Nov. 18, 2008

Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Micah Downs scored 18 points and Austin Daye added 16 as No. 9 Gonzaga blasted Idaho 80-46 on Tuesday night for its ninth consecutive win over the Vandals.

Josh Heytvelt added 15 points for the Bulldogs (2-0), who scored the first 17 points of the game.

Mac Hopson led Idaho (1-2) with 19 points, while Kashif Watson added 12. The Vandals shot 29.8 percent in the game, committed 20 turnovers and were outrebounded 47-27.

Idaho got off only five shots in the game's first seven minutes, and did not score until Marvin Jefferson's free throw with 12:54 left in the first half.

Idaho got consecutive 3-pointers from Luciano de Souza to pull within 17-7, but Gonzaga outscored the Vandals 30-4 over the final 10 minutes of the first half to take a 47-11 lead.

Downs finished with 16 points in the first half. The 36-point halftime margin was Gonzaga's biggest since a 39-point lead over San Francisco in 2004.

Idaho was just 4-of-21 from the field in the first half and committed 13 turnovers.

Idaho showed more fire in the second half, opening with an 8-1 run and getting within 53-24. But the Bulldogs pulled away again for a third consecutive easy win in the series. They won by 25 points two years ago and 39 points last season.

Idaho is rebuilding under first-year coach Don Verlin. They lost 100-62 last weekend at No. 5 Michigan State.

Idaho still leads the series 70-63, but the Vandals' last win was in 1998.

The Zags are 54-2 in the McCarthey Athletic Center since it opened in the 2004-05 season.