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Gonzaga Bulldogs 81, Portland Pilots 50: Live score updates recap, highlights from WCC men's basketball game

The Bulldogs beat the Pilots after knocking down 11 3-pointers

Cole Forsman

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Khalif Battle (99).
Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Khalif Battle (99). / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford
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The Gonzaga Bulldogs (11-4, 2-0 WCC) took care of business in a Portland Pilots (5-11, 0-3 WCC) in the second annual Community Cancer Fund Classic from the Spokane Arena.

The Zags never trailed after the Pilots' first score of the night at the 17:31 mark in the first half, scoring 20 unanswered points before going into the locker room with an 18-point lead at halftime.

Nolan Hickman's 13 points led the way for the Bulldogs, who shot just 42.6% from the field but knocked down 11 3-pointers to beat Portland for a 19th time in a row. Vincent Delano paced the Pilots with 12 points, though overall it was a tough night offensivel for the visitors. Portland was just 33.3% from the field and 4-for-25 from deep.

Here is the live updates recap:

FINAL: Gonzaga 81, Portland 50

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2ND HALF

Gonzaga 77, Portland 43 (3:28): The Bulldogs extend their largest lead of the night while holding the Pilots without a field goal for the past 3 minutes and change. Gonzaga is 11-for-23 from behind the arc after going 2-for-15 from deep against Pepperdine.

Gonzaga 73, Portland 43 (4:19): Graham Ike makes it a 9-0 scoring run for the Zags off a pair of free throws. Gonzaga subs in Joe Few and Jun Seok Yeo as they look to put the finishing touches on their second WCC win.

Gonzaga 66, Portland 41 (7:17): Starting to see more smiles from Gonzaga's bench heading down the stretch of the second half following consecutive 3-pointers from Nolan Hickman. The senior is up to a team-high 13 points.

Gonzaga 56, Portland 35 (10:45): Bulldogs start to show more signs of life on offense after back-to-back scores inside from Dusty Stromer and Nolan Hickman prompted a timeout from Portland, which hasn't scored in over 3 minutes.

Gonzaga 52, Portland 33 (12:31): Ryan Nembhard sparks the Zags with a nice block on Vincent Delano near the rim, leading to a transition score for the senior guard. Nembhard is up to 10 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals. Portland has found greater success inside the arc so far this half as it tries to stay in the fight.

Gonzaga 46, Portland 29 (15:09): Ben Gregg gets his second field goal to go on a layup attempt off an assist from Graham Ike, who also knocked down a rare 3-pointer; his sixth of the season.

HALFTIME: Gonzaga 35, Portland 17: The Bulldogs trudged their way to the locker room with an 18-point lead over the Pilots despite failing to score a field goal over the final 3:32 of the first half. The Pilots' struggles span the entire first half, as they went 7-for-28 from the field and 1-for-14 from 3-point range while committing 10 turnovers. Gonzaga was led by Braden Huff's 10 points.

1ST HALF

Gonzaga 32, Portland 11 (3:04): Khalif Battle gets a tough layup to go in transition, extending Gonzaga's largest lead of the night to 23 points with just over 3 minutes until halftime. The sixth-year guard is up to a team-high eight points.

Gonzaga 20, Portland 5 (7:50): The Bulldogs can't seem to extend their lead amid a 2-minute scoring drought, though that's nothing compared to the Pilots' struggles early on. Portland has committed nearly five times as many turnovers (nine) as it has made field goals (two) at the under 8-minute media timeout.

Gonzaga 20, Portland 5 (9:21): Max MacKinnon snaps Portland's lengthy scoring drought with a layup inside. Bulldogs have looked out of sorts offensively over the last few possessions.

Gonzaga 15, Portland 3 (11:49): Ryan Nembhard extends the Zags' scoring run to 15-0 following a 3-pointer from the senior guard, his first and the team's third. Portland still can't create any offense on the inside, instead settling for contested 3-pointers.

Gonzaga 12, Portland 3 (13:17): The Bulldogs have stifled the Pilots early on, forcing four turnovers and allowing just a 1-for-9 start for the visitors.

Gonzaga 8, Portland 3 (15:19): Graham Ike scores the first points in the paint with a right-handed hook shot over two Pilots. Portland hasn't scored since Austin Rapp's 3-pointer at the 17:31 mark.

Gonzaga 6, Portland 3 (16:00): The Bulldogs came out of the gate launching from 3-point range, missing their first five before Nolan Hickman broke the lid off the rim at the 17:09 mark. Khalif Battle followed moments later with a 3-ball from the wing.

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Cole Forsman
COLE FORSMAN

Cole Forsman is a reporter for Gonzaga Bulldogs On SI. Cole holds a degree in Journalism and Sports Management from Gonzaga University.

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