No. 7 Gonzaga begins final WCC season with 96-56 win over Pepperdine

By Canadian Press on December 28, 2025.

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — Reserve Tyon Grant-Foster had 18 points and four blocks, and Braeden Smith and Davis Fogle scored 15 points apiece to lead No. 7 Gonzaga to a 96-56 win over Pepperdine in the West Coast Conference opener for both teams Sunday night.

Gonzaga (13-1), in its last West Coast Conference season before moving to the Pac-12 next season, displayed the same dominance that helped it win 26 WCC titles. The Bulldogs seemingly dunked and scored at will in winning their sixth straight game since their only loss of the season, against Michigan on Nov. 26.

The Bulldogs have a 50-game win streak over the Waves (5-9, 0-1), who were no match for 6-foot-10, 245-pound forward Braden Huff, forward Graham Ike and Co. Huff, who leads the WCC in scoring at 19.1 points per game, had 10 points, three rebounds and four assists.

Ike had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. Ike, who ranks third in WCC scoring (17.0) and second in rebounding (8.3), reached 1,000 career rebounds Sunday. He needed five entering the game and reached the milestone in the first half. He is the only active Division I player with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in his career.

Gonzaga pulled away midway through the first half with an 18-0 run. During that time, Pepperdine had a scoreless drought of 5:17, which ended with a pair of free throws by Styles Phipps.

NO. 15 TEXAS TECH 87, WINTHROP 57

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Christian Anderson scored 29 points, including Texas Tech’s final 16 in the first half, and the Red Raiders stretched their non-conference home winning streak to 46 games with a victory over Winthrop.

Jaylen Petty had 20 points for the Red Raiders (10-3) and preseason AP All-America forward JT Toppin had 14 points with 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double this season, and 26th in his 45 games for Tech over two seasons. Donovan Atwell added 14 points with four 3-pointers.

Kareem Rozier and Logan Duncomb each had 11 points for Winthrop (8-7).

Anderson had 25 points by halftime, when he alone had outscored Winthrop with Tech up 59-21. Anderson had all four of his 3s by then.

That was eight days after Anderson’s 23 points in the second half of their previous game, when the Red Raiders overcame a 17-point deficit to beat then-No. 3 Duke 82-81 at Madison Square Garden.

The Associated Press