SPOKANE, Washington — Rui Hachimura had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 8 Gonzaga beat Texas-Arlington 89-55 on Tuesday night, ending a two-game skid that toppled them from No. 1 on the AP Top 25.
Brandon Clarke added 17 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks for Gonzaga (10-2), which lost to No. 3 Tennessee and No. 9 North Carolina last week. Five Zags scored in double figures.
Brian Warren scored 12 points for Texas-Arlington (3-8), which has lost seven straight. They fell to 1-31 against ranked teams.
The Mavericks were undone by poor shooting, making only 26.8 percent of their shots to 52.5 percent for Gonzaga.
Gonzaga jumped out to a 19-5 lead behind consecutive 3-pointers from Josh Perkins while Texas-Arlington made just two of its first 15 shots.
Joel Ayayi's layup put Gonzaga up 32-12. The Mavericks made just four of their first 22 shots, while Gonzaga was shooting 62 percent.
Warren hit consecutive 3-pointers to launch a 13-2 run that cut Gonzaga's lead to 34-25, but Clarke and Hachimura each scored 13 points as Gonzaga took a 48-30 halftime lead. Gonzaga shot 60 percent in the first while holding Texas-Arlington to 27.8 percent, including 5 of 17 from 3-point range.
The teams traded baskets in the second half, and a 15-3 run put Gonzaga up 70-41. The Mavericks did not threaten after that.
BIG PICTURE
UT-Arlington: The Mavericks came in undefeated against Gonzaga by virtue of beating the Bulldogs in 1992, before they were a national power. ... The Mavericks are projected to have the seventh-toughest nonconference schedule in the nation.
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs came in second in the nation in field goal percentage (52.2 percent), and fourth in scoring at 93.7 points per game. ... Perkins came in leading the nation with 92 assists, while Clarke is second in field goal percentage at 70.8. ...Gonzaga opened a run of six consecutive home games.
UP NEXT
UT-Arlington plays at Cal Poly on Friday.
Gonzaga hosts Denver on Friday.
