first half to put the Zags up 34-20. Johnathan Williams followed suit with another 3 a minute later and Josh Perkins extended the lead to 39-20 with a layup at 4:21 to cap a 10-0 Gonzaga run.

Offensive player of the game

Zach Collins scored a game-high 21 points in 18 minutes and was perfect from the field, hitting all nine of his shots, and was 60 percent (3 of 5) from the free throw line. He also helped keep South Dakota from taking a lead early in the first half with back-to-back layups and a free-throw shot that put the Zags up 17-14 with 11:45 left.

Defensive player of the game

Williams-Goss was assigned to South Dakota’s Matt Mooney early in the game. Mooney came off a career-high 28-point game against Montana State before playing the Zags. Williams-Goss helped limit Mooney to 13 points on 6-of-16 shooting Wednesday. Williams-Goss also pulled down nine boards.