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Zags cruise past San Diego, clinch WCC regular season title

Feb 24, 2013 - 5:56 AM Spokane, WA (Sports Network) - Kevin Pangos had 18 points as No. 3 Gonzaga clinched the West Coast Conference regular season title with an 81-50 win over San Diego on Saturday.

Kelly Olynyk scored 14 points with nine rebounds, while Elias Harris added 12 points and five boards for the Bulldogs (27-2, 14-0 WCC), who have reeled off 10 straight wins to take the top spot in the conference.

"We had a great weekend, especially on the defensive end," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "We did an unbelievable job of sticking to our assignments."

Chris Manresa had a game-high 19 points for the Toreros (13-16, 6-8), who have dropped their past four games.

This game was in stark contrast to the Feb. 2 matchup in San Diego that saw the Bulldogs barely escape with a 65-63 victory that was capped on a Harris block in the closing moments.

Holding a 7-2 lead early, Gonzaga scored the next seven points with an Olynyk 3-pointer make it a 10-point game less than six minutes in.

San Diego was able to hang around and keep the game from getting out of hand in the first half and a Manresa layup in the final seconds made it a 37-23 lead after 20 minutes.

An 8-2 run to start the second half gave the Bulldogs a 20-point lead and a 13-0 run later in the half, which saw the Toreros go over five minutes without a point, gave the team a 67-32 advantage after a Drew Barham 3-pointer with 9 1/2 minutes left.

Gonzaga cruised to the finish line from there, leading by as many as 37 points.

Game Notes

Gonzaga leads the series, 62-21 ... The Bulldogs shot 54.5 percent and grabbed 38 rebounds, while holding the Toreros to just 35.7 percent shooting and 22 rebounds ... Gonzaga plays at Portland on Thursday.