Pilots men’s basketball fell to the Gonzaga University Bulldogs 105-62 on Jan. 25, falling short before the largest home crowd of the season. Junior guard Max Mackinnon, coming hot off tying a school record 43 points in the team’s last match, led the Pilots against Gonzaga with 18 points.
After winning the jump ball and getting on the board early with a second-chance tip-in from guard Chris Austin, the Bulldogs responded quickly with a layup from forward Braden Huff and retained the lead until the end of the match.
In front of a near-full house of 4,117 viewers, the Chiles Center was roaring loud for much of the game, though very often following Gonzaga baskets.
Turnovers were a struggle for the Pilots early on, ending the game with 15, while the Bulldogs committed seven.
The Bulldogs also excelled in team play, out-assisting the Pilots 31-13. Bulldogs guard Ryan Nembhard alone matched the Pilots’ offense with 13 assists, 10 of those occurring in the first half.
The Pilots struggled defensively, allowing the Bulldogs to score over half of their points in the paint while also shooting 54.5% from three-point range in comparison to 29.2% from the Pilots.
Bulldogs forward and top-scorer Ben Gregg was particularly hard to stop, scoring 20 in the first half alone and ending the game with 24 points on 10-10 shooting from the field.
With Gonzaga leaving the West Coast Conference (WCC) at the end of the 2025-2026 season, the Pilots have one year remaining to best their conference rivals, a feat they haven’t accomplished since 2014.
The Pilots will look to improve in their next match Jan. 30 against LMU in Los Angeles, California.
Kaeden Souki is a sports reporter at The Beacon. He can be reached at souki28@up.edu.
