Final Stats

SPOKANE, Wash. - The USD men's basketball team (14-15, 7-10) lost at the No. 3-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs 59-39 Thursday evening at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Toreros played excellent defense all evening, keeping pace with the Zags for the first 33 minutes, but Gonzaga went on to extend its national-long home win streak to 41 games.

"I don't fault our effort. I thought we came in here and really battled. We did what we had to do to get the game slow, because they play exceptionally fast," Head Coach Bill Grier said after the game. "We just got a little away from the plan. It shows how good they are; the second you get away from what you are doing successfully they just make you pay."

The stout Torero defense kept the Zags out of rhythm for the entire first half. As both team's offenses struggled, the Toreros held the Bulldogs to 13 points through the first 16 minutes to open up a 17-13 lead. However, Gonzaga responded with a 9-0 run to take a 22-17 lead into the locker room at halftime.

It was the Toreros' second consecutive half holding Gonzaga under 25 points. Brandon Perry led USD with six points and five rebounds at halftime, but the Toreros shot just 21 percent from the field (6-for-28), failing to take advantage of their strong first half defensive effort.

After Gonzaga opened up a nine point lead early in the second half, the Toreros responded to close the deficit to five points. USD would keep the Zags' lead in the single digits for the majority of the second half and were down just 40-35 with 6:50 left. Gonzaga, who leads the nation in field goal percentage, caught fire in the final minutes and closed out the game on a 19-4 run.

The Toreros were held to 30 percent shooting from the floor and went just 1-11 from three-point range. Perry led USD with nine points and hauled in a team-high seven rebounds.

Gonzaga's post-play proved to be the difference in the game. Przemek Karnowski and Domantas Sabonis combined to score 27 points and grab 15 rebounds. Gary Bell and Byron Wesley chipped in 13 and 12 points respectively. The Toreros held Kyle Wiltjer, who scored 45 points at Pacific a week ago, to five points.

This was the second time this season the Toreros have held the Zags to 60 points or less, giving Gonzaga their second and third lowest point totals of the season.

The Toreros wrap up the regular season with a critical game at Portland on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.