It was not a matter of if Gonzaga would beat Sacramento State on Friday night at the Kennel, it was really just a matter of by how much. The 13th ranked Bulldogs made quick work of the Hornets from the Big Sky Conference coasting to a 104-58 victory.
Sacramento State held an early lead at the first official’s timeout in the first half at 7-6. Gonzaga though started to pull away before the under 12 timeout going on a 14-2 run that was highlighted by 10 points on five Sacramento State turnovers and from there, the rout was on. The Bulldogs would go on to add 40 additional points before the end of the half taking a 60-26 lead into the break.
A balanced Gonzaga attack paced the club as five players scored in double-figures led by Kentucky transfer Kyle Wiltjer’s 18 points. Kevin Pangos added 16 points and 6-foot-10 freshman Domantas Sabonis added 14 points and eight rebounds in his Spokane debut. Sabonis is the son of former NBA center Arvydas Sabonis.
Gonzaga dominated Sacramento State all over the floor beating them in literally every category that is tracked by the statisticians. Here is a look at the stat breakdown from tonight’s game:
| Sacramento State (0-1) | #13 Gonzaga (1-0) | |
| Field Goal % | 35.7% | 54.5% |
| Three Point % | 33.3% | 41.7% |
| Costless Throw % | 65.0% | 68.8% |
| Rebounds | 28 | 47 |
| Assists | 5 | 24 |
| Steals | 7 | 12 |
| Blocks | 1 | 6 |
| Turnovers | 22 | 12 |
| Fouls | 29 | 18 |
The Zags extended their streak of consecutive wins in season openers to 11 and improved their record to 14-2 in openers under Mark Few. They now prepare for a tough test on Monday night when the 22nd ranked SMU Mustangs come to the McCarthey Athletic Center for an 11:00 pm ET tip-off as part of the ESPN 24 Hours of College Basketball Marathon. Sacramento State will travel to UC Riverside on Monday night for a 10:05 pm ET tip-off.