No. 10 Gonzaga cruises by Eastern Oregon in tune-up before conference play 120-42
Dec. 28, 2022 Updated Wed., Dec. 28, 2022 at 4:22 p.m.
Eastern Oregon played an exhibition. Gonzaga put on one.
The 10th-ranked Bulldogs built a 30-point lead by halftime en route to a 120-42 victory over Eastern Oregon in a men’s basketball game at the McCarthey Athletic Center in a Wednesday matinee.
Drew Timme scored 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting, and seven players scored in double figures for the Zags (11-3), who shot 70.8% (51 for 72) from the floor. Gonzaga, playing its final nonconference game before West Coast Conference play begins Saturday at home against Pepperdine, also collected 19 steals to produce easy buckets in transition.
Gonzaga’s Hunter Sallis (5) leans around an Eastern Oregon defender for a shot in the non-conference game between the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers and the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the McCarthey Athletic Center Wednesday, Dec . 28, 2022 at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. (Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
The Mountaineers made 10 of their first 17 shots to stay within 33-23 in the first half, but Gonzaga dominated the next 8½ minutes to go into halftime with a 58-28 cushion. The Bulldogs made their final 11 field goals of the half, including respective 3-pointers by Nolan Hickman, Julian Strawther and Anton Watson. Eastern Oregon shot 2 for 12 during that stretch.
Efton Reid scored 16 points on 8-for-8 shooting off the bench for GU, and Rasir Bolton chipped in with 14 points. Also for the Zags, Hickman and Watson each scored 13, and Strawther and Malachi Smith added 10 apiece.
The Mountaineers did not count the outcome against their season record. An NAIA program, Eastern Oregon is based in La Grande, Oregon.
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