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Heytvelt, Gonzaga cruise past Pepperdine

Feb 22, 2009 - 7:35 AM SPOKANE, Washington (Ticker) -- One game after clinching at least a share of its ninth straight West Coast Conference regular-season crown, Gonzaga did not take its foot off the gas pedal on Saturday.

Josh Heytvelt scored a career-high 28 points and Matt Bouldin had all 16 of his points in the first half as No. 20 Gonzaga rolled past Pepperdine, 92-58, in WCC action.

Micah Downs chipped in 14 points and Jeremy Pargo had 12 for Gonzaga (21-5, 12-0 WCC), which shot 57 percent (37-of-65) from the floor as it defeated Pepperdine for the 16th straight time.

The Bulldogs, who posted a 91-54 triumph over Loyola Marymount on Thursday, took control from the outset en route to winning the WCC title outright.

"It feels great to win the conference," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "It was great to win it here, on our home floor and in front of our fans. No other school on the West Coast has accomplished something like this in a while and it feels pretty good."

Pepperdine opened the scoring with a pair of free throws but it would be its only lead of the game.

Gonzaga scored the next 10 points and Bouldin's three-point play extended the Bulldogs lead to 24-11 with 11:55 left in the first half.

Heytvelt scored six points during a 10-0 burst as Gonzaga took a 34-16 bulge with five minutes to go in the half and the Bulldogs held a 48-25 advantage at the break. Bouldin and Heytvelt each had 16 points in the opening 20 minutes.

"Josh (Heytvelt) took advantage inside tonight," Few said. "Everybody on the floor executed the game plan of getting him the ball inside and he delivered when he got the ball."

Heytvelt scored the first two baskets to open the second half and Gonzaga continued to pour it on as Pargo's reverse dunk put the Bulldogs on top, 64-34, with 14:34 to play.

The Waves never got back in it as the Bulldogs coasted to the finish.

Pepperdine committed 21 turnovers, which led to 20 points for Gonzaga. The Bulldogs outscored the Waves, 58-24, in the paint.

"Both on offense and defense, we executed very well," Few said. "We were very efficient on offense and got after it on defense. We worked very hard on the defensive end this weekend."

A 6-11 senior, Heytvelt shot 12-of-17 from the floor en route to his sixth 20-point game of the season. He also added 11 rebounds.

Freshman Keion Bell scored 17 points to lead Pepperdine (8-20, 5-7), which has lost 20 contests for the fourth straight season.