SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Matt Bouldin and Steven Gray each scored 19 points, and No. 13 Gonzaga rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half to beat Santa Clara 71-64 on Thursday night for its ninth straight victory.
Elias Harris had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulldogs (17-3, 6-0 West Coast Conference), who closed with a 12-0 run over the final 5:55 and beat the Broncos for the eighth straight time.
Niyi Harrison scored 14 points to lead the Broncos (9-14, 1-5), who have lost seven of their past eight home games. Robert Smith added 13 points and Marc Trasolini had 12.
Harris hit a pair of free throws with 6:17 left to pull Gonzaga within two. A minute later, Gray drained a 3-pointer and the Bulldogs were down 64-63 with less than five minutes remaining.
Mangisto Arop gave Gonzaga its first lead since early in the game on a putback with 4:03 to go. The Zags dominated on the offensive boards, 11-6.
Harris is averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds during the Zags’ winning streak.
Gonzaga has not lost at Santa Clara since 2001.
Trasolini hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Broncos a 13-point edge with 15:31 remaining. Moments later, a free throw made it a 14-point cushion.
Santa Clara’s quick start in the second half prompted Gonzaga coach Mark Few to call a timeout, which the officials did not hear at first because of the crowd noise.
The Broncos got their fans involved early, grabbing the lead from the start. Gonzaga made a run and Santa Clara answered, building a double-digit advantage by capitalizing on 12 Bulldogs turnovers in the first half.
Raymond Cowels hit a 3-pointer from the corner to give Santa Clara a 31-21 lead with just more than four minutes left in the opening half. The Bulldogs closed the gap to 38-33 by halftime.
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