New Mexico State 68 - 80 15Gonzaga
Final
  for this game

No. 19 Gonzaga takes care of pesky New Mexico State

Dec 8, 2013 - 8:38 AM Spokane, WA (SportsNetwork.com) - Sam Dower and Gerard Coleman posted season- highs with 22 and 21 points, respectively, to lead No. 19 Gonzaga past New Mexico State, 80-68.

"We played really well tonight," Dower said. "Guys were aggressive in getting to the rim."

Kevin Pangos had 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Gonzaga (8-1), which won its fourth straight. The Bulldogs will play the next three games away from home.

Daniel Mullings paced the Aggies (7-4) with 17 points and five assists. Tshilidzi Nephawe went for 13 points and eight rebounds while K.C. Ross-Miller scored 12 points, and Kevin Aronis had 10 off the bench.

NMSU has lost three straight on the heels of seven straight wins.

The highly anticipated matchup between big men Sim Bhullar and Przemek Karnowski, two of the tallest players in the nation, proved to be a bit of a letdown. Bhullar, a 7-foot-5 behemoth for New Mexico State, scored six points with four blocks and Gonzaga's 7-foot-1 Karnowski contributed nine points and nine rebounds. Both players picked up four personal fouls.

Coleman changed the game when he checked in midway through the first half. New Mexico State led 16-14 before Coleman ignited the Bulldogs' offense with four quick points around an Aronis 3-pointer. The Providence transfer gave Gonzaga its first lead since the early stages when he followed his own miss and canned a short jumper 3:11 before halftime.

The hosts led 31-30 at the break.

"We had them in the first half right where we wanted them," New Mexico State head coach Marvin Menzies said.

Dower poured in six points during a 7-0 Gonzaga run to open the second half. Ross-Miller's jumper 5 1/2 minutes in cut the Gonzaga lead to four before Coleman once again caught fire, scoring seven straight to make it 50-39.

Dower threw down two emphatic dunks late in the contest to close it out.

Game Notes

This was the first meeting between the two schools ... Dower had his highest point total since Jan. 29, 2011, when he dropped 27 as a freshman.






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