Reserves Lift Zags To Victory Bench Outscores Portland Subs 45-19 As Bulldogs Take Sole Possession Of First In Wcc

A poor practice on Tuesday left Gonzaga coach Dan Monson with an uneasy feeling he might have to call on more than just his usual list of suspects during Wednesday night’s West Coach Conference men’s basketball showdown against Portland.

His hunch was right, but his concern was unfounded.

GU, fueled by a brilliant performance from its bench, jumped on Portland early in front of a Martin Centre crowd of 3,719 and cruised past the Pilots 89-72 to take sole possession of first place in the WCC standings.

Monson’s reserves outscored Portland’s 45-19 as the Bulldogs (19-7 overall, 8-3 in the WCC) took care of the first stage of this week’s crucial two-fold mission and moved a half-game ahead of idle Santa Clara. Part II will be played out Saturday in Portland when the same teams meet at 7 p.m. in Chiles Center in the second game of another women’s-men’s doubleheader.

GU has had modest success at Portland in recent years, having won on three of its last six ventures into the Pilots’ 5,000-seat arena. But Monson isn’t counting on anything coming easily - especially with the way his team once again shied away from putting an opponent away in the late stages.

The Bulldogs, after stretching a comfortable 44-31 halftime lead to 64-36 in the first seven minutes of the second half, suffered an all-too-familiar letdown midway through the final period and let the Pilots (13-10, 6-5) gain some late confidence.

Now, Monson is hoping it won’t have any major effect on Saturday’s rematch.

“That’s kind of how we’ve been playing on the road a little bit,” he explained. “We’re playing about 25 really good minutes. But the difference between home and away is that if you give somebody that many opportunities for those other 15 minutes when they’re at home, they get comfortable and get back into it.

“Where being on the road like (the Pilots) were tonight, it’s tougher for them to do that.”

Still, Portland was able to close to within 17 thanks to the late shooting of Chivo Anderson, who finished with a game-high 21 points.

“We didn’t really finish them off again,” said GU point guard Matt Santangelo, who offset his six turnovers with 13 points and six assists. “It’s really hard when you let people hang around and get their heads up going back to their gym like we did tonight. Then (the rematch) turns into a real war.”

In three similar situations this season - against Idaho, Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara - when GU has beaten a team at home, they’ve lost the rematch on the road.

GU actually came out a bit lethargic, missed its first three shots and fell behind 5-2. The uninspired start, coupled with memories of having cut Tuesday’s practice off early because of a lack of effort, prompted Monson to yank his starters less than three minutes into the game.

The Bulldogs’ second five used its quickness to rip off eight unanswered points that produced a 10-5 lead, and Portland never led again.

Bakari Hendrix led GU with 18 points and nine rebounds. But the Bulldogs also got 13 points from backup forward Doug Griffin and 10 from reserve point guard Quentin Hall.

“It wasn’t anybody in particular,” Monson said of his decision to sit his starters, “but we were not playing at the concentration level we needed to at the start.”

Portland coach Rob Chavez agreed that the play of GU’s bench was the key to the outcome. That, and the fact that his Pilots made just 12 of 22 free throws.

Following Saturday’s game, the Bulldogs return home to host Pepperdine on Thursday before closing out the regular season Saturday night against Loyola Marymount.

Gonzaga 89, Portland 72

Portland (13-10, 6-5) - Anderson 6-13 4-6 21, Holton 1-6 2-2 4, Dejworek 1-5 0-0 2, Franklin 3-6 1-3 9, Collins 7-12 3-6 17, Rainwater 2-7 0-0 5, Sandrin 2-6 1-3 5, Jackson 0-1 0-0 0, Andrews 4-6 1-2 9. Totals 26-62 12-22 72.

Gonzaga (19-7, 8-3) - Santangelo 3-4 6-7 13, Frahm 2-8, 0-0 5, Dench 1-2 0-0 2, Leasure 2-5 1-2 6, Hendrix 6-15 6-8 18, Spink 0-1 0-0 0, Hall 4-6 0-1 10, Nilson 4-4 0-1 9, Crider 0-0 0-0 0, Calvary 2-5 0-1 5, Floyd 2-6 3-4 8, Griffin 5-7 3-5 13. Totals 31-63 19-29 89.

Halftime-Gonzaga 44, Portland 31. 3-Point goals-Portland 8-16 (Anderson 5-7, Dejworek 0-1, Franklin 2-4, Rainwater 1-3, Andrews 0-1), Gonzaga 8-22 (Santangelo 1-2, Frahm 1-5, Dench 0-1, Leasure 1-3, Hall 2-4, Nilson 1-1, Calvary 1-3, Floyd 1-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Portland 36 (Collins 11), Gonzaga 46 (Hendrix 9). Assists-Portland 12 (Holton 4), Gonzaga 18 (Santangelo 6). Total fouls-Portland 22, Gonzaga 18. A-3,719. , DataTimes