Pilots struggle from floor  and Zags use big second half in rout

SPOKANE, Wash. --- The Gonzaga Bulldogs jumped out to a big first half lead then pulled away down the stretch to defeat the Portland Pilots 79-41 Monday night at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Pilots trailed by 17 at the half, but cut the margin to 10 with 16 minutes remaining before the Bulldogs erupted with a 19-2 run to put the game out of reach.

Senior Sherrard Watson was the lone Pilot to reach double figures, finishing with 11 points. Freshman Austin Daye led the Bulldogs (16-5, 5-0 West Coast Conference) with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

The Pilots (7-14, 1-4) used a 7-0 run to start the second period and make it just a 10-point margin at 39-29 on a short jump hook by Robin Smeulders with 16:00 remaining. Gonzaga quickly snuffed any more of a comeback by holding Portland without a field goal over the next nine minutes.

The Bulldogs extend their winning streak over Portland to nine games, while the Pilots fall to 2-8 in road games this season.

“We needed to limit transition baskets and take away second shots,” Portland head coach Eric Reveno said. “We didn’t do the things we needed to do. Our offense sputtered, to put it mildly, and the bottom fell out in the second half.”

Portland had a tumultuous travel schedule in making the short trip to Spokane. The Pilots did not arrive in Spokane until nearly noon on Monday, five hours before tipoff, after the Spokane International Airport shut down flights on Sunday evening due to extreme weather conditions.

Portland shot a season-low 26 percent from the field and committed 17 turnovers. The Pilots entered the contest as the WCC leader in rebounding margin, but were dominated on the boards by a 48-32 margin which led to a 19-8 advantage in second chance points.

Pendergraft and Heytvelt set the tone early with 14 and 13 points in the first half, respectively. The Zags drained 5 of 8 three-pointers in the first period, while Portland struggled to 29 percent shooting from the field.

“We need to feel the pain of getting blown out,” Reveno added. “As a competitor, it hurts. We need to use that pain to motivate us and get better.”

The Pilots will next travel to the Bay Area this weekend for a pair of WCC games against No. 24 Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara. The Pilots and Gaels meet on Saturday at 7 p.m. live on Comcast SportsNet. Portland and the Broncos will tip-off on Monday at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.