Tillie leads No. 2 Gonzaga over San Francisco
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) Killian Tillie scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds as No. 2 Gonzaga rallied to beat San Francisco 71-54 on Thursday night for its 19th consecutive victory.
Filip Petrusev scored 16 points and Ryan Woolridge 12 for Gonzaga (27-1, 13-0 West Coast), which trailed at halftime. The Bulldogs are seeking to go undefeated in the league for the second consecutive season.
Gonzaga outscored the Dons 49-23 in the second half for the win.
Charles Minlend scored 22 points and Khalil Shabazz 13 for San Francisco (17-11, 6-7), which lost 83-79 at home to Gonzaga on Feb. 1. The Dons have lost 18 straight to Gonzaga, dating to their last win in 2012.
With the win, Gonzaga clinched at least a share of an eighth consecutive regular-season WCC title.
Five of San Francisco's first seven baskets were 3-pointers, three by Charles Minlend, as the Dons took a 19-16 lead. They pushed the lead to 25-16.
Gonzaga scored three straight baskets to cut San Francisco's lead to 25-22.
Minlend scored a pair of baskets as the Dons took a 31-22 lead at halftime, despite shooting just 33% in the first half. Gonzaga shot 38%, but committed eight turnovers and made just one 3-pointer, compared to five for the Dons.
Gonzaga, which trailed by eight at halftime in the first game between the teams, scored the first 12 points of the second half to take a 34-31 lead. The Dons were scoreless for the first 6 1/2 minutes of the second half.
Corey Kispert hit a pair of 3-pointers as the Zags extended their lead to 46-33, outscoring the turnover-prone Dons 24-2 to open the second.
San Francisco found its shooting touch and a basket by Minlend cut Gonzaga's lead to 56-49 late in the second.
But the Bulldogs outscored the Dons the rest of the way for the win.
STREAKS
Gonzaga has won 40 straight regular-season conference games and 37 straight home games, both the longest streaks in the nation.
BIG PICTURE
San Francisco: The Dons' earlier four-point loss to Gonzaga was the Bulldogs' narrowest victory in the league this year ... The Dons average nearly 76 points, despite shooting just 44% ... The Dons lost three of their previous four games, in part because they failed to connect much from 3-point range.
Gonzaga: The Zags came in leading the nation in scoring at 88.6 points per game, and in scoring margin at 21.3 points ... The Zags are the only team in the nation with seven players averaging in double figures; no other team has more than five ... Gonzaga's only loss this season was to Michigan on Nov. 29.
UP NEXT
San Francisco hosts Pepperdine on Saturday.
Gonzaga plays at No. 23 BYU on Saturday. The Zags beat the Cougars 92-69 in Spokane earlier.
---
For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP-Top25