Bulldogs rough up Pilots

Gonzaga, coming off OT loss to San Francisco, stops Portland in impressive fashion

SPOKANE - Portland and No. 17 Gonzaga opened with a desultory 12 minutes of play, with both teams missing shots, turning the ball over and deadlocked at 15 points.

Then the Zags went on 20-2 run, launching the blowout of a team that had been expected to challenge them for the West Coast Conference title.

The 76-49 win Thursday was a team effort, with 11 different Bulldogs scoring. Matt Bouldin, as usual, led the way with 20 points.

"We challenged them to play as hard as they have played in this building and they did it," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "That's a great win for us. That's a very, very good Portland team that is playing as well as anyone in our league."

Gonzaga (18-4, 7-1 West Coast) made the Pilots look lousy. They were held to 35 percent shooting, including 5-of-21 3-pointers. The Pilots (14-8, 5-3) were outrebounded 40-30 and pushed into 16 turnovers. Gonzaga had 17 offensive rebounds.

Demetri Goodson added 12 points for Gonzaga, which was coming off a rare WCC loss, in overtime at San Francisco last Saturday. It was only the Bulldogs' sixth league loss in the past six seasons.

Playing without leading-scorer Nik Raivio, out with an Achilles' injury, Portland had a four-game winning streak snapped. The Pilots have lost 14 straight to Gonzaga since 2003. Robin Smeudlers led them with 12 points and Ethan Niedermeyer had 11.

"The bottom falls out, as it's apt to do here," Portland coach Eric Reveno said.

Gonzaga plays at Memphis on Saturday.

PORTLAND (14-8) 

Niedermeyer 5-8 0-0 11, Smeulders 4-12 4-4 12, Knutson 3-5 1-2 7, Stohl 2-7 0-0 6, Campbell 1-10 0-0 3, Waterford 1-1 0-0 2, Ito 0-1 0-0 0, Mitrovic 2-6 0-0 6, Sikma 1-3 0-0 2, Hannibal 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 19-53 5-8 49.

GONZAGA (18-4) 

Harris 5-9 0-1 10, Sacre 1-5 3-4 5, Goodson 4-6 3-5 12, Bouldin 8-14 0-0 20, Gray 2-6 1-2 5, Arop 3-4 1-3 8, Pontarolo-Maag 0-0 0-0 0, Vilarino 0-0 0-0 0, Gibbs 1-3 1-1 3, Olynyk 1-4 0-2 2, Hart 1-1 0-0 3, Kong 1-2 0-0 2, Foster 2-4 2-4 6. Totals 29-58 11-22 76.

Halftime—Gonzaga 41-21. 3-Point Goals—Portland 6-22 (Mitrovic 2-5, Stohl 2-7, Niedermeyer 1-3, Campbell 1-7), Gonzaga 7-18 (Bouldin 4-8, Hart 1-1, Goodson 1-1, Arop 1-2, Olynyk 0-1, Kong 0-1, Harris 0-2, Gray 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Portland 30 (Sikma 7), Gonzaga 40 (Arop, Harris 7). Assists—Portland 9 (Campbell 3), Gonzaga 16 (Gray 5). Total Fouls—Portland 15, Gonzaga 13. A—6,000.