Zags pound Pilots
PORTLAND – Given the opportunity to take a few possessions off, and armed with a reasonable excuse, as well, the Gonzaga Bulldogs refused on Monday night to submit to temptation.
Instead of suffering a letdown some might have expected in the wake of Saturday’s emotional non-conference win over Stanford, the Zags charged into West Coast Conference rival Portland’s sold-out Chiles Center and blistered the Pilots 97-83 behind the one-two scoring punch of Adam Morrison and J.P. Batista.
Morrison dumped in 33 points and Batista added 32 as GU (21-3 overall, 10-0 in the WCC) won its 12th straight and maintained its two-game lead over second-place Loyola Marymount in the league standings.
The Bulldogs shot 53.1 percent (34 for 64) from the field, and were as efficient on offense as they have been for some time, as evidenced by their season-high 21 assists.
“That’s the best we’ve shared the ball all year,” Zags coach Mark Few said. “We moved the ball and got ourselves a lot of easy shots. That was a big key.”
Even with Morrison and Batists combining for 65 points, teammate Sean Mallon managed to put together the third double-double of his career, scoring 12 points and matching Batista’s 10 rebounds.
Few admitted he was concerned about how his team might respond less than 48 hours after holding off Stanford, 80-76 in the nightcap of ESPN’s College GameDay tripleheader.
“I was worried that we might let down,” he said. “And I was worried that we might just be emotionally spent, because we had to turn right around and get on a plane and come down here. But I was really happy with our approach tonight. That was the sign of a mature team.”
The Bulldogs made 17 of their first 28 basket tries and put together runs of 11-2 and 9-0 in building a 44-32 halftime lead. And when Morrison scored 10 quick points to fuel another 12-4 run right after intermission, it was over.
Portland (8-16, 2-8) got a season-high 31 points from senior point guard Pooh Jeter and 23 more from shooting guard Darren Cooper. But the Pilots had no answer to GU’s low-blocks muscle, giving up 52 points in the paint.
“That’s a big number,” said Portland coach Michael Holton, who also expressed disappointment in the way his team defended GU’s transition game, particularly in the first half. “You can’t break down in those areas against the No. 5 team in the country without paying a price.”
Batista started slowly, missing four of his first five shots. But the 269-pound Brazilian converted 10 of his last 15 and made 10 of 11 free throws to match his season-high point total.
It was a matter, Few said, of simply attacking inside-out.
“That’s been the case all year,” he added. “And J.P. has been amazingly consistent. He’s our meat-and-potatoes guy who delivers and delivers and delivers.”
“That’s our game plan for all teams in every game – attack inside-out,” Batista explained. “We did a good job of that tonight. I thought we shared the ball really well, and that opened up a lot of space for me inside. I was getting deep position, and my teammates did a great job of bringing me the ball.”
Derek Raivio, GU’s All-WCC junior point guard from nearby Vancouver, Wash., took only one shot in the game, but finished with five assists and four of the Zags’ eight steals.
“He did a lot of good things out there,” Few said of Raivio, who has been buried in a deep scoring slump of late. “To me, that was some of the best defense he’s played all year. He was moving his feet, applying pressure and getting a lot of deflections.”
Redshirt freshman Josh Heytvelt, in only his second game back following an extended layoff with a broken ankle, played 11 minutes and contributed six points and four rebounds.