PULLMAN, Wash. — Gonzaga center Josh Heytvelt had scored five points in the first half, was in foul trouble and was being taunted with chants of “mushrooms!” by Washington State fans who were alluding to a past drug offense.

Then he erupted for 17 points in the second half to key a Gonzaga blitz that blew open a close game and the fourth-ranked Zags went on to beat Washington State 74-52 on Wednesday night to remain undefeated.

“I was feeling it,” said Heytvelt, who grew up in nearby Clarkston and had a large group of family and friends at the game. “It was really fun.”

For more than 20 minutes, Washington State (6-3) imposed its slowdown style of play and trailed 32-31 in the opening seconds of the second half.

Then Gonzaga (7-0) launched a 27-2 run over a 10-minute span and Heytvelt, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding, had 11 points in the spurt.

He credited point guard Jeremy Pargo for the run.

“Pargo had a couple of steals, some nice assists. It broke the back of the Cougars,” Heytvelt said.

Pargo finished with 11 points, 10 assists and just one turnover.

“We had to force our will upon them,” Pargo said after Gonzaga broke a two-game losing streak to its regional rival. “We had to force them to play our ball.”

When that happened, it was no contest.

Gonzaga’s pressure defense and fast break forced the Cougars into six turnovers and 2-of-11 shooting, while the Zags were connecting on 10-of-16 during their run.

“If we don’t take care of the ball, against a team like Gonzaga we have little or no chance,” Washington State coach Tony Bennett said.

Austin Daye added 14 points for Gonzaga, which shot 47 percent.

The Zags outscored Washington State 42-23 in the second half, making 17 field goals while holding the Cougars to 9-of-27 shooting in the half.

“We are like pound dogs, we like to run,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said

Heytvelt won the anticipated showdown with Washington State center Aron Baynes, who got only three shots, although he made them all and finished with 10 points. Heytvelt credited Gonzaga’s perimeter defense.

“They weren’t letting the wings throw the ball into him,” Heytvelt said.

All three of Washington State’s losses have been to ranked teams, including Pittsburgh and Baylor. The Cougars fell to 1-73 all-time against top 5 teams, beating Oregon State in 1980.

Freshman DeAngelo Casto added 10 points for Washington State, but point guard Taylor Rochestie continued his slump, scoring six points on 2-of-11 shooting, with no assists. But he was most disappointed in the defense.

“We played selfish basketball,” Rochestie said. “Our defense was disrespectful to our coaching staff.”

Washington State beat Gonzaga 51-47 in Spokane last December. Two years ago the Cougars won 77-67 in Pullman in a game that saw Washington State fans storm the court and launched the Cougars into the national spotlight.

Washington State, which lost to No. 22 Baylor last Saturday, has lost consecutive nonconference games at home for the first time since 1985-86, when it lost to Wisconsin and Nebraska.

California 72, Utah 69

SALT LAKE CITY — Jerome Randle scored 21 points and hit a 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left to lead Cal to a 72-69 win over Utah on Wednesday night.

Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson added 17 points apiece for the Golden Bears (7-2), but Christopher nearly cost Cal the victory.

His intentional foul on Utah’s Carlon Brown with just under a minute left in the game allowed the Utes to score three straight points and tie the game 69-69 with 40 seconds left.

Cal ran down most of the clock before Randle hit the game-winning shot.

Luke Nevill led Utah (5-3) with 18 points, while Tyler Kepkay added 17 and Brown had 15.