Box Score | Postgame Interviews
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- Angel Nunez scored 24 points and Byron Wesley added 22 to help No. 13 Gonzaga beat Division II St. Thomas Aquinas College 109-55 on Saturday night in the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Nunez was 3 of 4 from 3-point range and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Wesley needed just 23 minutes to make 8 of 10 shots.
Domantas Sabonis added 19 points in 19 minutes for Gonzaga (4-0). Kyle Wiltjer had 17 and 11 boards and Przemek Karnowski finished with 10 points. The Bulldogs made 75.9 percent of their 29 shots in the second half.
Gonzaga concluded its four-game home stand to open the season by outscoring its opponents 379-211.
Matthew Lee led St. Thomas Aquinas (0-3) with 13 points. Sam Berlin, the only STAC player listed over 6-foot-6, added nine points. The Spartan were outrebounded 43-21.
Gonzaga led by 31 at halftime and started the second half on a 14-1 run, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Gary Bell Jr. for a 71-27 lead.
STAC's tied the game at 10 on Marcus Henderson's 3-pointer. Gonzaga's Wesley scored the next seven points during a 10-0 run, capped by Nunez's 3-pointer. Nunez later scored nine straight for Gonzaga, during a 9-2 run, to extend its lead to 31-18.
Four of STAC's eight field goals to begin the game were from behind the 3-point line to help them stay within striking distance at 31-21.
Gonzaga responded with a 15-0 run, with scoring from four different players, to pull away 46-21. The Bulldogs led 57-26 at the break.
Kevin Pangos, Gonzaga's scoring leader from a season ago (14.4 points per game) didn't attempt a shot until the 4:03 mark of the first half.
Gonzaga has outscored its opponents 202-89 in the opening half this season - with a high of 27 from No. 22 SMU.
Wesley led Gonzaga's scorers with 18 first-half points, Nunez added 16 on 3-of-3 shooting from behind the arc and Wiltjer had 10. The Bulldogs made 20 of 33 shots (60.6 percent) and held St. Thomas Aquinas to 10 of 28 (35.7 percent). Lee led STAC with 10 at the break.
Postgame Notes:
- Gonzaga extended its win streak to 29 home games, tying the third-longest in school history
- Two nights after setting the mark for largest margin of victory in the MAC, the Zags broke it with Saturday's 54-point win.
- Senior Angel Nunez' 24 points and 11 rebounds were both career-highs.
