SPOKANE — After enduring their worst defeat in two decades, Gonzaga bounced back to crush neighbor Eastern Washington on Monday.
Freshman Elias Harris scored 22 points as Gonzaga pounded the Eagles 94-52, rebounding from a 35-point loss to No. 7 Duke that was their worst margin of defeat since 1990.
Four other players scored in double figures for Gonzaga (9-3), which fell out of the Top 25 this week despite not playing a game. They lost to Duke 76-41 on Dec. 19 at Madison Square Garden.
Eastern Washington (4-10) has lost 22 straight to its Spokane County neighbor, dating to 1990. The Eagles have had trouble scoring during a five-game losing streak, all on the road.
Gonzaga held them to 28 percent shooting and outrebounded the Eagles 56-35.
“There were not many things we did poorly,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.
Eastern Washington coach Kirk Earlywine pointed to 16 first-half turnovers, another night of woeful shooting and the huge rebound deficit.
“That did not give us much chance to win,” Earlywine said.
Brandon Moore, Eastern’s main inside threat, was held scoreless, although he did grab nine rebounds. The Eagles were outscored 36-16 in the paint.
This game was close for the first five minutes. The Zags broke away, scoring 13 unanswered points for a 21-8 lead with 11:46 to go, and poured it on as the Eagles buried themselves with turnovers.
After scoring just 41 points against Duke, the Zags led 53-25 at halftime. They made 59 percent of their shots, including seven of 12 3-pointers, in the first half. Eastern Washington made just 30 percent and committed 16 turnovers in the first half.
It was more of the same in the second half, as Gonzaga held a 75-36 lead with 10 minutes to go despite mostly playing its reserves.
Glen Dean led Eastern with 13 points.
Harris made nine of 11 shots and added seven rebounds for Gonzaga, which also got 11 points from Steven Gray and 10 each from Kelly Olynyk and Mangisto Arop.
Matt Bouldin, Gonzaga’s leading scorer at 15 points per game, still seemed a little off since accidentally butting heads with a player for Augustana, Ill., on Dec. 9. Bouldin sat out a victory over Davidson and scored just four points against Duke. He scored 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting and picked up four fouls in this game.
But Few said Bouldin looked good.
“He’s got his legs under him. He played well tonight,” Few said.
The Zags are 67-4 in the McCarthey Athletic Center since it opened in 2004, including a loss to Wake Forest this season.
The Zags embark on a difficult stretch, hosting Oklahoma on New Year’s Eve, then visiting Illinois on Saturday. After that, they play Portland, Saint Mary’s and San Diego, perhaps their top three West Coast Conference rivals, on the road.
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