Field Level Media
Jan 26, 2018
Sophomore forward Killian Tillie matched his career high of 27 points to help No. 15 Gonzaga cruise to a 95-79 victory over Portland on Thursday in West Coast Conference play at the Chiles Center in Portland.
Tillie was 11-of-14 shooting while recording his fifth 20-point outing of the season for the Bulldogs (18-4, 8-1 WCC), who won for the eighth time in the past nine games. Freshman forward Corey Kispert recorded season bests of 23 points and 10 rebounds as Gonzaga won its 20th consecutive conference road game.
Senior point guard Silas Melson added 14 points and six assists for Gonzaga, which shot 54.7 percent from the field and held a 40-25 rebounding edge while beating the Pilots for the 10th straight time. Portland shot 44 percent from the field.
Freshman guard Marcus Shaver Jr. scored 16 points and senior guard D'Marques Tyson added 15 for the Pilots (8-14, 2-7). Freshman guard Malcolm Porter had 11 points.
The Bulldogs are 37-2 against Portland during coach Mark Few's 19 seasons at the school.
Gonzaga led by 16 at halftime and the lead reached 54-34 early in the second half on Tillie's three-point play.
Kispert's three-point play pushed the advantage to 69-47 with 11:52 remaining and Kispert and Melson later made back-to-back 3-pointers to boost the lead to 82-57 with 8:39 to play.
The advantage topped out at 28 points before the Pilots narrowed the gap in the final minutes.
Tillie scored 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting as Gonzaga led 46-30 at the break.
The Bulldogs were efficient from the outset and scored nine straight points for an early 12-3 advantage. The lead reached double digits when Tillie knocked down a jumper to make it 18-7 with 9:53 left in the half.
Five consecutive points by Porter pulled the Pilots within 21-14 with 8:08 remaining in the half before Gonzaga rattled off the next eight. Tillie capped the burst with a jumper to make it 29-14 with 6:49 left.
--Field Level Media