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Pilots Lead from Start-to-Finish in Upset of No. 18 Gonzaga

PORTLAND, Ore. --- It has been a good week for University of Portland basketball at the Chiles Center. A day after the Pilot women knocked off undefeated and No. 24-ranked San Diego, the Portland men ended a 20-game losing streak to Northwest rival Gonzaga with an 82-73 win before 4,714 fans Thursday night at the Chiles Center.

Portland (10-7, 2-3 WCC) led from start-to-finish, building as much as a 17-point lead late in regulation before holding off one final run by the Bulldogs in the closing minutes.

The victory not only snapped a 20-game losing streak for Portland against Gonzaga (14-3, 4-1), it also was the first Pilot win over the Bulldogs at the Chiles Center since the 1995-96 season.

Sophomore guard Bryce Pressley led five Pilots in double figures with 16 points and a career-high nine assists. He was 5-of-6 from the field, 4-of-4 from the free throw line, committed zero turnovers and added two blocked shots and two steals.

Freshman point guard Alec Wintering added 14 points and four assists despite battling cramps and having to go to the locker room for an IV infusion in the second half.

Kevin Bailey also battled through a sprained ankle to finish with 13 points. Bobby Sharp drilled four three-pointers off the bench for 12 points, while junior center Thomas van der Mars chipped in 11.

Senior forward Ryan Nicholas, a Spokane native, just missed a double-double with eight points and nine rebounds against his hometown team.

Pressley assisted on the first six Portland baskets and then scored the seventh to ignite the fast start. The Pilots led 11-3 early and made 5-of-9 three-pointers in the first period to take a 39-31 lead into the half.

Gonzaga opened the second half with consecutive baskets to cut the deficit to 39-35, but van der Mars had a pair of field goals sandwich a Wintering jumper to push the margin back to double digits. The margin never got under nine points until Gerard Coleman's layup made it 78-71 with 1:31 remaining, but the Pilots would make 5-of-6 free throws to close out the win.

Portland shot 52 percent from the field for the game and the 82 points scored against the Bulldogs were the second most this season (84 in loss to Dayton).

Senior forward Sam Dower scored a team-high 14 points off the bench for Gonzaga, while junior guard Kevin Pangos added 12.

Portland will look to take the momentum on the road next week in Southern California. The Pilots will take on LMU on Thursday at 7 p.m. and then Pepperdine on Saturday at 5 p.m.

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Bryce Pressley led all scorers with 16 points, and made clutch plays all game long for the Pilots.