FORT MYERS, Fla. — Drew Timme had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Corey Kispert scored 25 points and top-ranked Gonzaga cruised past Auburn 90-67 on Friday in the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off.
Timme, who left the game with about eight minutes remaining, went 11 of 16 from the field. Kispert made four 3-pointers. Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga’s highest-rated recruit, added 12 points and six assists.
Allen Flanigan scored 20 points to lead Auburn (1-1), which is replacing five starters from last season.
A day after beating No. 6 Kansas 102-90, the Bulldogs (2-0) started strong in a game that tipped off at 11 a.m.
An 11-0 run gave Gonzaga an early 16-6 lead. The sequence featured a three-point play by Timme, a 3-pointer by Jay Ayayi, a steal and slam by Suggs and a 3-pointer by Kispert.
The Bulldogs led by as much as 17 points in the first half and had a 49-35 advantage at halftime.
In the second half, another 11-0 run made it 74-47 and the margin went as high as 30 points.
FEW VS. SEC
While this was the first meeting between Auburn and Gonzaga, the Bulldogs’ Mark Few is 3-1 when coaching against Bruce Pearl. Overall, Few is 12-8 vs. SEC teams. Amazingly, the Bulldogs only have played a Southeastern Conference school once in the NCAA Tournament. That was in 2017 when Gonzaga beat South Carolina 77-73 to reach the national title game, which it lost to North Carolina.
NEXT UP
Another Power Five opponent awaits Gonzaga, which faces No. 15 West Virginia in Indianapolis — site of this year’s Final Four — on Wednesday.
Auburn plays at Central Florida on Monday.
