SPOKANE, Wash. -- J.P. Batista wasn't around the last time Saint Joseph's visited the Gonzaga campus.
But the Bulldogs' senior transfer made sure the result was better this time, scoring a career-high 32 points and grabbing 15 rebounds as No. 8 Gonzaga beat Saint Joseph's 102-94 Saturday. It was the Bulldogs' 30th consecutive home victory, the longest streak in the country.
"Saint Joseph's came into our house with nothing to lose," Batista said. "I had my mind set to give a great effort to help my team get a win."
The last time the Hawks played at Gonzaga, they left with a 79-78 overtime victory three years ago. Batista was still in junior college then.
"I really needed a game like this to help the team and to help my self-confidence," said Batista, who said he has struggled in recent weeks. "Coach Few told me to be patient and shoot the ball on my turn and get deep position."
Batista proved to be a good listener as Gonzaga (10-3) scored 36 points in the paint, most by the 6-foot-9 Batista, had 20 points off turnovers and got 15 second-chance points.
Adam Morrison scored 25 points for the Bulldogs, but was held without a field goal in the second half.
"I just missed some shots and didn't get as many touches," Morrison said of the second half.
Mark Few said the Bulldogs weren't pressed to feed Morrison, the nation's leading scorer, when Batista was having such a great night.
"If they can throw the ball 2 feet to J.P. Batista, we're going to do that all night," Few said.
No. 7 Washington had the nation's longest home winning streak snapped at 32 games earlier Saturday by Arizona in double overtime.
Gonzaga has won 43 of it last 44 non-conference home games. Since the loss to Saint Joseph's on Dec. 31, 2002, the Bulldogs have won 17 straight nonconference home games.
The Bulldogs outrebounded the Hawks (5-4) by a 33-23 margin and held Saint Joseph's to just six second-chance points. Gonzaga shot 57 percent from the field, just better than the 54 percent by Saint Joseph's.
"We were as efficient as we have been all season," Few said, noting that Saint Joseph's shooters were hard to defend.
Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said the Hawks were unable to come up with key plays down the stretch.
"The areas we came in concerned about, we leave concerned about," he said. "Our transition defense was hurt with turnovers; rebounding, we got waxed on the glass; and not fouling: we gave up 43 free throws."
Abdulai Jalloh led Saint Joseph's with 27 points and six rebounds. Chet Stachitas added 24 points for the Hawks, and Dwayne Lee had 13 points and Ahmad Nivins 11.
Gonzaga got off to a slow start, trailing 5-2 early, but took a 47-33 lead just before halftime on 3-pointers by Derek Raivio and Morrison. Raivio finished with 19 points and was 3-of-4 on 3-point attempts.
A 3-pointer by Pat Calathes and field goals by Jalloh and Lee pulled the Hawks within 48-41 at halftime.
Jalloh's third consecutive 3-pointer to start the second half gave the Hawks a 63-61 lead with 14:20 remaining. But Gonzaga pulled back into the lead on a three-point play and a layup by Jeremy Pargo that helped the Zags build a five-point lead.
Saint Joseph's pulled ahead again, 79-78, on Calathes' 3-pointer with 6:05 remaining. Gonzaga went ahead for good on a layup by Batista, whose previous best was 25 points against Portland on Jan. 29, 2005.
