GAME NOTES: The second-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs continue their quest for another perfect run through the West Coast Conference, as they take on the San Francisco Dons at War Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday night.

The two teams met in Spokane back on Jan. 8, and the Dons were little match for the mighty Zags as they fell hard in an 88-57 final. As a result, Gonzaga's lead in the all-time series increased to 49-22, and it has won the last five meetings. USF's last win over GU came at home in a 66-65 final on Feb. 18, 2012.

Gonzaga picked up its 16th consecutive win on Thursday night, as it claimed a 77-63 triumph at Santa Clara. The Bulldogs are now 23-1 on the season, and they are 11-0 in conference. It was their seventh straight road win, with their lone blemish on an otherwise spotless record coming in a 66-63 overtime loss at Arizona back on Dec. 6.

San Francisco suffered a 69-57 loss to visiting Portland on Thursday night, its fourth in a row, dropping the team to 9-15 overall and 3-9 in WCC action. The Dons, who are an even 6-6 at home this season, have won only twice in their last 11 games.

Kyle Wiltjer poured in 22 points by going 7-of-10 from the field and 7-of-8 at the free-throw line to help Gonzaga overcome a narrow halftime deficit en route to a 14-point victory at Santa Clara two nights ago. Byron Wesley tacked on 17 points, and Gary Bell, Jr. had 16 for the Bulldogs, who shot a sizzling 69 percent from the field, hitting 5-of-6 3-point attempts along the way. They logged a 32-22 rebounding advantage while holding the Broncos to 42.4 percent field goal efficiency. GU dominated the interior by outscoring SCU in the paint, 42-22, but committed 14 turnovers which led to 21 points for the home team.

Wiltjer continues to pace the Zags in the scoring column, as his 15.8 ppg comes as a result of his impressive 54.0 percent shooting effort from the field and 80 percent showing at the charity stripe. He is joined in double figures by four others, as Kevin Pangos (11.9 ppg, 4.8 apg), Przemek Karnowski (10.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg), Wesley (10.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and Domantas Sabonis (10.0 ppg, 7.1 rpg) have all done their part in helping the Bulldogs reach the lofty heights they have to this point in the season. Gonzaga is the nation's best shooting team (.533), and it owns significant margins in scoring (+20.4), rebounding (+8.3) and assists (+7.3), all while holding its foes to 37.8 percent accuracy from the floor, which includes a 30.9 percent showing beyond the arc.

San Francisco held a three-point lead at intermission against visiting Portland on Thursday night, but a dismal second half led to a double-digit defeat for the Dons. Tim Derksen scored 17 points to lead USF, which also got 10 points from Mark Tollefson. The team managed to convert only 36.4 percent of its shots in the game, including a woeful 22.7 percent effort in the final frame. The Pilots meanwhile, were consistent throughout in finishing at 44.4 percent, which included a 9-of-18 performance out on the perimeter. The Dons were beaten on the boards, 39-28, and they were outscored at the foul line by a 20-9 margin.

Kruize Pinkins, who had an off night against the Pilots in netting only eight points on 2-of-9 shooting, is one of the top scorers in the WCC as he averages 15.2 ppg to go with 5.4 rpg. He is joined in double figures by Tollefson (14.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Derksen (11.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg), as the team generates 70.7 ppg behind typical shooting outputs of .461 overall and .354 from 3-point land. Free-throw shooting has been an issue for San Francisco, as it ranks last in the league at a mere 60.8 percent.

Despite what will likely be a spirited effort by the home team, there is little chance the Dons have at keeping this game competitive, let alone pulling off the unthinkable. Expect the Bulldogs to have this one well in hand fairly early.