Kispert's 27 leads No. 1 Gonzaga over Northwestern St.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Corey Kispert scored 27 points and No. 1 Gonzaga beat Northwestern State of Louisiana 95-57 on Monday night in the Bulldogs' home opener.
Anton Watson scored 15 points for Gonzaga (5-0), while Jalen Suggs added 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Carvell Teasett scored 16 points and Jairus Roberson 12 for Northwestern State (1-8), which is picked to finish near the bottom of the Southland Conference.
Kispert made 10 of 13 shots and added seven rebounds in the first meeting between the teams.
Gonzaga has won 32 consecutive regular-season home openers since losing to Boise State in 1988.
The Zags were coming off of a 99-88 win over then-No. 3 Iowa in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Saturday.
They outrebounded the Demons 46-22 and outscored them 50-22 in the paint.
Kispert hit three 3-pointers in the first eight minutes as Gonzaga jumped to a 19-5 lead.
The Demons countered with an 8-0 run to cut Gonzaga's lead to 19-13.
Gonzaga led 43-30 at halftime behind 15 points by Kispert. Northwestern State hung around despite shooting just 35% in the first. Teasett had 10 points for the Demons in the first.
Gonzaga built a 53-33 lead in the opening minutes of the second half behind six points by Kispert. The lead reached 30 points with eight minutes left in the game.
GOOD COMPANY
With the win over Iowa, the Bulldogs became just the third team all-time to beat three AP top-15 opponents in their first four games of a season, joining 1974-75 Indiana and 1968-69 UCLA. They have also beaten Kansas and West Virginia this season.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
This is the sixth time in their history that the Bulldogs have been ranked first, and they should remain there into the new year.
BIG PICTURE
Northwestern State: The Demons played six of their first eight games away from their home in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Their only victory came on Dec. 12 at home over Champion Christian, 77-44.
Gonzaga: The Zags own the nation’s longest active home win streak at 40 straight. They are fourth in the nation in shooting at 54.3% from the field, and fourth averaging 94.5 points per game. Five players are scoring in double figures.
UP NEXT
Northwestern State plays at Gonzaga in a rematch on Tuesday.
Gonzaga hosts Northwestern State in a rematch on Tuesday.
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