Andrew Nembhard made four 3-pointers and scored 22 points to help second-ranked Gonzaga roll to a 104-72 victory over Portland in West Coast Conference play on Saturday night at Spokane, Wash.
Drew Timme added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Anton Watson also scored 16 points as Gonzaga (17-2, 6-0 WCC) recorded its 10th straight win. Julian Strawther had 14 points and eight rebounds, Chet Holmgren contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds and Rasir Bolton had 11 points for the Bulldogs.
Gonzaga made a season high 18 3-pointers (in 41 attempts) while increasing its homecourt winning streak to a national-best 64. The Bulldogs shot 47.9 percent overall while beating Portland for the 14th straight time and 48th in the past 50 meetings.
Gonzaga topped the 100-point mark for the fifth time this season. Holmgren was 4 of 6 from 3-point range.
Mike Meadows recorded 19 points for the Pilots (11-10, 2-4). Tyler Robertson added 17 points and three steals, and Chika Nduka had 10 points and nine rebounds.
The Pilots made just 35.7 percent of their shots and were a porous 3 of 23 from behind the arc. Portland was outrebounded 49-39.
Watson scored 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the first half as the Bulldogs led 48-28 at the break.
Gonzaga made five 3-point baskets over the first 4:04 to take a 17-9 lead.
Meadows hit two shots in a 21-second span to bring the Pilots within 21-15 with 12:15 remaining. But the Bulldogs responded with a 15-2 run to boost their lead to 19 points with 7:11 left in the half.
Watson capped his strong half with a 3-pointer with five seconds remaining to give Gonzaga the 20-point halftime advantage.
The Bulldogs built on the lead in the second half as Nolan Hickman’s layup increased the bulge to 64-36 with 14:05 left.
Portland whittled its deficit to 79-62 after Meadows made two free throws with 7:32 remaining.
But Watson and Nembhard made two free throws apiece to start a 12-0 burst. Holmgren and Strawther made 3-pointers and Timme scored in the interior to boost Gonzaga’s lead to 91-62 with 5:42 left.
Strawther drained another 3-pointer to push the lead to 30 for the first time, and Holmgren added another to make it 97-64 with 4:07 to play.
Strawther connected from behind the arc 27 seconds later to push the Zags’ total to 100 points.
–Field Level Media