By Ryan Minkrmink@digitalsports.comGonzaga’s guards played better than Bishop McNamara’s, the Eagle’s front court bested the Mustangs’, Gonzaga hits it’s shots and McNamara didn’t and the Mustangs got in foul trouble.
Add that all up and it’s a big time 67-41 victory for No. 4-ranked Gonzaga over No. 6 Bishop McNamara Tuesday night at Gonzaga.
“We played at the top of our game,” Gonzaga senior center
Ian Hummer said. “To win by 26, that just shows what we can do.”
Hummer was a major reason for Gonzaga’s dominance. The Princeton-bound Hummer scored a game-high 17 points in a matchup with McNamara’s 6-foot-9 Pittsburgh-bound
Talib Zanna, who got in early foul trouble and finished with just 11 points.
Zanna had the first laugh with a three-point stretch and pair of big blocks in the first quarter. But Hummer responded in the second quarter with a pair of buckets to open the quarter, including a back-door dunk on the second.
Hummer notched an and-one near the end of the quarter, then took a charge on Zanna with 39.2 seconds left in the second quarter that handed the McNamara big man his third foul. Gonzaga led 28-19 at halftime.
“To go against him is a real treat,” Hummer said of Zanna. “I’ve been looking forward to this game for basically a couple months now since he’s probably the best big man in our league.”
While Hummer took care of the heavy lifting in the paint, Gonzaga guards
Cedrick Lindsay and
Tyler Thornton took care of the outside work.
After scoring six points in the first quarter, Lindsay notched eight more in the second, including a pair of three-pointers.
“They just told me to just keep shooting the ball,” Lindsay said, before admitting that was as hot as his shooting gets.
“Cedrick is lights out,” Thornton said. “Anywhere on the court, you pick a spot and he can hit it.”
Thornton was held scoreless in the first half, but broke out in the third. He scored eight straight points during a 15-2 run that gave Gonzaga a 41-23 lead with three minutes, 39 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Gonzaga outscored McNamara, 22-8, in the third quarter to pull away.
“This is a big win for us," Thornton said. "We came in here into our home ready to play and ready to defend our home court.”
Gonzaga has now won six straight games, including four in the WCAC, and improved to 13-2. The Eagles only have a conference loss against O’Connell.
Bishop McNamara (11-3, 5-1), meanwhile, has suffered two straight losses. The Mustangs, who on Tuesday had to play through an injury to guard
Rashad Whack (George Mason) and without
Trask Ivey, fell to Atlantic Shores (N.J.) on Jan. 10 and have a big game at No. 2-ranked DeMatha on Friday.