Turiaf gets third straight double-double

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- With former Gonzaga star Dan Dickau in attendance, Bulldogs point guard Derek Raivio hoped to give the New Orleans Hornets player something to see.

He sure did.

Raivio scored 29 points and dished out seven assists as No. 13 Gonzaga beat San Diego 90-73 on Thursday to retain first place in the West Coast Conference.

Raivio had only one turnover in 39 minutes, and made 5-of-6 3-pointers and all 12 free throws.

"I just got into my game, I guess," the sophomore.

Both players hail from the Vancouver, Wash., area, and hook up for workouts when Dickau visits Spokane in the summer.

"We've got each other's phone numbers," Raivio said. "When he's in town he calls me up."

Said Dickau, who got a big cheer when he attended his first game at Gonzaga's new McCarthey Athletic Center: "He's improved tremendously since last year. He can definitely lead this team into the NCAA Tournament, hopefully far."

J.P. Batista added 19 points for Gonzaga (20-4, 10-2 WCC), which has won seven in a row and reached 20 wins for the eighth consecutive season. Gonzaga (No. 16 ESPN/USA Today; No. 13 AP) is 35-0 at home when ranked and has a 23-game winning streak at home, tied for third longest in the nation.

Ronny Turiaf had 15 points and 13 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double and the 23rd of his career. He also moved past Richie Frahm for sixth on the Gonzaga scoring list with 1,627 points.

"Ronny is really rounding into the MVP of this league," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.

San Diego (13-11, 5-6 WCC) got 26 points and 13 rebounds from Brandon Gay. Nick Lewis added 12 points for the Toreros.

San Diego coach Brad Holland said Raivio was the difference.

"Obviously they've got outstanding inside players in Turiaf and Batista, but he's the key to their team. There's no doubt about that," Holland said.

Gonzaga took an early 25-18 lead despite a slew of turnovers as San Diego made only seven of its first 28 shots. But a field goal and 3-pointer by Gay and a 3-pointer by Floyd North enabled the Toreros to close to 30-28 with three minutes left in the first.

Gonzaga responded with consecutive 3-pointers by Raivio and a basket by Adam Morrison, all in the final 48 seconds, for a 42-32 halftime lead.

"That's not the way you want to finish a half," Holland said.

Few said he wanted his team to attack in that final minute rather than just try to hold the lead.

"We did not want to grind out a possession at the end of the first half," Few said.

The Bulldogs made 55 percent of their shots in the half, while San Diego made just 34 percent.

A 6-0 run early in the second half helped Gonzaga build a 54-38 lead, and then play turned rough.

Technicals were called on San Diego's Corey Belser and Holland after a dispute over a foul midway through the half. Raivio made all four free throws for a 74-55 lead.

A technical foul was called on Gonzaga's Morrison for a hard foul shortly after, and Gay made all four of the free throws as part of an 8-0 San Diego run that cut Gonzaga's lead to 76-65.

Turiaf and Batista responded with dunks and the Toreros did not threaten again.

The Bulldogs can clinch their fifth straight WCC regular season title if they beat San Francisco on Saturday. The Dons beat them earlier in the season.

"It's a great opportunity on Saturday to win the league championship on our home floor," Few said.