Clarke powers No. 3 Gonzaga past Texas Southern
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) Brandon Clarke had 19 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots as No. 3 Gonzaga beat Texas Southern 104-67 on Saturday night.
Josh Perkins added 19 points and 11 assists for Gonzaga (2-0), which had little trouble handling the Tigers. Rui Hachimura added 17 points in 20 minutes after battling foul trouble for most of the first half.
Trayvon Reed had 14 points and 16 rebounds for Texas Southern (1-1).
The Tigers kept the game close early, but lost control toward the end of the first half.
Clarke's defense threw the Tiger offense out of rhythm and Gonzaga used a 16-3 in the second quarter to build a 46-24 halftime lead.
Texas Southern failed to get anything going in the second half against an amped up Gonzaga defense.
BIG PICTURE
Gonzaga: The Zags will face their first test of the young season when they host Texas A&M on Thursday. While not being ranked, the Aggies have made noise in the NCAA tournament two out of the last three seasons under coach Billy Kennedy. ... Gonzaga continues to play without star forward Killian Tillie, who is out for eight weeks with an ankle injury.
Texas Southern: After snapping Baylor's 56-game winning streak over the Southwestern Athletic Conference with a 72-69 win, the Tigers disappointed against the third-ranked team in the country. ... Texas Southern has two days of rest before taking on a tough Iowa State team on Monday.
UP NEXT
Texas Southern plays Iowa State on Monday.
Gonzaga plays host to Texas A&M on Thursday.
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