SPOKANE, Wash.- The University of Portland came closer than any other WCC school at beating the No. 6 ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs in The Kennel, but dropped their third straight contest on the road, 79-69 in front of a sell out crowd tonight. The Pilots (10-15, 4-8 WCC) had three players in double figures, led by Dustin Geddis’ 16 points and six rebounds. The Zags (22-2, 12-0 WCC) had three players in double-figures and shot an impressive 57 percent (29-of-51) from the floor.

“I knew after we got off to a slow start in the first half that it would be an uphill battle,” said Head Coach Michael Holton. “I thought our overall effort was solid, but we just didn’t get the job done early on and it took us a long time to settle into the game.”

Gonzaga came out of the gates shooting and scored 12 points in less than four minutes of play. Portland went 0-for-8 from the floor until senior Dustin Geddis hit a six-foot baseline jumper to put the Pilots on the board. A Karl Aaker trey with 10:31 left cut Gonzaga’s lead down to nine points and Adam Quick’s lob pass to Donald Wilson for a forceful cram quieted the rowdy Gonzaga crowd. The silence didn’t last long as Gonzaga closed out the half with a 10-2 run and a 44-29 lead.

Geddis kept the Pilots in the game in the first half, leading all players with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. For the half, Portland shot 42 percent from the field (13-31), 22 percent from three-point range (2-9) and just 1-of-1 from the free-throw line. In a very physical first half, the Zags had a lofty advantage at the free-throw line. Gonzaga racked up nine points from the stripe off 12 attempts and shot 59 percent (16-27) from the floor and 50 percent (3-6) from behind the arc. Sean Mallon led the Zags with 10 points, while Blake Stepp added nine points.

After the break, the Zags went on a quick 14-7 run, opening up a 22-point lead, their largest of the night. Portland retaliated with back-to-back treys by senior Casey Frandsen, cutting the lead down to 16 points with 13:55 left to play. Pooh Jeter’s trey with just over 10 minutes left dropped the lead to 11 points, but Gonzaga came back with an 8-2 run, for an 18-point lead. With just under two minutes to go, the Pilots battled back with three-pointers from Karl Aaker and Jeter, followed by another Jeter lay-up. That is as close as Portland would come as the Bulldogs went on to win, 79-69. Considering the fact that the Zags have beaten their last five opponents by at least 19 points or more, Portland can be proud of the team effort that was displayed tonight.

“I thought we settled down much better in the second half,” said Holton. “We executed and defended well down the stretch and our ultimate goal all season long has been to continue to improve and get better.”

Along with Geddis’ 16 points and six rebounds, teammates Jeter and Frandsen also tallied double figure scoring tonight. Jeter recorded 12 points, while Frandsen had 11 points. Patrick Galos and Karl Aaker came off the bench to provide the Pilots with some solid numbers offensively. Both Galos and Aaker contributed eight points on the night.

“Even though we lost, we came back in the second half and played well as a team,” said Dustin Geddis. “It seemed like we were playing in sync with each other and that was positive. This will help us prepare for our last two games at home next week.”

As a team, Portland shot 48 percent (29-60) from the field, 38 percent (8-21) from three-point range and made it to the free throw line just three times the whole night (in which they made all three shots). Gonzaga, on the other hand, went to the line 22 times and made 16 shots (73 percent). The Zags held the advantage on the boards tonight 32-23.

Ronny Turiaf led all players with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Mallon totaled 16 points and Stepp added 13 points. Stepp left the game early (just over six minutes left) with a cut over the right eye. He didn’t return to the game.

The Pilots will wrap up regular-season play at home next weekend. Portland will host Santa Clara on Thurs., Feb. 26 and San Diego on Sat., Feb. 28. Both games are set to tip-off at 7:00 p.m. Saturday night’s game will honor Portland’s three seniors, Dustin Geddis, Casey Frandsen and Adam Quick.