By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES — Gonzaga had nearly a month to stew over its loss to Loyola Marymount, and payback time finally arrived on Thursday night.
Julian Strawther scored 28 points and No. 13 Gonzaga avenged its earlier loss by routing the Lions, 108-65, at Gersten Pavilion.
LMU snapped Gonzaga’s 75-game home winning streak with a 68-67 victory on Jan. 19, but the Lions were no match this time. Six players scored in double figures for the Bulldogs as they led the entire game and opened a 51-point advantage less than six minutes into the second half.
According to STATS Perform, it was the largest road win by a Division I team in the last 40 years against a team they had lost to at home earlier in the season.
“Our defense was good, probably as good as we’ve been all year,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “We kept our intensity, even in the second half. It is something we can really draw on moving forward.”
Anton Watson had 16 points and Drew Timme scored 13 for Gonzaga (22-5 overall, 11-2 WCC), which remained one game behind first-place Saint Mary’s in the West Coast Conference.
Cam Shelton, who made the game-winning basket in the first meeting, led LMU (17-11, 7-7) with 15 points. Keli Leaupepe had 13.
Strawther has scored at least 25 points in three of his past six games. The junior guard had 22 points in the first half as the Bulldogs built a 68-28 lead at halftime.
Gonzaga had an early 5-4 advantage before it took control with 20 consecutive points. Strawther had seven points during the run, including a four-point play and a dunk off an alley-oop after getting the pass from Malachi Smith.
“Ever since that first game, we had this one circled on the calendar. We wanted to return the favor,” Strawther said. “I’m glad that we dominated for 40 minutes. That was the big emphasis.”
The Lions were held scoreless for 5:14 before Jalin Anderson’s jumper in the lane ended the spurt. They committed six turnovers during the…
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