No. 7 Gonzaga started lethargic on defense but came on strong in the second half to pull away to a 92-62 victory over Pepperdine on Thursday night in Spokane, Wash.

The Bulldogs led by only seven points at halftime before their defense helped cause 13 second-half turnovers that led to 19 points in the West Coast Conference opener for both teams. They outscored Pepperdine 48-25 in the second half thanks also to 22 points in the paint after halftime.

"It was an energy and focus thing in the first half," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "It took us a long time to shake that off coming off the holiday break.

"Our defense in the second half meant all the difference in the world. One nice thing we did all game was rebound on both ends."

Center Przemek Karnowski and guard Nigel Williams-Goss each scored 16 points to lead a balanced scoring effort of five players for Gonzaga. Karnowski also tied for the team lead of seven rebounds and Williams-Goss had six.

The Bulldogs built on their best start in program history, now at 13-0. Pepperdine (4-9) has lost eight consecutive games this season and 32 straight to Gonzaga, including 19 consecutive on the road against the Bulldogs.

"I was proud of how our guys came out focused in the first half, but we kind of got off track in the second half," Pepperdine coach Marty Wilson said. "You have to play a complete game to have a chance against a team like Gonzaga."

Also contributing for the Bulldogs were guards Jordan Mathews (15 points) and Silas Melson (13) and forward Zach Collins (12). Forward Johnathan Williams also had seven rebounds and guard Josh Perkins had a game-high eight assists with only one turnover.

"We know we're going to get every team's best shot in the West Coast Conference," Perkins said. "The important thing for us is to not let what they're doing get in the way of what we want to do. They did a good job early of taking us out of our rhythm but we maintained our focus."

Pepperdine was led by guard Lamond Murray Jr., who had 19 points and seven rebounds. He also had a game-high six turnovers that exemplified the Waves' problems of keeping control of the ball.

Pepperdine committed 20 turnovers, which resulted in 31 points for Gonzaga.

Pepperdine shot better from the field in the first half, making 51.6 percent of its field-goal attempts compared to 47.2 percent for Gonzaga. The Bulldogs offset that by outrebounding the smaller Waves 22-14 and outscored them 10-3 on second-chance points.

The Waves also made only 36 percent of their field-goal attempts in the second half. Murray was kept in check with only four attempts, making two.

Gonzaga continued to dominate the offensive rebounds in the second half, outrebounding Pepperdine in the category 19-6 in the game. The Bulldogs had 18 second-chance points compared to three for Pepperdine.

"The key thing for us is that we limited them to only six offensive rebounds," Few said. "That's been a point of emphasis for us. We want to limit the second-chance opportunities of opponents and we did that in this game."

Gonzaga went on a 12-2 run, of which eight points resulted from turnovers, to build the lead to 66-47 with 9:05 left in regulation. Williams-Goss scored four points in that game-turning stretch following two turnovers by Pepperdine.

NOTES: Gonzaga coach Mark Few is 36-2 against the Waves. ... Pepperdine PG Amadi Udenyi will apply for a medical redshirt in order to return for the 2017-18 season. Udenyi suffered a season-ending tear to his right Achilles tendon on Nov. 27 after playing in six of the first seven games this season. He also missed the final seven games of the 2014-15 season when he tore his left Achilles tendon. Gonzaga has won 21 straight West Coast Conference openers, dating back to a 72-61 loss at Santa Clara in 1996. The Bulldogs have won all 18 WCC openers under Few. ... Pepperdine senior G Jeremy Major, who finished with 15 points, is on pace to become the program's career leader in assists. The record of 450 was set by Mark Wilson in 1983-84. Major currently ranks third with 428.