After ‘inconsistent’ effort, No. 6 Gonzaga focuses on Oregon State

Gonzaga will strive to bounce back from one of the most stunning outcomes of the season when it battles Oregon State in West Coast Conference play on Saturday at Corvallis, Ore.

The No. 6 Bulldogs had defeated Portland 20 consecutive times overall and had won 26 of the previous 27 road meetings before falling 87-80 on the Pilots' home floor on Wednesday. It marked the highest-ranked opponent Portland has ever defeated.

"They beat us in all facets," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said of the Pilots. "They just outplayed us, out-executed us, outshot us. When they got open shots, they made them and we didn't."

The Bulldogs (22-2, 10-1) had won 15 consecutive games before the upset loss. They now will look to rediscover their form against the Beavers (13-12, 6-6).

Gonzaga allowed Portland to shoot 59.3% from the field and trailed by as many as 15 points against a squad that had won just three of 11 WCC games entering the matchup. The points allowed were the Bulldogs' third-highest of the campaign.

"It's hard to find any consistency on the defensive end," Few said. "And yeah, it was really hard. We got some real inconsistent effort from some guys, and some guys probably didn't bring what they were supposed to bring.

"If everyone does their job and bring what they're supposed to bring, we've been pretty darn good this year. But when they deviate from that and not bring what they're supposed to bring, that really exposes us."

Star big man Graham Ike had 24 points and 10 rebounds, but the other four Gonzaga starters had just 19 points on 5-of-16 shooting from the field.

Ike leads the Zags with averages of 19.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.

Oregon State enters the contest with confidence after three consecutive comeback victories.

The Bulldogs trailed by 11 in the first half at Loyola Marymount on Jan. 28 before rallying for a 72-69 victory. Three nights later, Oregon State trailed by 10 with 1:45 left in regulation against San Diego before forcing overtime with an 11-1 burst. The Beavers then emerged victorious 78-76.

Then on Wednesday at home, the Beavers were down 17 to Washington State in the second half before a strong turnaround that produced a 74-64 win.

"They accepted the challenge that we put in front of them," Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said. "We executed our offense. We played with way more pace and conviction. Then defensively we said ‘no more switching. Fight through, guard your guy. No excuses. No explanations.'"

Josiah Lake II scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half against Washington State. It was the fourth 20-point effort of the season for Lake, who is the lone Oregon State player averaging in double digits, at 13.5 points per game.

Oregon State is part of a four-way tie for fourth place in the WCC, and Tinkle said a big opportunity looms for his squad.

"We mentioned to the team, we take care of business here at home, we'll climb the table," Tinkle said. "Let's take it one at a time, and they answered the bell and we've got some momentum going. We know we're going to be facing a tough one on Saturday afternoon, but I'm glad that we're learning lessons and still winning and building momentum."

Gonzaga and the Beavers split last season's two meetings. Oregon State posted a 97-89 overtime win in Corvallis, and the Zags rolled to a 98-60 home win.

Those meetings marked the first time the squads had played since the 1990-91 season -- before Gonzaga developed into a national power. The Beavers have won 26 of the 29 all-time meetings.