Gonzaga beats Portland for 9th straight win
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Rui Hachimura had 17 points and nine rebounds and No. 5 Gonzaga extended its winning streak to nine games with an 89-66 victory over Portland on Saturday night.
Zach Norvell Jr. added 14 points. The Bulldogs (18-2, 5-0 WCC) have won 26 straight road conference games and have beaten Portland 11 times in a row.
Marcus Shaver Jr. had 18 points for the Pilots (7-13, 0-5). They have dropped six straight.
Geno Crandall's 3-pointer made it 69-49 with just over eight minutes left in the game.
The Bulldogs were coming off a 73-55 victory at home over Loyola Marymount on Thursday night. Gonzaga's two losses this season came in December when they dropped back-to-back games to No. 3 Tennessee and No. 13 North Carolina that knocked them out of the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25.
Shaver had back-to-back games with more than 20 points going into Saturday's game. He had 21 in the Pilots' 76-55 loss at home to San Diego on Thursday.
Gonzaga stretched the lead to 20-11 on Killian Tillie's layup. Tillie, a 6-foot-10 junior who averaged 12.9 points per game last season, was playing in his fifth game since his return from ankle surgery just before the start of the season. He finished with 10 points.
Portland closed to 22-15 on Shaver's layup, but the Bulldogs went on an 11-2 run capped by Hachimura's jumper to go up 33-17 with just under six minutes left in the first half.
Gonzaga led by as many as 18 points and ended the opening half ahead 41-26. Hachimura, who went into the game averaging 20.2 points a game, led all scorers with 11 points at the break.
Shaver's 3-pointer got the Pilots to 48-36 in the second half, but Brandon Clarke's dunk stretched the margin for the Bulldogs to 57-39.
The game was a sellout and there appeared to be more Gonzaga fans at the Chiles Center than Pilots fans. Among them was former Bulldog Zach Collins, who now plays for the NBA's Trail Blazers.
BIG PICTURE
Gonzaga: Gonzaga's winning streak on the road in conference games is the longest in the nation. ... Gonzaga and Marquette are the only programs with both their men's and women's teams ranked among the top 15. Gonzaga's women are ranked No. 13, the best in team history. ... The Zags, who have won 17 of the last 18 conference titles, went into the game outscoring WCC opponents by 26.3 points.
Portland: The Pilots do not have a senior on their roster. ... Former Portland State coach Tyler Geving joined the Pilots as an assistant under coach Terry Porter this season.
UP NEXT
Gonzaga: At Santa Clara on Thursday night.
Portland: At San Francisco on Thursday night.
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