Batista plays rock ‘n’ roll

Gonzaga’s Ronny Turiaf affectionately refers to teammate J.P. Batista as “the Brazilian Beast.”

But the word most often used to describe Batista following Saturday night’s hard-earned 91-79 West Coast Conference win over Portland was “rock.” And it referred to much more than the way the 6-foot-9, 269-pounder from Pernambuco, Brazil, rolled the Pilots with a career-high 25 points and 12 rebounds – also a career best – and wowed a McCarthey Athletic Center sellout crowd of a 6,000, along with a national ESPN2 television audience.

No, the postgame praise heaped on Batista was in direct reference to his strong, steady play in the low post.

“Man, that dude’s a rock,” Portland scoring leader Pooh Jeter said of Batista, who made 8 of 11 field goal attempts and finished a perfect 8 for 8 from the foul line in posting his second career double-double. “I didn’t know he was that big.”

Bulldogs coach Mark Few seconded Jeter’s assessment.

“He’s been like a rock for us,” he said of the Zags first-year junior transfer, who was a second-team NJCAA All-American at Barton County (Kansas) Community College last winter. “He’s just solid – in all areas, and that’s kind of the same approach he takes to everyday life.”

Batista has improved immensely since arriving on campus this fall and came up with his best effort as a Zag on a night when the 17th-ranked Bulldogs (15-4 overall, 5-2 in the WCC) needed it most.

Portland (13-9, 2-5), despite coming in as a decided underdog, absorbed every haymaker GU unloaded and was still hanging around when the clock ticked under 3 minutes. But the Zags, who made 22 of 24 second-half free throws, did a splendid job of using clock and setting up good shots down the stretch to make the final score deceivingly one-sided.

Batista scored eight of his points during a 9-minute second-half span in which the Bulldogs erased a 58-55 deficit and established an 80-73 lead. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Jeter, who finished with 22 points, kept Portland in it, however, until GU closed with nine unanswered points.

“I knew coming here that it wasn’t going to be like junior college,” said Batista, who did most of his damage inside, but also managed to step out to the top of the key and knock down his second 3-pointer of the season midway through the first half. “But right now, I feel great out there. I’m more comfortable, and my teammates are getting the ball to me more often.”

Fortunately for Gonzaga, Batista wasn’t the only Bulldogs player locked in on the basket. Turiaf, Adam Morrison, Derek Raivio and Sean Mallon also scored in double figures for the Zags, who shot 60 percent (15 of 25) in the first half and had a 47-41 lead at intermission.

In addition, GU outrebounded the Pilots 42-22, but could not put them away.

Few blamed his team’s perimeter defense, but also gave Portland credit for knocking down some tough long-range shots. Jeter finished 6 of 11 from beyond the 3-point line and backcourt running mate Donald Wilson added 17.

Wilson, who came in averaging just 8.8 points a game, scored 15 of his points in the first half and made 5 of 7 basket tries, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range.

“We need to do a better job of pressuring out on the 3-point line,” Few admitted, “but it’s uncanny how we seem to be catching all these guys when they’re hot.”

Wilson, a 6-4 junior and the Pilots’ best perimeter defender, had made only 4 of 9 3-point tries prior to Saturday’s game.

After scoring early and often in the first half, GU found itself struggling to locate the basket in the second. The Bulldogs built a modest 47-41 first-half advantage, but made only one of their first 12 shots following intermission and were quickly reeled in by the opportunistic Pilots.

“I think we were a little frustrated with our defense, because we had talked about it at halftime,” Few said of his team’s early second-half swoon. “But we also missed a couple of bunnies during that stretch, and that seemed to give Portland some renewed confidence. They really started flying around and feeling good about themselves again.”

The Pilots led 58-55 early in the second half, but couldn’t stop Batista inside – or keep the Zags off the foul line, for that matter. The Bulldogs finished the game making 34 of 39 foul shots to Portland’s 10 of 12.