Victory Isn’t Routine for Gonzaga

Derek Raivio scored a career-high 32 points, made six three-pointer baskets and made all 10 of his free throws, and No. 11 Gonzaga opened defense of its West Coast Conference title with a heated 91-87 victory over host Santa Clara on Thursday night.

It was the first game for the Bulldogs (11-2) since their seven-game winning streak ended with a 63-61 loss to Missouri on Dec. 30.

The Bulldogs sent the Broncos (7-9) to their fifth consecutive loss. Gonzaga has won nine in a row in the series and the last four at the Leavey Center.

The momentum swung in Gonzaga’s favor when Doron Perkins was whistled for a technical foul with 17:26 left after pounding the ball down in frustration on a jump-ball call with Santa Clara leading, 53-52.

Raivio made both free throws followed by a three-pointer to send Gonzaga on a 15-4 run. Santa Clara, however, rallied to within three points late but could get no closer.

Perkins and Adam Morrison were called for a double technical after tangling on the floor under Gonzaga’s basket with 2:52 left. Santa Clara’s Travis Niesen got a technical a minute later.

Kyle Bailey had 26 points for Santa Clara.

No. 9 Georgia Tech 80, Miami 69 -- Will Bynum had 21 points to ease B.J. Elder’s absence and help the Yellow Jackets (10-2, 1-0) ruin the Hurricanes’ Atlantic Coast Conference debut at Atlanta.

The Hurricanes (9-3, 0-1) moved from the Big East to the ACC this season. Guillermo Diaz had 27 points for them.

Elder was sidelined by a bad hamstring. He is also unlikely to play Saturday against Virginia.

No. 15 Texas 74, Memphis 67 -- P.J. Tucker scored four points in the final 42 seconds, including a fastbreak dunk after a turnover, to help the Longhorns (11-2) defeat the Tigers (7-7) at Austin, Texas.

Tucker led Texas with 18 points. Darius Washington had 23 points for Memphis.

No. 23 Cincinnati 83, DePaul 54 -- Jason Maxiell had 19 points and the Bearcats (12-1) rattled the Blue Demons (8-4) with its intense man-to-man defense at Cincinnati in their 14th straight victory over them in the Conference USA opener for both teams.

DePaul’s Quemont Greer, averaging a conference-leading 24.1 points, finished with only 12.