Portland plays without injured starters Darren Cooper and Kevin Field, but give the Zags a run

SPOKANE, Wash.- Adam Morrison scored 42 points to lead the No. 7 Gonzaga Bulldogs to an 81-64 victory over the Portland Pilots Saturday evening at the McCarthey Athletic Center. Senior guard Pooh Jeter led the Pilots (8-13, 2-5 West Coast Conference) with 22 points and sophomore forward Marcus Lewis added 16 points and six rebounds.

The Pilots were missing two starters as senior guard Darren Cooper, the team’s second leading scorer at 13.0 per game, missed his second consecutive game with turf toe on his right foot. Junior center Kevin Field also did not make the trip with a left knee strain.

Portland surrendered a 14-0 lead to open the game as Morrison made his first five field goal attempts during the run and finished with a school-record 30 first half points. The Pilots held the rest of the Bulldogs (17-3, 7-0 WCC) to 11 points and managed to cut the deficit to 41-33 at the break.

The Pilots opened the second half with a 12-4 run to tie the game at 45-45 on a Lewis lay-up with 16:48 remaining.

Gonzaga retook the lead on a short jumper by senior center J.P. Batista and pushed the margin to nine at 62-53 with 9:32 left. Morrison made it 68-57 with a turnaround jumper in the lane at 5:52, but Lewis and Jeter converted lay-ins to make it 68-61.

The Zags would rattle off six unanswered points, two baskets coming off of offensive rebounds and Portland would get no closer than 12 in the closing minutes.

The Bulldogs collected 12 offensive rebounds in the second half for 15 second chance points. GU, the No. 1 free throw shooting team in the country, also made 23 of 36 at the stripe compared to Portland’s 13 of 20.

Morrison and Jeter entered the contest as the WCC’s two leading scorers during league games and Morrison extended his national scoring lead with his fourth 40-point game of the season.

“I thought we competed and spent a lot of energy coming back from a 14-0 deficit,” Portland head coach Michael Holton said. “We gave ourselves a chance by tying it early in the second half, but you have to give Gonzaga credit for concentrating on their inside-outside game, which in addition to offensive rebounding, was the difference in the game.

“Our guys played with high energy and focus, taking their best shot early,” Holton added. “We kept our composure and scratched and clawed. Any time you challenge the No. 7 team in the country in a hostile road environment, it gives you something to build on.”

Portland will now return to the Chiles Center for five of its final seven regular season games. The Pilots will host the Saint Mary’s Gaels on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. and then the Santa Clara Broncos on Monday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.