SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Nolan Hickman scored 17 points, Graham Ike had 15 points and eight rebounds and No. 6 Gonzaga beat No. 8 Baylor 101-63 at Spokane Arena on Friday night in the teams’ season opener.

Braden Huff added 14 points for the Bulldogs, who won their 19th straight season opener. Gonzaga defeated an opponent it lost to in the 2021 National Championship game in Indianapolis and the 2022 Peacock Classic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Norchad Omier had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bears. Robert Wright added 12 points and Josh Ojianwuna had 10.

The Bulldogs went on a 24-4 second half run to escape with a top-10 win while handing the Bears their only 30-point loss in 10 years.

Take away

Baylor: The Bears missed their first five shots and were 36.2 percent from the field in the first half. Head coach Scott Drew’s team couldn’t turn things around, finishing the game at 37.1 percent, including 14.3 percent on 3-pointers.

Gonzaga: The Bulldogs shot 57.1 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from 3 while surpassing 100 points against a nationally ranked opponent for the first time since its 100-90 win at Alabama on Dec. 17 2022.

Key state

Gonzaga outshot Baylor 45-32. The Bulldogs were especially aggressive on the offensive boards, where they grabbed 16 rebounds to set up 17 second-chance points.

Key moment

Khalif Battle made three straight 3-pointers to put Gonzaga up by more than 30 points with just over six minutes to play. The graduate student guard finished with 12 points, all from beyond the arc.

Next

Baylor faces No. 16 Arkansas in Dallas on Saturday and Gonzaga hosts Arizona State on Sunday.

___

Receive poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Register here. AP College Basketball: and