No. 7 Gonzaga on roll as it faces Cal State Bakersfield

A softening schedule and being home for the holidays have Gonzaga humming. The No. 7 Zags have raced to leads of 31-2 and 29-1 in their past two games, blowouts of Denver and North Alabama. They have one more game, Monday against a rested Cal State Bakersfield at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash., before beginning West Coast Conference play. In their three wins since back-to-back losses to Tennessee and North Carolina, the Bulldogs have held their opponents to 19.7 percent shooting from deep. The Volunteers and Tar Heels made a combined 25 3-pointers against Gonzaga (12-2). The Bulldogs set a program record for margin of victory with their 101-40 win over Denver. In their 96-51 win over North Alabama on Friday, that record appeared to be in jeopardy when the Zags led 47-6 in the first half. "We're focused on ourselves," senior point guard Josh Perkins told the (Spokane) Spokesman-Review. "A lot of times it doesn't matter who you play, you have to get better. We're taking these games to execute the scouting report and short prep like you have to do in the (NCAA) tournament. We're trying to get our defense where it needs to be." Perkins' backup, senior Geno Crandall, hopes he's cleared to play against Cal State Bakersfield. The graduate transfer has been out since fracturing a bone in his right hand on Nov. 26. "I'd say I'm probably 95 (percent)," Crandall said. "I don't think I have to be 100 percent to be cleared." Junior forward Killian Tillie, Gonzaga's leading returning scorer, is hoping to be back on the court when the Zags host Santa Clara in the WCC opener on Saturday. Tillie had surgery on his ankle in late October. Sophomore guard Jarkel Joiner (12.5 points a game) leads a balanced attack for the Roadrunners (8-4), but he has lost his feel from the free-throw line. As a freshman, Joiner shot 89.6 percent. Before making three of four in his team's most recent game, a Dec. 20 win over Portland State, he was under 60 percent this season. "If I could get past the free throws missed, I'd be OK. But I can't really get past that," CSUB coach Rod Barnes told the Bakersfield Californian after Joiner was 2-for-5 in a win over Cal Poly. "I'm just missing," Joiner said. "I think it's more mental than anything. I just got to get up there and knock them down, that's it." Joiner had a career-high 24 points in the 76-71 win over Portland State.