SPOKANE, Wash. – Portland slowed down the explosive offense of the No. 3 Gonzaga Bulldogs, but multiple scoring droughts led to a 64-46 loss Thursday night in West Coast Conference action at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
Gonzaga extended its home win streak to 37 games, the longest in the nation, and beat Portland for the 12th consecutive time in Spokane. The Bulldogs (21-1, 10-0) also won their 33rd straight WCC home game.
The Pilots (12-10, 3-7 WCC) struggled offensively for the second straight game. After shooting 30 percent from the field in Saturday's loss to Saint Mary's, Portland again finished at 30 percent and established a season low in points for a game this year.
Portland stifled the Gonzaga offense early and took a 21-20 lead on a Philipp Hartwich layup, but the Bulldogs would close the half with an 11-4 run to take a 31-25 advantage into the half.
Gonzaga found their offensive rhythm early in the second half and used a 24-6 run to put the game out of reach. Portland missed 15 consecutive field goal attempts at one point and finished the period with just seven made field goals.
Bryce Pressley and Bobby Sharp led the Pilots with nine points each, while Volodymyr Gerun added a career-high 15 rebounds.
Domantas Sabonis had 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Przemek Karnowski added 10 points and 11 rebounds to lead Gonzaga.
Gonzaga shot 41 percent from the field, while Portland was 18-for-61 overall for 30 percent. The Bulldogs doubled Portland in points in the paint (32-16) and garnered a 47-39 rebounding margin.
Portland will get a week off before continuing its road trip to the Bay Area. The Pilots will play at San Francisco on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. and then visit Santa Clara on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 5 p.m.
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