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With the team’s injured head coach navigating the sideline with the help of a knee caddy, Portland pulled off one of the biggest upsets in school history Wednesday night, an 87-80 stunner over No. 6 Gonzaga.
The victory ended the Pilots’ (11-14, 4-8 West Coast Conference) 30-game losing streak against Associated Press top-10 teams, while the Bulldogs (22-2, 10-1) lost to a team with a losing record for the first time since Jan. 22, 2011, ending a streak of 141 straight wins, according to ESPN Research.
The win came only days after Portland coach Shantay Legans was injured while playing on the scout team to help his squad prepare for a two-game trip after injuries and illnesses left the Pilots short-handed.
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“A lot of mentors say don’t get out there and play anymore once you’re 40,” Legans, 44, told the Field of 68 Podcast Network before Wednesday’s game.
“We were just going over some basic zone defense, offense, and I’m on offense and my Achilles popped — the worst thing that could possibly happen at the time,” he said. “Former teammates joked that they stopped playing. ‘That’s not who you are anymore.’ That’s where we are [as a team]: beat up.”
Legans said Portland had been on the cusp of victory in multiple games this season and finally put together a complete game against the toughest opponent on its schedule. The Pilots had previously lost three WCC games that were decided by five points or fewer.
But against Gonzaga, the Pilots made 66% of their shots inside the arc and 44% of their 3-point attempts, an excellent offensive output against a top-15 defense. Portland freshman Joel Foxwell finished with a game-high 27 points, outdueling Gonzaga star Graham Ike, who led his team with 24 points.
Gonzaga’s last lead came at the 6:55 mark of the first half, when Mark Few’s squad led by two. It didn’t last. Late in the second half, Portland led by 15 points.
Few said afterward that nearly everything went wrong for his team in Wednesday’s loss.
“Just outplayed us, outexecuted us, outshot us,” Few said. “When they got open shots, they made them. And we didn’t. Literally every phase of the game.”
The game was Gonzaga’s last trip to Portland before the Bulldogs exit the WCC to join the Pac-12 next season.
After the win, Legans said this was not the first time he’d suffered an Achilles injury in a basketball game he probably should have avoided.
“Going through the motions, I tore my Achilles [last week], but that’s life. I shouldn’t be out there,” Legans said of his latest injury after Wednesday’s game. “I tore my other one seven years ago playing one-on-one with one of our players. This one was worse, though. But it’s OK. It worked out. We won the game. I’ll take an Achilles [tear] for a couple of wins.”
