Gonzaga gets hot from deep in win over Portland: 'Our guys did a good job of taking the right ones'

Bulldogs knock down season-high 15 3-pointers in blowout victory over the Pilots

SPOKANE - A big night from beyond the arc had the Gonzaga Bulldogs in cruise control en route to a 96-64 triumph over Portland on Wednesday.

Gonzaga (17-6, 8-2 WCC) knocked down a season-high 15 3-pointers against a laid-back defensive approach from Portland (9-16, 3-7 WCC).

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 19-1 lead in the first half after connecting on four triples early. Nolan Hickman, Anton Watson and Ben Gregg made it 9-0 not even two minutes into action before Shantay Legans burned his first timeout to regroup his team. It didn't help the Pilots' cause that they didn't make their first shot from the field until the 14:15 mark. 

Gonzaga rode its fast start to a 50-23 advantage at halftime. Portland cut its deficit to 18 on two separate occasions in the second half, as Juan Sebastian Gorosito scored six of his 13 points on back-to-back triples, followed by a deep ball from Bol Dengdit, to make it 57-39 at the 14:28 mark. 

John Stockton on why Gonzaga needs to embrace underdog mentality: 'Humility makes you hungrier'

The Bulldogs restrengthened their grip behind Braden Huff's hot hand, as the redshirt freshman scored 10 points in a row to make it 72-48 with under 10 minutes to play. Huff led all scorers with 25 points and shot 11-of-16 from the field.

Anton Watson added 20 points, five rebounds and four assists. Nolan Hickman was 4-of-6 on 3-pointers and finished with 12 points, while Ryan Nembhard had 10 points, six assists and no turnovers.

Here are three takeaways from the win.

ANOTHER HOT NIGHT AGAINST PORTLAND

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Wednesday was far from the first time Portland's plan to dare Gonzaga into shooting a lot of 3-pointers backfired.

In 2022, the Bulldogs set a McCarthey Athletic Center record with 18 triples against the Pilots in a 104-72 win led by 22 points from Andrew Nembhard. Last season, Malachi Smith had 27 points and Gonzaga was one shy of matching its record from a season prior, going 17-of-38 from distance in a 115-75 triumph.

This season's team doesn't quite have the same shooting consistency that those previous teams did, though the Bulldogs were certainly prepared for the Pilots' defense.

"We knew that going in so we spent a lot of time having hands and feet ready out there on the perimeter," said Mark Few of his team's readiness. "Our guys did a good job of taking the right ones. You can take a lot of [3-pointers] if you want, but it's got to be the right ones and there's always a context to it too."

There was a stretch in the first half where the trigger finger got too happy. The Bulldogs misfired on three consecutive looks from deep as Portland mixed in a zone defense in stretches to dare its opposition to settle on offense. The Pilots couldn't take advantage with a cold streak of their own before Huff and Watson scored inside four-straight times to make it a 23-point game late in the half. 

Gonzaga had a similar stretch coming out of halftime, though it settled down after Huff's back-to-back triples near the midway point in the second half. Huff found his comfort zone at the top of the arc, whether it be as a trailman in transition or his spot where he'd pop out from the paint to catch his defender off guard. The hot hand earned him 24 minutes off the bench, a season-high, after playing just five minutes and scoring two points in the loss to Saint Mary's.

"It's all just a learning experience," Huff said. "Last year was a great learning experience for me, learning from guys like [Anton] and Drew [Timme] on the bench. Now, getting those minutes and PT is huge and I'm just trying to make the most of it."

It remains to be seen if Huff will get the same opportunities on Saturday against a much more talented Kentucky team. Even if he doesn't, the Bulldogs better hope to bring their recent success from 3-point land on the trip to Lexington, Kentucky, to try and keep pace with the third-best scoring offense in the country. 

BULLDOGS GROUND PILOTS' OFFENSE

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Portland shot 35.9% from the field, well below its average mark of 44.9% entering Wednesday, as its leading scorer was once again held in check against a laser-focused effort from the Bulldogs defensively.

Tyler Robertson, who was second in the WCC at 16.5 points per game, had a limited impact with five points on 2-of-9 shooting from the floor, including 1-for-5 from beyond the arc. From Nembhard to Watson, a few of Bulldogs took a crack at bodying up the strong 6-foot-6, 235-pound senior in the post, where he's done a lot of damage throughout his career in Portland. Perhaps not so much against Gonzaga specifically, though — Robertson averages 10.0 points on 31.7% shooting from the field in his last four meetings with the Bulldogs.

"He's good, he's a high IQ player," Watson said of Robertson. "He's going to draw fouls, but he's not the fastest, most explosive player. But [guarding him] is definitely different."

"I'll say he's a fun guy to guard. I've matched up with him the last four years so it's been super competitive with him and I just take it as a challenge every time I see him."

Gorosito, who averaged 19.7 points over his last three games, was also held in check outside of a few tough shots in the second half. Dengdit didn't have many good looks as he went 4-of-14 from the field, while the bench had 11 points between three players.

The latest effort was the 10th-straight game in which Gonzaga held its opponent to shoot 50% or worse. That streak will be tested against the Wildcats, who shot 49.2% from the field this season, 15th-best nationally.

ON TO KENTUCKY

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

A big nonconference showdown with No. 17 Kentucky awaits Gonzaga, which is still seeking its first high-quality win of the season to boost its NCAA Tournament resume. An upset over a team some consider to be a Final Four contender would certainly help in that regard. 

The Wildcats are loaded as usual, though, as John Calipari's roster is enriched with NBA-caliber talent. Senior guard Antonio Reeves is fourth in the SEC with 19.7 points per game, while freshmen duo Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham average over four assists. Tre Mitchell rips down 7.6 rebounds per game.

Along with Dillingham and Sheppard, Justin Edwards and Aaron Bradshaw are also projected to be the next wave of one-and-done's to go through Kentucky.

"Obviously it's a whole other entity we're dealing with in Rupp [Arena]," Few said. "But they're desperate just like we are. They got some high-level talent and Cal's done a good job of bringing freshmen in and mixing in some experienced transfers." 

Dan Dickau on the Bulldogs heading to Kentucky as underdogs: 'Gonzaga knows its backs are against the wall'