Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Gonzaga 92, Brigham Young 69
When: 10:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 18, 2020
Where: McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, Washington
Officials: # Michael Irvine, # Michael Greenstein, # Daryl Gelinas
Attendance: 6000

Killian Tillie recorded 22 points and 10 rebounds as No. 1 Gonzaga beat BYU 92-69 on Saturday night in Spokane, Wash., to set a West Coast Conference record with its 33rd consecutive regular-season conference win.

Corey Kispert added 19 points, and Joel Ayayi chipped in with 14 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals for the Bulldogs (20-1, 6-0 WCC). Gonzaga has won 34 straight home games.

TJ Haws led the Cougars (14-6, 3-2) with 17 points. Jake Toolson added 16 points for BYU. The Cougars played without leading scorer and rebounder Yoeli Childs, who was out with a finger injury.

The win might have been costly as Gonzaga's leading scorer, Filip Petrusev, left the game with 15:03 to go after turning his right ankle while trying to block a shot along the baseline. Gonzaga led 45-38 when Petrusev was helped off the court and went straight into the locker room.

"We're hoping it's just one of those sprains," coach Mark Few told ESPN. "He's a big, tough Serbian kid. We'll see."

Gonzaga doesn't play again until next Saturday against Pacific.

Despite losing Petrusev, the Bulldogs rallied and quickly opened a double-digit lead. Drew Timme's layup and two free throws by Admon Gilder gave Gonzaga a 52-40 advantage.

Haws kept the Cougars close, scoring eight straight, and BYU trailed by just 11 at 66-55 with 8:02 left.

The Bulldogs answered with nine straight to put the game out of reach.

The first half belonged to Tillie, who scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds as Gonzaga took a 38-31 lead at halftime.

The Cougars started play Saturday as the fourth-best 3-point shooting team in the nation at 40.7 percent, but struggled against the bigger Zags. BYU didn't make a 3 until Zac Seljaas connected with 1:15 left in the first half to pull the Cougars within 36-27.

BYU was ice-cold from long range (1-for-8) in the first half. The Cougars finished the game 6-for-20.

BYU scored in the paint early and often to keep the game close. But Gonzaga's size started to take control, and with eight offensive rebounds, the Zags held a 21-14 advantage on the glass in the first 20 minutes.

For the game, Gonzaga outrebounded the Cougars, 37-21.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Brigham Young   Gonzaga
TJ Haws 17 Scoring Killian Tillie 22
TJ Haws 6 Assists Joel Ayayi 6
Alex Barcello 4 Rebounds Killian Tillie 10
TJ Haws 2 Free Throws Made Killian Tillie 7
Zac Seljaas 2 Steals Joel Ayayi 4
Zac Seljaas 2 Blocks Filip Petrusev 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Brigham Young 69 50.9 6-20 5-10 10 19 4 6 14
Gonzaga 92 56.1 9-21 19-25 20 37 2 11 14