Recap and highlights: No. 5 Gonzaga uses balanced scoring, tough defense to rout Pacific

Josh Perkins scored 14 points and added six assists as No. 5 Gonzaga used lock-down defense to thump Pacific 67-36 on Thursday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Brandon Clarke added 10 points, eight rebounds and five blocks for the Bulldogs (15-2, 2-0 West Coast Conference).

Roberto Gallinat paced the Tigers (10-8, 0-3) with nie points.

The Zags shot 43.4 percent from the floor and 25 percent from deep, while holding Pacific to 26.7 percent overall.

Gonzaga will travel to San Francisco on Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN2) for its first conference road test of the season.

Second half

Final– Gonzaga 67, Pacific 36: Gonzaga bench closes out the win as the Bulldogs move to 2-0 in West Coast Conference Play.

Josh Perkins led the Zags with 14 points and six assists, while Brandon Clarke finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and five blocks.

Pacific was led by Roberto Gallinat’s nine points.

Next up for GU is a trip to San Francisco on Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN2), which could be one of the tougher WCC games for the Zags this season.

3:40 – Gonzaga 63, Pacific 29: First minutes of the game finally come for Filip Petrusev as the GU starters head to the bench for the night. Petrusev quickly up to four points, including a nice dunk on a Jeremy Jones dish.

Killian Tillie up to four points and three rebounds in just his second game of the season.

Pacific’s Roberto Gallinat called for an offensive foul after a hard push on Geno Crandall. A perfect example of Pacific’s frustrations throughout the night.

Tigers with 22 turnovers to just 10 made shots.

7:56 – Gonzaga 57, Pacific 27: Bulldogs putting together one of its best defensive performance of the season as the Tigers are shooting just 32.3 percent from the floor and have 19 turnovers.

Brandon Clarke nearing double figures with eight points for GU, which has still struggled to find its offensive touch in this game outside of a few nice runs.

GU with 11 assists on 21 made baskets, but the Zags have turned it over 10 times.

No real foul concerns for the Bulldogs outside of Rui Hachimura, who has four.

Safe to assume Mark Few will start shuffing in the subs over the next few minutes to close this one out.

11:08 – Gonzaga 52, Pacific 27: Pacific answers back with a 6-0 run as Gonzaga’s shooting hand goes cold for a few minutes.

GU coach Mark Few sticking to an eight-man rotation with Killian Tillie, Geno Crandall and Jeremy Jones the only players to come off the bench so far. Biggest knock in minutes has to be for freshman center Filip Petrusev, who was the first forward off the bench for the Zags most of the nonconference slate.

Josh Perkins now up to 14 points to lead the Bulldogs, while Zach Norvell Jr. is still stuck on 11.

Speaking on Jeremy Jones, the senior wing knocks down a 3-pointer for his first points of the night.

Defensively, Brandon Clarke is up to four blocks for the Zags.

15:16 – Gonzaga 45, Pacific 22: Little more life out of Rui Hachimura this half as he gets into double figures with a big slam.

Nice start to the half as well for Corey Kispert, who has four points after a scoreless first 20 minutes.

Brandon Clarke also showing some skills on the offensive side of the ball with a nifty spin move and finish after going coast-to-coast.

Also into double figures for GU is Josh Perkins. His straight-away triple gets him to a team-best 12 points.

First half

Halftime – Gonzaga 34, Pacific 15: That’s one way to get Rui Hachimura involved. The junior rolls off a back pick and Josh Perkins finds him for the big slam on the alley-oop.

Perkins having a nice game with five assists to go with his nine points.

One of Hachimura’s quietest 20 minutes of the season with eight points and no rebounds. Scary moment as well for Rui as Pacific’s Jeremiah Bailey undercuts him on a breakaway dunk. Bailey is called for a flagrant foul after a review.

Zach Norvell Jr. leads all scorers with 11 points.

GU uses a 12-0 run to take a comfortable lead into the break after a very slow start to the game.

Roberto Gallinat pacing the Tigers with six points.

GU shooting 56.5 percent overall and 33.3 percent from 3-point range, while Pacific is shooting 27.8 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from deep.

Pacific with 14 turnovers to Gonzaga’s nine, while both teams have grabbed 12 rebounds.

3:55 – Gonzaga 24, Pacific 13: Killian Tillie with his first bucket of the night on a nice floater in the paint. After fouling out in just nine minutes against Santa Clara, the forward has looked a little more comfortable tonight, but is still showing some signs of rust with unnecessary fouls and turnovers.

Brandon Clarke also gets his first points off a big alley-oop to give the crowd in The Kennel a little energy. Josh Perkins with seven points for the Zags.

Pacific keeping the ball out of Rui Hachimura’s hands. He’s taken just two shots and has two points.

Lots of defense so far as the number of made field goals and turnovers are even at 14.

7:58 – Gonzaga 18, Pacific 10: That looks a little more like the Gonzaga offense we’ve seen over the last month.

Geno Crandall and Killian Tillie check in for the Zags, who come out of the break on a 8-0 run.

Zach Norvell Jr. having himself quite the start with 11 points, including a tough fast-break layup to start the run.

Brandon Clarke still scoreless for GU, but the big man has three blocks, two assists and two boards.

Roberto Gallinat leads the Tigers with six points, while Josh Perkins has five points for the Zags

11:48 – Gonzaga 10, Pacific 10: First bucket of the game for Rui Hachimura comes more than six minutes into the game, as the physical Tigers are doubling down on the Zags big man.

Zach Norvell hits another triple and has six points for the Bulldogs.

GU shooting just 37.5 percent from the floor and is 2 of 6 from deep.

Pacific is also without a turnover, a key to keeping this one close, even when its shooting touch is also off (30.8 percent overall).

15:59 – Gonzaga 5, Pacific 5: Pacific doing a good job defending the post early as touches have been limited for GU’s Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke.

The Zags still have plenty of firepower outside the paint though as Zach Norvell Jr. drills his first 3-pointer of the game. Josh Perkins also doing a nice job of getting to the bucket and has a pair of free throws to show for it.

GU has been a little loose with the basketball in the opening minutes with two turnovers.

On the other side of the court, Brandon Clarke gets a big block on Pacific’s Roberto Gallinat – his 52nd of the season (second best in NCAA).

Gonzaga announces starting 5

Game preview

Gonzaga roster

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Pacific roster

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