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Gonzaga guard Nigel Williams-Goss nearly had as many field goals as San Diego in the No. 3 Bulldogs' 79-43 victory Thursday night in Spokane, Wash. Williams-Goss made 11 of 15 field goal attempts and finished with 25 points. San Diego (10-11, 3-6 West Coast Conference) made 16 of 50 from the field and 5 of 20 from 3-point range.
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"Nigel Williams-Goss dominating the game from the beginning," San Diego coach Lamont Smith said. "He had 19 points by the first half, got their offense going with five assists and had no turnovers the whole game. That's what I call dominating."
Gonzaga improved to 21-0 overall and 9-0 in the WCC. The Bulldogs are one win shy of tying the school record of consecutive victories set during the 2014-15 season.
"This group has done an excellent job of (focusing) on the process and only things we can control," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said when asked about the potential record.
Gonzaga was also led by Johnathan Williams' 13 points and 12 rebounds and Zach Collins' 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field. The Bulldogs, the nation's last unbeaten team, shot 53.1 percent from the field despite converting only 6 of 30 shots from 3-point range.
San Diego guard Olin Carter III led the Toreros with 12 points on 5 of 12 shooting. Brett Bailey, who averaged 17.4 points a game before Thursday, was limited to only five points on 2 of 12 shooting from the field.
"Our guys played an outstanding defense," said Few, who added that he gave his team Tuesday off after playing Monday at Portland in a makeup game.
The Bulldogs have played four games in seven days.
"The first half was really good," Few said about his defense. "The second half was outstanding. One-day prep for a complicated offense that San Diego runs with a lot of cuts. ... I thought the guys did a really good job of absorbing it."
Gonzaga was never threatened after taking an 8-0 lead. The Bulldogs opened the second half outscoring the Toreros 24-2 until 9:52 remained in regulation to open a 60-25 lead.
At that point, Williams-Goss outscored the Toreros by himself. His last basket occurred with 13:11 on a layup.
San Diego had 15 turnovers compared to Gonzaga's season-low five. The Bulldogs, who tallied 19 assists, scored 19 points off the Toreros' turnovers.
"When you play a team like this you better be clicking on all cylinders," Smith said. "Hopefully, we can learn from this, turn the page and move on to the next game."
Gonzaga also outscored San Diego 50-16 in the paint and the Bulldogs' reserves topped the Toreros' bench players 25-11.
Gonzaga was one player short with freshman reserve forward Killian Tillie out indefinitely with an ankle sprain.
"He's responding to treatment pretty good," Few said. "We'll see what happens."
Without Tillie's contribution, Gonzaga out-rebounded San Diego 38-30 and controlled the paint thanks mostly to Williams' contribution. He had his first double-double with Gonzaga after transferring from Missouri.
"He was going up and getting them and rebounding outside his area," Few said. "Being an athlete and above the rim, when he plays like that, makes us that much better."
NOTES:
-- San Diego G Olin Carter III, who recently suffered from the flu and missed the San Francisco game Saturday, returned to the Toreros' lineup.
-- The Zags played nine straight halves without trailing their opponent. Gonzaga led for the last 184 minutes, 31 seconds.
-- Gonzaga won five straight in the series. San Diego's last victory over Gonzaga was Feb. 23, 2014 -- a 69-66 victory over the No. 22 Bulldogs.
-- Seven players led Gonzaga in scoring in a game this season while six led in rebounds. Four Bulldogs were averaging at least 5.1 rebounds before Thursday's game.
-- San Diego F Brett Bailey entered the game averaging 17.4 points and 7.0 rebounds, ranking fifth in the WCC in each category.
