SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) At this point in its long run of success, it's hard to find a new accomplishment for Gonzaga Bulldogs to check off.
The top-ranked Bulldogs completed one of those unfinished tasks on Saturday night, closing out an unbeaten regular season with an 86-69 win over Loyola Marymount Lions.
Corey Kispert made six 3-pointers and finished with 24 points, and the top-ranked team remained the only unbeaten in the country after No. 2 Baylor lost earlier on Saturday.
The Bulldogs (24-0, 15-0 WCC) won their 51st straight home game to set a school record, and finished off the first perfect regular season in program history. Gonzaga has won 28 straight games dating to last season and is the first team to finish the regular season unbeaten since Kentucky in 2014-15.
''It's getting harder and harder to find something that's never been done in this program. There's very few things left,'' Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. ''For this group to be able to notch that is amazing, and when you factor in they didn't have `The Kennel' to rely on at all to me is just remarkable.''
Normally the final home game of the season for Gonzaga would have been a wild celebration of the Zags two seniors - Kispert and Aaron Cook. And while both were acknowledged before tip off, the game itself was just another obstacle in the Zags attempt for perfection.
''It did just feel like another game,'' Kispert said of likely his final home game. ''That's just kind of the theme of the whole year. We got to be professional about this kind of stuff. I know, whether we like it or not, there's nobody in the building so you know it hasn't hit me yet.''
Gonzaga had five players finish in double figures. Drew Timme scored 16 points, Joel Ayayi 13, Jalen Suggs 12 and Anton Watson 11.
Eli Scott had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead Loyola Marymount (12-8, 7-5), and Mattias Markusson added 19 points and 10 rebounds. LMU coach Stan Johnson felt the Lions had opportunities to keep the game closer, but turnover problems late in the first half changed the momentum.
''If you're going to play a team like that, to give them that many possessions back, your chances of winning are minimal,'' Johnson said. ''That really changed the game. Our turnovers led to easy baskets and got them in transition.''
Kispert rediscovered his shooting touch from deep that had been a bit off of late. Kispert was 6 of 20 on 3-pointers during a five-game span earlier this month. But he hit 3 of 8 in the Bulldogs win over Santa Clara on Thursday and was even better against LMU.
Kispert made 6 of 10 shots from deep against the Lions, and the Bulldogs shot 53% from behind the arc.
''Our guys really deserved to have Gonzaga fans in the stands with as hard as they've played, as well as they've played, as spectacularly as they played,'' Few said. ''This team deserved to have fans screaming and yelling and it would have really made for an even more incredible year and experience.''
For the second straight game, the Bulldogs were pushed early. Loyola Marymount led by as many as five points midway through the first half before Gonzaga closed the half on a 12-3 run to take a 40-30 lead at the break.
The Lions saw the lead evaporate after Keli Leaupepe picked up his third foul with 5:59 left and LMU leading 23-22. Gonzaga outscored LMU 63-47 over the final 26 minutes.
THE TAKEAWAY
Loyola Marymount: The Lions needed to be perfect to hang around with the Bulldogs, but were far too sloppy. LMU committed 19 turnovers, leading to 29 points for Gonzaga. LMU did well using its size to bully the Bulldogs on the interior, but were careless with the ball.
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs won their 21st straight game by double-digits as the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25. That sets a record for consecutive double-digit wins by a No. 1 team, topping the 20-game streak of UCLA during the 1971-72 season.
UP NEXT
Loyola Marymount: The Lions will play in the WCC tournament next week.
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs will be the No. 1 seed in the WCC tournament and have a bye to the semifinals.
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1st Half
LMU
Lions
30
GONZ
Bulldogs
40
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Keli Leaupepe vs. Drew Timme (Jalin Anderson gains possession)
19:31
Joe Quintana misses two point driving layup
19:29
Eli Scott offensive rebound
19:26
+2
Eli Scott makes two point putback layup
2-0
19:01
Joel Ayayi misses two point driving layup
18:59
Mattias Markusson defensive rebound
18:40
+2
Mattias Markusson makes two point jump shot (Jalin Anderson assists)
4-0
18:27
Joe Quintana personal foul (Aaron Cook draws the foul)
18:19
Eli Scott shooting foul (Drew Timme draws the foul)
18:19
Drew Timme misses regular free throw 1 of 2
18:19
+1
Drew Timme makes regular free throw 2 of 2
4-1
18:11
Lions 30 second timeout
17:57
Jalin Anderson turnover (lost ball) (Aaron Cook steals)
17:52
Aaron Cook misses two point driving layup
17:50
Keli Leaupepe defensive rebound
17:35
+2
Eli Scott makes two point layup
6-1
17:16
+2
Drew Timme makes two point layup (Aaron Cook assists)
6-3
16:48
Eli Scott turnover (lost ball) (Aaron Cook steals)
16:40
+2
Jalen Suggs makes two point alley-oop dunk (Joel Ayayi assists)
6-5
16:29
Aaron Cook personal foul (Jalin Anderson draws the foul)
16:27
TV timeout
15:58
Keli Leaupepe misses two point turnaround jump shot
15:56
Lions offensive rebound
15:48
+2
Mattias Markusson makes two point layup (Ivan Alipiev assists)
8-5
15:37
Drew Timme misses two point turnaround jump shot
15:35
Mattias Markusson defensive rebound
15:23
Eli Scott turnover (lost ball) (Corey Kispert steals)
15:19
Mattias Markusson personal foul (Jalen Suggs draws the foul)
15:05
+3
Corey Kispert makes three point jump shot (Joel Ayayi assists)
8-8
14:41
Drew Timme shooting foul (Mattias Markusson draws the foul)
14:41
+1
Mattias Markusson makes regular free throw 1 of 2
9-8
14:41
+1
Mattias Markusson makes regular free throw 2 of 2
10-8
14:23
+2
Andrew Nembhard makes two point pullup jump shot
10-10
13:51
+2
Joe Quintana makes two point driving layup
12-10
13:27
Andrew Nembhard misses two point jump shot
13:25
Ivan Alipiev defensive rebound
13:08
Ivan Alipiev turnover (out of bounds)
13:00
Jalen Suggs offensive foul (Keli Leaupepe draws the foul)
13:00
Jalen Suggs turnover
12:37
Joe Quintana misses three point step back jump shot
12:35
Ivan Alipiev offensive rebound
12:21
Jalin Anderson misses two point pullup jump shot
12:19
Andrew Nembhard defensive rebound
12:11
Andrew Nembhard turnover (bad pass)
12:03
Parker Dortch personal foul (Anton Watson draws the foul)
11:54
Jalin Anderson shooting foul (Anton Watson draws the foul)
11:54
TV timeout
11:54
Anton Watson misses regular free throw 1 of 2
11:54
Anton Watson misses regular free throw 2 of 2
11:54
Keli Leaupepe defensive rebound
11:35
+3
Ivan Alipiev makes three point jump shot (Keli Leaupepe assists)
15-10
11:16
+2
Drew Timme makes two point layup
15-12
11:16
Keli Leaupepe shooting foul (Drew Timme draws the foul)
11:16
+1
Drew Timme makes regular free throw 1 of 1
15-13
11:00
+2
Mattias Markusson makes two point layup
17-13
10:40
Mattias Markusson personal foul (Drew Timme draws the foul)
10:40
+1
Drew Timme makes regular free throw 1 of 2
17-14
10:40
+1
Drew Timme makes regular free throw 2 of 2
17-15
10:33
Joe Quintana turnover (lost ball) (Anton Watson steals)
10:22
Jalen Suggs misses two point floating jump shot
10:20
Ivan Alipiev defensive rebound
9:54
+2
Jalin Anderson makes two point pullup jump shot
19-15
9:48
Andrew Nembhard turnover (traveling)
9:49
Lions 30 second timeout
9:20
Andrew Nembhard shooting foul (Joe Quintana draws the foul)
9:20
Joe Quintana misses regular free throw 1 of 3
9:20
Joe Quintana misses regular free throw 2 of 3
9:20
+1
Joe Quintana makes regular free throw 3 of 3
20-15
9:10
+2
Anton Watson makes two point layup (Drew Timme assists)
20-17
8:58
Jalin Anderson turnover (out of bounds)
8:46
+2
Joel Ayayi makes two point reverse layup (Drew Timme assists)
20-19
8:22
Eli Scott misses three point jump shot
8:20
Corey Kispert defensive rebound
8:11
Jalen Suggs misses three point jump shot
8:09
Eli Scott defensive rebound
7:58
Lions turnover (10-second violation)
7:58
TV timeout
7:51
+2
Joel Ayayi makes two point driving layup
20-21
7:38
Kodye Pugh turnover (bad pass)
7:15
Keli Leaupepe blocks Drew Timme's two point layup
7:13
Eli Scott defensive rebound
6:51
+3
Keli Leaupepe makes three point jump shot (Eli Scott assists)
23-21
6:42
Keli Leaupepe personal foul (Jalen Suggs draws the foul)
6:41
+1
Jalen Suggs makes regular free throw 1 of 2
23-22
6:41
Jalen Suggs misses regular free throw 2 of 2
6:41
Eli Scott defensive rebound
6:29
Ivan Alipiev offensive foul (Jalen Suggs draws the foul)
6:29
Ivan Alipiev turnover (illegal screen)
6:18
Anton Watson turnover (bad pass) (Ivan Alipiev steals)
6:00
Eli Scott misses two point hook shot
5:58
Drew Timme defensive rebound
5:59
Keli Leaupepe personal foul (Drew Timme draws the foul)
5:59
Drew Timme misses regular free throw 1 of 2
5:59
Drew Timme misses regular free throw 2 of 2
5:59
Mattias Markusson defensive rebound
5:58
Joel Ayayi personal foul (Mattias Markusson draws the foul)
5:53
Ivan Alipiev turnover (bad pass)
5:46
Ivan Alipiev personal foul (Drew Timme draws the foul)
5:46
Drew Timme misses regular free throw 1 of 2
5:46
+1
Drew Timme makes regular free throw 2 of 2
23-23
5:15
Lions turnover (shot clock violation)
5:06
+2
Drew Timme makes two point driving layup
23-25
4:30
Eli Scott misses two point jump shot
4:28
Drew Timme defensive rebound
4:24
+3
Joel Ayayi makes three point jump shot (Drew Timme assists)