SPOKANE — Before their preseason NIT game here Tuesday night, the Gonzaga coaches talked about a curiosity over whether the latest edition of the Zags might begin to establish a new identity.
After two games, the results are a lot like they were with last year's stars, Adam Morrison and J.P. Batista.
The Zags put it to Rice early and often, leading by 14 at halftime and expanding the margin through the second half in breezing to their second straight easy win of the season, 88-50.
The victory pits Gonzaga against Baylor tonight at Spokane Arena in a game that will send the winner to New York next week, possibly to meet second-ranked North Carolina at Madison Square Garden. The Bears gritted out an 87-82 double-overtime victory over Colorado State in the opener.
As much as anything, the Zags outworked the Owls, beating them to loose balls, hitting the boards and defending with gusto.
The basket that gave the Zags a 65-39 lead was typical of the evening. Center Josh Heytvelt missed the second of two free throws, freshman Matt Bouldin hustled to the baseline to save the rebound and tip it to Heytvelt, and he tossed in a bank shot for his 21st point of the night.
The Zags hit Rice — picked by Conference USA coaches to finish fourth — with an early 19-4 run, breaking a 4-4 tie and dictating pace throughout the first half. They hit shots, defended well in both man and zone and pushed the pace.
Gonzaga hit a dead spot for a couple of minutes, but the Zags then strung together a withering eight points in 58 seconds to string their margin to 15.
Heytvelt, showing no ill effects of the ankle fracture that forced him to miss almost all of the 2005-06 season, scored 14 points and had eight rebounds in the first half as the Zags hit 47 percent, outrebounded the Owls 24-19 and committed only three turnovers.
Gonzaga also did a creditable job on the Owls' best player, 6-6 guard Morris Almond, limiting him to seven points in the first half. Almond, a first-team all-CUSA player a year ago who averaged 21.9 points, hit just 2 of 9 field-goal tries before intermission.
The Zags used a flock of different players on Almond, opening with Jeremy Pargo, then using Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes, Bouldin and David Pendergraft, plus some zone looks.
Rice shot just 35.5 percent in the first half, as the Zags bothered the Owls defensively, taking three charges, two by Heytvelt and one by Altidor-Cespedes.
Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com
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