Recap and highlights: Gonzaga makes season-high 15 3-pointers in rout of Portland 96-64
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From staff reports
Talk about moving on quickly from a loss.
The Gonzaga men’s basketball team buried 3-pointers on its first three possessions, jumped to a big early lead and rolled to a 96-64 victory over Portland on Wednesday night at McCarthey Athletic Center.
Coming off Saturday’s 78-70 loss to Saint Mary’s in which the Zags managed just 4 of 11 from distance, Gonzaga (17-6, 8-2 West Coast Conference) sparkled early from long range against the Pilots (9-16, 3-7). Gonzaga connected on 7 of its first 10 3-point attempts and finished 15 of 33 from 3.
Nolan Hickman, Anton Watson and Ben Gregg each hit from deep as the Bulldogs went up 9-0 to start the game.
A conventional three-pointer by Graham Ike pushed the Gonzaga advantage to 19-1 wth 14:34 left.
Portland, which started 1 of 12 from the floor, finally saw a few shots fall and got within 22-9 on a Tyler Robertson 3-pointer with 12:42 left.
Gonzaga responded with an 8-2 burst, capped by a Hickman 3, to push the lead back to 19.
Watson scored 14 points of his 20 by halftime.
Braden Huff came off the bench to score a game-high 25 for Gonzaga.
The victory moved GU a half-game ahead of San Francisco in the WCC standings behind first-place Saint Mary’s. Gonzaga travels to Lexington on Saturday to face No. 17 Kentucky at Rupp Arena.
First half
19:32 – GU 3, UP 0: Zags win the tip and Hickman knocks down a 3-pointer to get it going.
Regular starters for the Zags, with Gregg in the lineup.
18:23 – GU 9, UP 0: Watson and Gregg add quick 3-pointers and Portland calls a timeout. Great 3 of 3 start for GU.
16:05 – GU 16, UP 1: Nothing slowing the Zags tonight, as they open 6 of 7 from the field and Portland calls another timeout. Watson leads with five points, but all five Zags have scored.
11:25 – GU 27, UP 11: Pilots knock down a few shots, but the Zags keep hitting theirs too. Hickman with two of the teams’ six 3-pointers.
6:23 – GU 35, UP 16: Stromer joins the party and knocks down the Zags’ eighth 3-pointer at the U8 media timeout. GU now 8 of 14 on 3s with six players scoring from outside.
Hickman leads with nine points, while Watson adds seven.
3:49 – GU 39, UP 20: Zags tip the ball out of bounds at the U4 media timeout, but are still rolling. Ike called for his second foul. He has five points and six rebounds.
Halftime
Gonzaga dominated the half from start to finish, opening on a 19-1 run and closing on a 9-0 run to take a 50-23 lead over Portland at halftime.
The Zags got out to a quick start with their best shooting night of the season and are 9 of 17 on 3-pointers. Anton Watson leads with 14 points, and Braeden Huff came on late to add 11.
Second half
16:05 – GU 57, UP 33: Hickman delivers fans a free taco with the teams’ 10th 3-pointer of the game and Watson gets a couple of baskets as GU maintains a large lead at a media timeout.
9:50 – GU 72, UP 48: Portland starts to heat up, but Huff takes over and scores the Zags last 10 points and Portland calls a timeout.
Portland leads 25-22 in the half, but had cut GU’s lead to under 20 points before Huff’s burst.
Huff has a team high 21 points, while Watson adds 20.
7:18 – GU 83, UP 50: Krajnovic cuts to the hoop for a layup to give GU a 15-2 run at the U8 media timeout. The freshman from Croatia has shown flashes in limited minutes since returning from a hand injury.
Zags reserves should get some run down the stretch here.
2:19 – GU 92, UP 60: Huff up to 25 points at the final media timeout. Zags going to win this one by a large margin ahead of Saturday’s game at Kentucky.
Pregame
Gonzaga took a major hit to its West Coast Conference title hopes during a 64-62 loss to Saint Mary’s on Saturday.
The season is still far from over.
The Zags are back in McCarthey Athletic Center tonight to host the Portland Pilots. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. on CBS Sports.
GU will hope to recover from its loss to SMC ahead of another big came coming Saturday, when the Bulldogs travel to play No. 17 Kentucky.
The Zags (16-6, 7-2) set their sights on a Portland team that has struggled for most of the season. The Pilots (9-15, 3-6 WCC) snapped a six-game losing streak last week with narrow wins over Pacific and Pepperdine, the only two teams below Portland in the conference standings.
Series history
Gonzaga has played Portland 30 more times than any other team and holds a 97-48 all-time record. The Zags have won the last 16 meetings and have not lost to the Pilots at home since Feb. 19, 2003.
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