SPOKANE - Washington State was hit with a barrage of 3-pointers early by No. 22 Gonzaga on Monday night. The Cougars then hit a bunch of 3's of their own to nearly pull even.

Freshman Kevin Pangos tied the school record with nine 3-pointers and finished with 33 points to lead Gonzaga to the 89-81 victory.

Brock Motum had 17 points for Washington State (0-1), which trailed by 16 points in the second half and got as close as three twice.

"I thought our guys showed a lot of character," Washington State coach Ken Bone said. "There's no doubt about it. We did not lay down and roll over against an outstanding team on their home court."

But his team had no answer for Pangos.

"We knew he was a very good shooter and he was a concern of ours when the game started," Bone said.

Robert Sacre added 15 points for Gonzaga (2-0), which did not make a field goal over the game's final 5 minutes.

Gonzaga took charge early, burying the Cougars under a barrage of 10 3-pointers in the first half to lead 41-32.

Washington State clawed back with the help of seven second-half 3-pointers. Consecutive 3-pointers by DaVonte Lacy cut Gonzaga's lead to 77-73 with 3 minutes left.

Sacre hit four straight free throws, and Mike Ladd hit two for WSU, to leave Gonzaga up 81-75.

Reggie Moore of WSU was fouled shooting a 3 and made all three free throws to cut Gonzaga's lead to 81-78 with 1:24 left.

Gonzaga's Gary Bell was fouled and made one of two free throws. Then Pangos hit two free throws for an 84-78 lead, but Moore hit a 3 to cut that to 84-81 with 26 seconds left.

Sacre made two free throws, Moore missed a 3 on the other end and the Cougars were forced to foul.

Six of Gonzaga's first seven field goals were 3-pointers - four by Pangos - as the Zags jumped to a 20-10 lead. Mathis Monninghoff's 3-pointer pushed that lead to 32-19 with 6 minutes left in the half.

Gonzaga led 41-32 at halftime, having connected on 10 of 20 3-pointers. Pangos had 18 points in the first half, all on 3-pointers. Washington State shot 48 percent in the first half, but made just two 3-pointers.

"I was just feeling it and got some open looks," said Pangos, a native of Newmarket, Ontario. He was 9 of 13 from 3-point range to tie the record set by Dickau, who hit nine 3s twice.

Faisal Aden cut Gonzaga's lead to 41-35 by hitting a 3-pointer to open the second half. But Gonzaga went on a 12-2 run for a 53-37 lead.

Gonzaga made 13 of 29 3-point attempts in the game, but shot just 41 percent overall.

Washington State made 9 of 20 3's, and shot 47.5 percent.

Washington State beat Gonzaga last season behind 24 points by NBA draftee Klay Thompson, and has a 98-48 lead in the series.

Gonzaga is 91-6 in the McCarthey Athletic Center since it opened.

WASHINGTON STATE (0-1)

Motum 7-12 2-5 17, Enquist 2-2 0-0 4, Capers 2-4 2-4 6, Moore 3-7 7-8 14, Aiden 5-12 0-0 12, Ladd 4-9 3-4 13, Lacy 4-7 0-0 11, DiIorio 1-3 0-0 2, Shelton 0-3 0-0 0, Simon 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 29-61 14-21 81.

GONZAGA (2-0)

Harris 6-13 2-5 14, Sacre 1-2 13-13 15, Carter 1-4 0-0 2, Pangos 9-16 6-6 33, Hart 0-2 2-2 2, Bell 3-8 6-9 14, Stockton 0-1 0-0 0, Spangler 0-1 1-2 1, Moeninghoff 2-6 0-0 6, Dower 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 23-56 30-37 89.

Halftime - Gonzaga 41-32. 3-point goals - Washington State 9-20 (Motum 1-2, Moore 1-2, Aiden 2-4, Ladd 2-5, Lacy 3-6, Simon 0-1), Gonzaga 13-29 (Harris 0-1, Carter 0-1, Pangos 9-13, Hart 0-2, Bell 2-5, Stockton 0-1, Moenhinghoff 2-6). Fouled out - DeIorio. Rebounds - Washington State 33 (Motum 8), Gonzaga 41 (Harris 11). Assists - Washington State 15 (Moore 5), Gonzaga 17 (Pangos 6). Total fouls - Washington State 27, Gonzaga 18. A - 6,000.