PORTLAND, Ore. — Killian Tillie had 22 points and Corey Kispert added 18, and top-ranked Gonzaga rallied in the second half to beat Portland 85-72 on Thursday night for the Bulldogs’ 12th straight victory over the Pilots.
Ryan Woolridge had 15 points for Gonzaga (15-1), which opened West Coast Conference play with its seventh straight win. The Bulldogs’ lone loss this season came in the Bahamas on Nov. 29 to Michigan.
It was the fifth straight loss for Portland (8-8, 0-1 WCC). JoJo Walker led the Pilots with 15 points.
The Bulldogs entered as the top scoring team in the nation, averaging 88.5 points per game, but the Pilots surprisingly took a 42-35 lead into halftime, stunning the sizable contingent of Zag fans at the Chiles Center.
A 16-0 run early in the second half gave the lead back to Gonzaga, which led by as many as 18 points.
Gonzaga jumped out to an 18-7 lead early on Kispert’s 3-pointer, but the Pilots closed the gap to 19-18 on Walker’s 3-pointer.
Theo Akwuba’s layup and consecutive baskets from Quincy Ferebee gave the Pilots a 24-21 lead with 8:43 left in the opening half.
Portland stretched the lead to 32-27 following Isaiah White’s 3-pointer, and the Pilots’ bench celebrated wildly when Walker’s fast-break layup fell to make it 34-29.
The Pilots made 6 of 8 3-point attempts in the first half, while Gonzaga was 2 for 10 from the perimeter.
But the Bulldogs closed the gap early in the second half on Woolridge’s layup and a 3-pointer to pull within 47-46. Tillie’s layup and dunk gave Gonzaga back the lead at 50-47. Timme’s free throws capped the 16-0 run, which made it 55-47.
Tillie’s 3-pointer extended Gonzaga’s lead to 67-55. Five Zags finished in double figures.
COLORADO 74, NO. 4 OREGON 65
BOULDER, Colo. — McKinley Wright IV scored 11 of his 21 points in the final 5 minutes, and Colorado beat another ranked team, taking down Oregon.
Tyler Bey added 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Buffaloes (12-2, 1-0 Pac-12) improved to 9-0 all-time against the Ducks (11-3, 0-1) in Boulder.
Colorado also moved to 2-1 against ranked teams this season. The Buffaloes are 19-32 under coach Tad Boyle versus teams in the AP Top 25 since he took over in 2010-11. He accounts for 30% of Colorado’s 63 wins over ranked opponents since 1949-50.
This was a matchup between the teams picked to finish first (Oregon) and second (Colorado) in the Pac-12 preseason media poll.
Payton Pritchard had 21 points to lead Oregon, while Chris Duarte added 10. The Buffs held Oregon to 3 of 18 shooting from 3-point range.
NO. 14 MICHIGAN STATE 76, ILLINOIS 56
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Cassius Winston had 21 points and Xavier Tillman scored 19 to lead Michigan State past Illinois.
The Spartans (11-3, 3-0 Big Ten) have won six straight and have won their first three conference games to stay alone in first place.
Michigan State was in control from the outset but had just a six-point edge at halftime. The Spartans pulled away early in the second half with a 15-3 run.
Ayo Dosunmu scored 13 of his 18 points in the first half for the Illini (9-4, 1-2) and Alan Griffin finished with 17.
NO. 20 DAYTON 84, LA SALLE 58
PHILADELPHIA — Obi Toppin scored 20 points and Dayton used a big first-half run to cruise past La Salle in its Atlantic 10 opener.
Toppin was one of five Dayton players to score in double figures as the Flyers clamped down defensively on the Explorers, holding them without a 3-pointer until midway through the second half.
The Flyers (12-2, 1-0) broke the game open midway through the first half with an 18-0 run over a five-minute stretch that moved their lead to 38-14.
Ed Croswell led La Salle (9-4, 0-1) with 14 points.