GAME NOTES: The Gonzaga Bulldogs shoot for the regular season sweep of the Loyola Marymount Lions tonight, as the West Coast Conference rivals clash at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Bulldogs bounced back nicely from their first league loss, as they trounced Pepperdine, 101-59, on Saturday. The 101 points marked a season high for Gonzaga, which was coming off an 89-85 overtime setback to nationally-ranked Saint Mary's-CA. With the victory, the Bulldogs upped their marks to 18-6 overall and 7-1 in league play. The team also remained perfect at home in-conference with a 4-0 mark. As for LMU, its road woes continued on Saturday with a 74-63 setback at the University of Portland. It was the seventh consecutive loss on the road by the Lions, who now sit at 5-19 overall and 2-6 in conference play. LMU was hammered by Gonzaga, 91-68, in the first meeting this season and the Bulldogs now own a 49-20 advantage in the head-to-head series.

The Lions turned the ball over 14 times and that resulted in 23 points for Portland in a 74-63 defeat on Saturday. LMU lost the battle on the boards, 29-26, and it was also outscored in the paint, 38-22. Shawn Deadwiler guided the team in defeat with 15 points and five boards, while Orlando Johnson chipped in with 12 points. For the season, Johnson tops the roster in both scoring (12.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.1 rpg) and he is making good on 35.0 percent of his long-range attempts. Deadwiler is second in line with 10.3 ppg, but he is hitting on just 35.4 percent of his field goals. Overall, the Lions have struggled greatly at the defensive end of the court, allowing opposing teams to net 78.4 ppg and shoot an efficient 49.0 percent from the field.

The Bulldogs connected on 54.1 percent of their shots from the floor and they scored 24 points off 16 Pepperdine' turnovers in a lopsided win over the weekend. Gonzaga simply dominated the low post, outscoring Pepperdine in the paint, 56-18, and winning the battle on the boards by a decisive 60-26 margin. Micah Downs came off the bench and led the Bulldogs with 18 points in just 16 minutes of action. Austin Daye posted 17 points and nine boards, while Jeremy Pargo notched a double-double with 13 points and 12 assists. Matt Bouldin dished out seven assists and recorded four steals and that helped overlook his two points and dismal 1-of-9 shooting from the floor. Despite the low output, Bouldin still leads the club in scoring at 13.0 ppg for the season, and his 33 steals are also a team-best. Daye and Pargo are tied for second at 11.8 ppg, with Daye grabbing 4.7 rpg and Pargo handing out a team-high 6.4 apg. Josh Heytvelt fills out the double-digit scorers with 11.2 ppg and he is also pulling down a team-best 5.3 rpg. As a team, Gonzaga is producing a solid 77.5 ppg behind an efficient 48.2 percent shooting from the field this season.

Gonzaga is clearly the superior team here and with another balanced effort it should have no trouble posting another convincing victory tonight.