Defense drives Zags past Portland in WCC opener

SPOKANE - Gonzaga's offense built an 18-point halftime lead, but the Bulldogs needed to rely on their defense in the second half to hold off a late Portland comeback Saturday night.

Portland clawed its way back within three points with 7:13 left, but the Pilots scored just eight points in the final seven minutes and Gonzaga pulled out a 74-61 victory.

Steven Gray scored 18 points, leading a balanced scoring attack for Gonzaga (11-5) in the West Coast Conference opener for both teams.

Gonzaga held Portland's leading scorer, Jared Stohl, to five points on 2-of-8 shooting. Stohl came into the game having made 47 3-pointers but Gonzaga held him to 1-of-5 shooting from behind the arc.

"We played really good defense the whole game," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "I think (Jared) Stohl might have made one 3. We did a nice job on him."

Robert Sacre and Mathis Monninghoff scored nine points apiece for the Bulldogs. Gonzaga got a huge boost from its reserves, as they scored 32 points.

"Manny (Arop) came in and really helped us out," Few said. "Monninghoff came in and hit some big shots. That's kind of how it's been going all year. We've always have somebody coming in and making some sort of play. We've been playing a lot of guys."

Nemanja Mitrovic led Portland (12-4) with 16 points. Eric Waterford had 12 and Luke Sikma added 10 for the Pilots. Portland shot 52.2 percent from the field, made 7 of 12 3-pointers but was doomed by 20 turnovers.

"Turn it over like we did, it's not surprising to come in here and for that to happen," Portland coach Eric Reveno said. "The turnovers are what really, really hurt us."

The Bulldogs hit 41.8 percent of their shots, including 9 of 25 3-pointers and made seven more free-throws than the Pilots attempted.

Portland opened the second half with a 13-1 run, cutting the Bulldogs' lead to 48-42. Five Pilots scored during the stretch.

"They came out in the second half and really made it difficult for us to finish setting a tone," Sacre said.

Gonzaga missed its first seven shots of the second half, and 9 of its first 11. David Stockton's lay-in with 12:46 remaining broke the Bulldogs' scoreless streak.

Five straight points by Waterford and a lay-in by Sikma pulled Portland within 56-53. It was the closest the Pilots had been since four minutes into the game.

"They battled us, battled us, even when we had them down," Few said. "They were able to kind of frustrate us a little bit on offense in the second half. Our defense hung with it and hung with it, and it ended up winning the game for us."

Gonzaga hosts Pepperdine on Thursday.

PORTLAND (12-4)

Sikma 4-6 2-2 10, Knutson 3-3 0-0 6, Waterford 5-8 0-0 12, Stohl 2-8 0-0 5, Mitrovic 5-10 2-2 16, Riley 0-0 0-0 0, Douglas 1-3 0-0 2, Barker 0-0 0-0 0, Rodgers 0-2 0-0 0, Nicholas 1-1 2-2 4, Hannibal 3-5 0-2 6. Totals 24-46 6-8 61.

GONZAGA (11-5)

Harris 2-7 2-2 7, Sacre 1-2 7-8 9, Goodson 2-5 3-5 7, Keita 0-0 0-0 0, Gray 7-16 3-3 19, Carter 0-1 0-0 0, Arop 2-4 2-2 8, Stockton 2-6 0-0 4, Olynyk 3-7 0-2 7, Monninghoff 3-5 0-0 9, Hart 0-0 0-0 0, Dower 1-2 2-2 4. Totals 23-55 19-24 74.

Halftime_Gonzaga 47-29. 3-Point Goals_Portland 7-12 (Mitrovic 4-5, Waterford 2-2, Stohl 1-5), Gonzaga 9-25 (Monninghoff 3-5, Arop 2-3, Gray 2-6, Harris 1-2, Olynyk 1-3, Carter 0-1, Goodson 0-1, Stockton 0-4). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Portland 31 (Sikma 11), Gonzaga 28 (Olynyk 8). Assists_Portland 9 (Sikma, Stohl 4), Gonzaga 11 (Goodson 4). Total Fouls_Portland 18, Gonzaga 14. A_6,000.