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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga huddles with former Zag Zach Collins after Trail Blazers’ game

The Bulldogs meet up with Zach Collins (rear, center) after the Trail Blazers’ win in Portland on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018. (joshperk13 / Instagram)

Gonzaga’s quick road trip to the Rose City included time to catch up with former Zags forward Zach Collins.

The Zags’ charter flight to Portland was delayed by mechanical issues for a couple of hours Wednesday, but they were able to watch most of the second half of the Trail Blazers’ 123-114 win over Minnesota at the Moda Center.

Collins, a lottery pick in his rookie season with the Trail Blazers, had one of his better games with eight points and five rebounds in 19 minutes. He made 3 of 4 field-goal attempts, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Several Zags posted pictures with Collins on their social media accounts. Collins and Gonzaga assistant coach Brian Michaelson grabbed a quick breakfast Thursday morning before the Trail Blazers flew to Dallas for Friday’s contest against the Mavericks. Gonzaga thumped the Portland Pilots 95-79 on Thursday night.

Collins has seen steady playing time for roughly the last 45 days. The 7-footer had seven points, seven boards and two blocks in 20 minutes versus Denver on Monday. He’s played in 32 games and averages 4.2 points and 3.3 rebounds for Portland (26-22).

Collins averaged 10 points, 5.9 boards and 1.8 blocks coming off the bench as a freshman at Gonzaga. He became the first one-and-done player in program history.

Gonzaga attended ex-Zags forward Domantas Sabonis’ home opener as a rookie with Oklahoma City last season. The Zags watched the Thunder game during a road trip to Oklahoma City to scrimmage Baylor.