Ayayi gets Zags’ 1st ever triple-double in rout of Portland, Nembhard adds 10

PORTLAND, Ore. — Joel Ayayi posted the first triple-double in Gonzaga history and the top-ranked Bulldogs routed Portland 116-88 Saturday for their 16th straight win.

Ayayi had 12 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds, and Drew Timme had 26 points for the Bulldogs (12-0, 3-0 West Coast Conference), who were riding the nation’s longest active winning streak.

Ahmed Ali had 19 points for the Pilots (6-5, 0-2), who have lost 13 straight against Gonzaga.

Andrew Nembhard of Aurora, Ont., added 10 points and five assists in the victory for Gonzaga.

It was Gonzaga’s first “true” road trip of the season — the team played a number of early season neutral site games.

The Zags were coming off an 89-62 victory over BYU in Spokane on Thursday. Corey Kispert had 23 points in the game, which was hastily scheduled after both teams lost opponents because of COVID-19 protocols.

Kispert, who leads the WCC in scoring, finished with 14 points against Portland.

Ayayi, a junior guard from France, was the reigning WCC Player of the Week after collecting three double-doubles last week. He had a conference-best four double-doubles heading into the game against the Pilots.

Leading the nation in scoring offence, Gonzaga has 85 or more points in every game this season.

Portland hung with the Zags at the start, but starting forward Eddie Davis collected two early fouls and went to the bench. The 6-foot-6 junior was averaging 11.2 points and 5.2 rebounds heading into the game.

Gonzaga started pulling away midway through the first half when Ayayi’s jumper made it 23-16. The Zags stretched the lead to 39-25 on Anton Watson’s layup and led 56-35 at the half.

The Zags were 0 for 6 from 3-point range in the opening half. Kispert hit the team’s first 3 at 3:37 into the second. Instead, Gonzaga had 80 points in the paint, compared to Portland’s 26.

Seven Gonzaga players were in double figures and the Bulldogs led by as many as 36 points.

The Pilots were coming off an 88-64 loss at San Francisco on Thursday.

BIG PICTURE

Gonzaga: The Bulldogs were one of nine unbeaten teams in the nation. … Mark Few is 40-2 against Portland as coach of the Zags. … Guard Aaron Cook was on the floor after missing two games with a leg injury.

Portland: The Pilots’ last win in the series came in January 2014 at the Chiles Center. … It is the second time Portland has hosted a top-ranked team: The last was last January when Gonzaga won 85-72 at the Chiles Center. … The Pilots fell to 0-9 against teams ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25.

UP NEXT

Gonzaga hosts Pepperdine on Thursday.

Portland hosts San Francisco on Thursday.

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For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Anne M. Peterson, The Associated Press