Dec. 29, 2010
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
>SPOKANE, Wash. -- It was unusually quiet in Gonzaga's McCarthey Athletic Center on Wednesday with the students gone for winter break and a raging snowstorm outside.
Demetri Goodson fired the place up by pushing the Bulldogs' offense with 13 points and six assists as Gonzaga beat Lafayette 83-55.
"It's hard to get the energy in here when the students are not here. It's quiet," Goodson said.
Kelly Olynyk scored 15 points and Elias Harris 14 for Gonzaga, which won its fourth straight game after an early December slump knocked it from the Top 25.
Harris added nine rebounds as Gonzaga (8-5) dominated inside, outscoring Lafayette 40-12 in the paint and winning the rebound battle 48-31.
Jim Mower scored 21 points to lead Lafayette (4-9). The Leopards, from the Patriot League, could not contain Gonzaga's front line of Olynyk, Harris and Robert Sacre.
"They were physically superior to us in there," said Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon.
Lafayette led 13-11 before Olynyk hit three unanswered baskets to spark an 18-6 run that put the Bulldogs ahead 29-19 with 5:33 left. Harris had seven points during a 9-0 run that put Gonzaga up 38-22.
"We got down and started losing our poise," O'Hanlon said.
Gonzaga shot 60 percent in the first half for a 42-27 lead.
Mower had 17 of Lafayette's 29 points in the first half, and the Leopards shot just 35 percent.
Their shooting woes continued in the second half, and Mathis Monninghoff's 3-pointer gave Gonzaga a 67-45 lead with 8 minutes left.
Jared Mintz added 12 points for Lafayette, which shot just 33 percent for the game.
Gonzaga leading scorer Steven Gray, who has been slowed by a back injury, played but did not shoot the ball.
"It was good to get him on the floor," coach Mark Few said.
Gray said his back felt fine.
"I haven't played since Notre Dame really," Gray said. "It was good to get my feet wet."
This was the first meeting between the teams.
Gonzaga is 81-5 in McCarthey since it opened in 2004, including a loss to No. 7 San Diego State earlier this season. The Zags host Oklahoma State on Friday.
