Gonzaga stifles Portland for second straight win to start WCC play: 3 takeaways

The Bulldogs appeared more alert and physical on the defensive end of the floor during their 31-point win over the Pilots

Gonzaga seniors Graham Ike (13) and Ryan Nembhard (0). / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

The Gonzaga Bulldogs (11-4, 2-0 WCC) ran away with an 81-50 win over the Portland Pilots (5-11, 0-3 WCC) in a West Coast Conference matchup from the Spokane Arena on Thursday night.

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. 

Here are three takeaways from the game.

BOUNCE BACK ON THE DEFENSIVE END

Gonzaga seniors Graham Ike (left) and Ben Gregg (right). / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Gonzaga was much more alert, physical and competitive on the defensive end of the floor Thursday in comparison to the lackluster focus it had against Pepperdine in the league opener. 

The Pilots struggled to get into any sort of rhythm from the get-go. They went scoreless for a 6-minute stretch and went 7-for-28 from the field while committing 10 turnovers in the first half. 

The Bulldogs excelled at switching screens to make it difficult for Portland’s guards to find their post players on the low block. Portland’s leading scorer, 6-foot-10 freshman Austin Rapp (14.4) was held to a season-low six points, as was 6-foot-11 redshirt sophomore Bol Dengdit.

Portland was also just 4-for-25 from 3-point range. 

“We were alert, which we weren't especially in that second half against Pepperdine so, job well done,” Bulldogs head coach Mark Few said of his team after the game. “And then after kind of a little bit of a ratty kind of start [against Portland] we took good care of the ball."

TAKING WHAT THE DEFENSE GAVE

Gonzaga senior guard Ryan Nembhard. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

There wasn’t a whole lot of prep time for Few and company in between their WCC opener and Thursday’s game back in Spokane. Even so, the players and coaches had an idea of some of the wrenches Portland would try to throw on defense in an attempt to cause disruption. 

The Pilots have historically been content with letting the Bulldogs fire away from 3-point range, sometimes sending two defenders to guard the ball while leaving someone open on the perimeter. That trend continued early on Thursday, as six of Gonzaga’s first seven attempts from the floor came from behind the arc. Rather than settle for jumpers like they did in the first half against Pepperdine, though, the Zags found ways to attack the basket in transition.

"I think the whole team did a great job of balancing [different ways to score] tonight,” senior guard Nolan Hickman said after the game. “That's been one of the things we've been preaching in practice. They're gonna give us wide open 3s, but just take the right ones and other than taking the 3s, making sure we filter in some paint points to for sure."

Gonzaga scored 36 points in the paint and went 11-for-23 from downtown. It only committed seven turnovers against the unique defensive looks Portland tried on throughout the night, an encouraging number based on the turnovers that piled up against Pepperdine. 

ONTO LOYOLA MARYMOUNT

Gonzaga men's basketball team. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

The Zags face another short turnaround as they head back down to the Los Angeles area for a matchup with Loyola Marymount (9-6, 1-2 WCC) at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Stan Johnson’s Lions enter the game after a thorough 82-61 beatdown over Oregon State. Jevon Porter scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, Will Johnston added 19 points and LMU never trailed once it took the lead with 3:44 left in the first half.

Porter, a Pepperdine transfer paces his squad in scoring at 13.9 points per game, followed closely by 6-foot-7 forward Caleb Stone-Carrawell at 13.7 points per game. Johnston, the 6-foot-3 guard who torched the Zags for 33 points in last season’s game at Gersten Pavilion, is third with 12.4 points per contest.

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

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