Batista Leads Gonzaga to Win Over Portland

While many in the crowd -- including the NBA scouts -- focused on Adam Morrison, Gonzaga’s J.P. Batista was unassumingly making his shots.

Batista matched a career high with 32 points and added 10 rebounds to help No. 5 Gonzaga win its 12th straight game, 97-83 over the Portland Pilots Monday night at Portland.

Morrison had 33 points, and Sean Mallon had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs, 21-3 overall and 10-0 in the West Coast Conference, in their 18th straight league victory.

Morrison, Batista and Mallon, the only Gonzaga players in double figures, combined for 77 of the team’s points.

“That’s J.P. all year. He doesn’t draw a lot of attention to himself, but he’s been amazingly consistent all year,” Gonzaga Coach Mark Few said. “At the end of the night, pick up the stats, and he’s got a double-double.”

The Bulldogs, who led by as many as 23 points, have a six-game winning streak against Portland, and they’ve defeated the Pilots in Portland 10 straight times.

Pooh Jeter had a season-high 31 points for the Pilots (8-16, 2-8), who have lost six straight overall. Darren Cooper added 23.

Gonzaga’s 12-game winning streak matches No. 7 George Washington for the nation’s longest current streak.

No. 13 Boston College 59, Stony Brook 47 -- Craig Smith scored 19 points at Boston to help Boston College reach 20 victories for the fifth time in six seasons.

Tyrese Rice added 10 points for the Eagles (20-5), 8-1 in their last nine games. Mitchell Beauford led the Seawolves (4-19) with 13 points.

No. 22 Kansas 64, Oklahoma State 49 -- Mario Chalmers scored 13 points and Kansas pulled away in the second half to win at Stillwater, Okla.

Kansas (18-6, 9-2 Big 12) has won eight straight.

JamesOn Curry had 15 points for the Cowboys (13-12, 3-8).

WOMEN

Monique Currie bounced back from her worst game for Duke to score a career-high 31 points in the top-ranked Blue Devils’ 90-80 victory over No. 4 Maryland at Durham, N.C.

On Friday night against Virginia, Currie scored two points on one-for-nine shooting and had five turnovers. She rebounded against Maryland to help Duke (23-1, 10-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) move into a tie with North Carolina atop the conference.

Marissa Coleman led Maryland (22-3, 9-2) with 20 points.