• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Gonzaga outlasts Santa Clara

Jan 6, 2013 - 4:58 AM Santa Clara, CA (Sports Network) - Kelly Olynyk led the way with 33 points and 10 rebounds as No. 10 Gonzaga downed Santa Clara, 81-74, at Leavey Center.

Elias Harris added 14 points and Gary Bell, Jr. totaled 12 for the Bulldogs (15-1, 2-0 WCC), winners of six straight games.

Kevin Foster's 29 points, three assists and three steals weren't enough for the Broncos (12-4, 1-1). Marc Trasolini contributed 19 points and nine boards in a losing cause.

"It was a great road trip, probably the best I've been on in 25 years," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.

Few's team won at Oklahoma State and Pepperdine before Saturday's game.

Santa Clara couldn't muster enough to make a full comeback in the final minutes.

"You can't let a guy come in and have a career night in your own gym," Santa Clara coach Kerry Keating said of Olynyk. "We had to try to keep finding ways to stop him and we didn't."

Yannick Atanga's shot with 2:53 remaining pulled the hosts within 70-66, but Olynyk answered the next trip down the floor to restore a six-point edge for the visitors.

After Evan Roquemore sank two free throws, Olynyk answered right back, then made two from the line to make it 76-68 for Gonzaga inside the one-minute mark of regulation.

Raymond Cowels made an easy layup, but Kevin Pangos answered with two free throws for an eight-point spread and the Bulldogs kept Santa Clara at bay for the remaining time.

A 12-4 run early in the first half reversed a three-point deficit and gave Gonzaga a 22-17 edge on a Olynyk jumper. Foster later finished off a three- point play to cap a Broncos surge and leave them up 30-29 with 5:35 left before halftime.

Eight in a row from the Bulldogs, ending on an Olynyk layup, put them ahead 37-30, and that margin stood at intermission after a Roquemore free throw pulled Santa Clara within 41-34.

Brandon Clark's triple got the Broncos within 52-51 after more than 6 1/2 minutes elapsed in the second half, but the school from Spokane opened things up thanks to a 12-3 run which left them up 64-54 with 8 1/2 minutes remaining after Sam Dower's pair from the line.

Game Notes

Gonzaga has beaten their California counterparts in 26 of the last 28 meetings and leads the all-time series 48-30 ... The Bulldogs converted 27-of-30 free throws and shot 55.3 percent (26-of-47) from the floor ... Santa Clara committed just eight turnovers in defeat.