SPOKANE, Wash. — Freshman Austin Daye scored 18 points and Micah Downs added 17 as No. 18 Gonzaga beat Northern Colorado 77-57 on Monday night.
Downs hit a career-high five 3-pointers in 10 attempts as the Bulldogs (9-2) overcame a slow start to coast to an easy victory.
Steven Gray, playing for the first time this season, added 12 points and Jeremy Pargo had 10 points and eight assists for the Bulldogs.
Jabril Banks scored 18 points for Northern Colorado (5-4), which missed its first 13 attempts from 3-point range and shot only 31 percent from the field overall.
Gonzaga led 37-24 at halftime and then outscored the Bears 11-4 at the start of the second half for a 48-28 lead with 14 minutes left. The Bears did not threaten again.
Former ThunderRidge High School athlete Matt Bouldin, Gonzaga’s leading scorer with a 13.3 average, did not play because of an ankle injury.
Northern Colorado, which moved up to Division I in 2003, already has surpassed its victory total of four from last season.
