Wiltjer, Sabonis lead Gonzaga past Pacific

SPOKANE, Wash. — Kyle Wiltjer had 19 of his 26 points in the second half and Domantas Sabonis finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds to help Gonzaga beat Pacific 90-68 Thursday night.

Gonzaga (21-6, 13-2 West Coast Conference) led by 12 at halftime, and maintained a double-digit edge throughout the second half with its largest lead at 84-56.

Wiltjer was 8 of 14 from the field, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Sabonis notched his 17th double-double of the season and Silas Melson added 12 points.

Pacific (7-18, 5-10) was led by Alec Kobre’s 15 points. Eric Thompson and Ray Bowles added 11 each.

Down 12-11 to start, Gonzaga went on a 12-3 run to open up a lead on the strength of its inside play, getting a pair of buckets from Ryan Edwards and layups by Sabonis and Wiltjer. Sabonis’ second three keyed another 8-0 Gonzaga run late in the first half to put GU comfortably ahead at 44-32 at the break.

In the second half, Wiltjer heated up, scoring 16 of 20 Gonzaga points during a stretch that included eight straight in just a span of 54 seconds. The Zags extended the lead to 18 during the run.

Wiltjer made two more threes and GU led by as many as 28 points with 4:14 to go.

GU was efficient from all of the floor, knocking down 51 percent overall, 47 percent from behind the arc and 25 of 29 free throws (86.2 percent). Wiltjer and Sabonis combined to 17-for-27 from the field, 5-for-8 from behind the arc and 10-for-11 from the free throw line.

Gonzaga will be back on the McCarthey Athletic Center floor for the final time this season on Senior Night on Saturday against Saint Mary’s. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.