SPOKANE — What amazed Gonzaga coach Mark Few about his eighth-ranked Bulldogs’ 84-42 demolition of winless Texas Southern was that the game was even played after almost two feet of snow fell on the city Thursday.
It was a battle just to get to the arena on streets so choked with snow that authorities were urging people to stay home.
“I shoveled for six hours today, until an hour before game time,” Few said.
It may have been cold outside, but the Zags (8-1) were scorching in posting their best offensive and defensive performance of the season against the overmatched Tigers, who got into Spokane on Wednesday, in the early stages of the storm that dropped more than 23 inches of snow, snarling traffic and shutting down much of the city.
Josh Heytvelt scored 21 points and the Zags made 11-of-17 3-point attempts against Texas Southern (0-10), which has yet to play a home game.
Micah Downs added 14 points, Matt Bouldin 11 and Austin Daye 10 as Gonzaga shot 65.6 percent from the field and set a season high for points scored and a season low for points allowed. They outrebounded Texas Southern 44-22.
Texas Southern scored the first basket of the game, and then saw the Zags go on a 20-2 run to blow it open early. They trailed 53-19 at halftime.
Deandre Hall and Damian Henderson both had nine points for Texas Southern.
Top 25 men
No. 1 N. Carolina 91, Evansville 73
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Tyler Hansbrough scored 20 points to break North Carolina’s career scoring record and help the top-ranked Tar Heels remain unbeaten. Hansbrough passed Phil Ford for the record midway through the first half. Ford, now an assistant coach with the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats, finished his career in 1978 with 2,290 points.
No. 9 Louisville 77, Mississippi 68
CINCINNATI — Earl Clark had career highs of 25 points and 16 rebounds for Louisville, adding a little more misery to Mississippi coach Andy Kennedy’s day. David Huertas had 20 points for the Rebels (7-4), who fought gamely after a tumultuous day that began with Kennedy’s arrest on misdemeanor assault charges following an altercation with a cab driver. Kennedy denied allegations that he called the driver racial epithets and his attorney entered a written plea of not guilty. A pretrial date was set for Jan. 16.
Local
Missouri-KC men 68, Eastern 61
CHENEY — A 9-0 run in the final two minutes helped give Missouri-Kansas City a victory over Eastern Washington University.
Seattle women 84, Saint Mary’s 71
MORAGA, Calif. — Seattle University shot 50 percent from the field in the second half, but Saint Mary’s College earned a victory.
SPU women 83, Mary 75 (OT)
BISMARCK, N.D. — Kelsey Burns scored a career-high 30 points, and the Seattle Pacific Falcons kept the University of Mary off the scoreboard for the entire overtime to pull out a nonconference victory. Snohomish High School alum Daesha Henderson had seven points, six rebounds and three steals for the Falcons.
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