Gonzaga Bulldogs vs Pacific Tigers Match Player Stats On Feb 28, 2019

Gonzaga's first game of its second stint of the season as the nation's No. 1 team went pretty much as expected Thursday night.

Rui Hachimura pumped in a game-high 27 points and Brandon Clarke added 21 points and 13 rebounds as the Bulldogs moved within a game of a perfect run through the West Coast Conference with an 86-66 blowout of Pacific in Stockton, Calif.

Zach Norvell Jr. scored 12 points and Geno Crandall netted 10 for Gonzaga (28-2, 15-0 WCC), which canned 60 percent of its field-goal attempts and turned 12 Tigers turnovers into 21 points. The Zags only need to win at Saint Mary's on Saturday night to polish off a 16-0 conference record.

Roberto Gallinat paced Pacific (13-17, 3-12) with 23 points, while Khy Kabellis scored 13 and Lafayette Dorsey kicked in 10 points. However, the Tigers were completely outgunned despite making 12 of 24 from the 3-point arc. Pacific was outscored by a whopping 50-16 in the paint.

After slowing the pace to a crawl during a 67-36 defeat on Jan. 10 in Spokane, Wash., the Tigers tried to play a little faster at first and experienced modest success. Pacific actually owned a 10-6 edge at the 13:50 mark of the first half following two free throws by Gallinat.

But Gonzaga wasn't going to let the Tigers prowl for much longer. The Bulldogs promptly rattled off 11 straight points over the next four minutes, Crandall capping the run with two foul shots with 9:39 left before halftime to make it a 17-10 game.

From there, the margin grew rapidly. It reached double figures for the first time on Clarke's layup with 6:14 remaining in the half and got to 20 in the final 90 seconds before the Zags settled for a 39-20 advantage at intermission.

Hachimura's transition jumper in the lane with nine minutes left in the game boosted the lead to 69-44. The margin peaked at 81-55 with 4:35 remaining on Crandall's transition layup before Pacific made the final score more respectable with a late burst.

--Field Level Media