Zags roll from start to finish

SPOKANE — Kevin Pangos scored 14 points and No. 6 Gonzaga pounded Pepperdine, 82-56, on Thursday night for its 24th consecutive victory over the Waves.

Kelly Olynyk added 13 points for Gonzaga (22-2 overall, 9-0 West Coast Conference), which has won five in a row since losing at Butler.

Stacy Davis scored 16 points to lead Pepperdine (10-13, 2-8), which has lost four straight games. Nikolas Skouen added 12 points.

In their first meeting, Pepperdine led by a point with 14 minutes remaining before losing 78-62. But this one was over early. Gonzaga made 12 3-pointers and forced 21 turnovers.

Gonzaga scored the first 10 points of the game and Pepperdine was scoreless for the first 5 minutes. The Waves committed nine turnovers in the first 8 minutes to fall behind 14-2.

Skouen hit two 3-pointers as Pepperdine broke the ice and cut Gonzaga’s lead to 17-10. But Drew Barham and Kentwood grad Gary Bell Jr. replied with 3-pointers and Gonzaga was soon leading by 15 points.

Gonzaga led 35-20 at halftime despite shooting 37 percent from the field. Pepperdine shot 27 percent (6-for-22) in the first half, and committed 15 turnovers to five for Gonzaga.

Pepperdine picked up the tempo early in the second half, matching baskets with Gonzaga, but couldn’t make up any ground.