Preseason All-American Drew Timme scored a game-high 25 points, reaching the 1,000-point plateau for his career, as top-ranked Gonzaga defeated Bellarmine 92-50 in a nonconference game Friday night in Spokane, Wash.
Julian Strawther had 19 points and Chet Holmgren added 18 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Bulldogs (4-0) who won their 55th consecutive home game, the longest current streak in the nation.
Dylan Penn led Bellarmine (0-4) with 14 points, all in the first half, and six assists. Juston Betz added 12 points.
The Knights, who opened the season with a 96-67 loss at then-No. 7 Purdue, next will face No. 2 UCLA on Monday in the four-team Empire Classic in Las Vegas.
Gonzaga and Central Michigan will also be competing in the event, with the Zags scheduled to oppose UCLA on Tuesday in a rematch of their Final Four meeting last season that was won by the Bulldogs on Jalen Suggs’ halfcourt shot in overtime.
Timme, who scored a career-high 37 points in an 86-74 victory against No. 5 Texas on Nov. 13, reached the 1,000-point milestone on a free throw with 3:08 left in the first half.
Timme averaged a point per minute Friday, leaving the game with 12 minutes left as Gonzaga coach Mark Few got his reserves some playing time.
Timme and Strawther each had 14 points and Holmgren had 12 as Gonzaga took a 48-28 lead at the intermission.
The Knights took an 11-10 lead on Betz’s 3-pointer with 14:10 left in the half before Gonzaga went on a 10-0 run that included two 3-pointers by Strawther.
Andrew Nembhard assisted on Gonzaga’s first six baskets and made a 3-pointer for the seventh. He finished with a game-high seven assists.
An 8-0 run late in the half helped the Bulldogs extend the lead to 20.
The Knights never got closer than 17 points after the intermission. Gonzaga’s largest lead was 47 points at 91-44 with 2:57 remaining.
The Bulldogs shot 53.3 percent from the field (32 of 60), including 11 of 23 (47.8 percent) from behind the 3-point arc. The Knights made 39.6 percent (21 of 53) from the floor and 3 of 25 (12 percent) from long distance.
–Field Level Media
