Portland Pilots Stun No. 6 Gonzaga With Historic Upset

The Chiles Center in Portland witnessed a night that will be etched in college basketball history, as the Portland Pilots stunned the No. 6-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs with an 87-80 victory on February 4, 2026. With the final buzzer, the Pilots not only secured their first win over a top-10 opponent, but also snapped a daunting 20-game losing streak against their West Coast Conference powerhouse rivals—a stretch that dated back to January 9, 2014.

Few, if any, pundits saw this coming. The odds were stacked sky-high against Portland, who entered the contest as a 21.5-point underdog, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Gonzaga, boasting a 22-1 record and a 15-game winning streak, had steamrolled opponents all season and hadn’t lost a conference game. Portland, meanwhile, was still licking its wounds from a brutal 104-74 loss at Washington State and a 74-51 drubbing at Pacific just a week prior. But as college basketball so often reminds us, anything can happen on any given night.

From the very start, the Pilots played like a team possessed. They leapt to a 15-5 lead on the back of back-to-back jumpers from freshman sensation Joel Foxwell, electrifying a home crowd hungry for an upset. Though Gonzaga clawed back to briefly take a 26-25 lead after a three-pointer by Mario Saint-Supery with just under seven minutes to play in the first half, Portland quickly regained control. A 14-7 run, capped by a Garrett Nuckolls layup, sent the Pilots into halftime up 39-33. The Bulldogs, who had dominated the glass all season, found themselves doubled up on rebounds in the first half, 18-9, and struggled to find their footing against Portland’s relentless energy.

"We just wanted to play our game and not back down," said Joel Foxwell, who led all scorers with 27 points and added eight assists, shooting an efficient 11-for-18 from the field. "Coach told us before the game that we had nothing to lose and everything to prove. We believed in each other, and the fans gave us that extra push."

In the second half, the Pilots’ offense caught fire. Portland shot a blistering 69.6% (16-of-23) from the field after the break, repeatedly breaking down Gonzaga’s usually stout defense with crisp ball movement and aggressive drives. Foxwell continued to carve up the Bulldogs, finding his outside shot and orchestrating the Pilots’ attack with poise beyond his years. James O’Donnell, coming off the bench, delivered 16 crucial points—including two layups during a six-point spurt that extended Portland’s lead to 59-48 with just over 12 minutes remaining.

Every time Gonzaga threatened to rally, Portland had an answer. Cameron Williams drilled a three-pointer to push the lead to 50-43, and Foxwell’s own triple made it 67-56. O’Donnell’s layup with 5:42 left made it 75-60, and for much of the second half, the Pilots maintained a double-digit cushion. Yet, with the Bulldogs’ pedigree, no lead ever felt truly safe.

Gonzaga, led by Graham Ike’s 24 points and 10 rebounds, refused to fold. Mario Saint-Supery knocked down a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 82-73 with a minute left. Ike then hit a pair of free throws and Braeden Smith added a jumper, trimming the margin to just four points in the final seconds. The tension in the building was palpable. Could Portland really finish the job?

With 23 seconds to go, Foxwell found O’Donnell on a long outlet pass for an emphatic fast-break dunk, sending the Chiles Center into a frenzy. Gonzaga’s Saint-Supery missed a desperation three on the next possession, and Garrett Nuckolls iced the game at the foul line. As the final horn sounded, Pilots fans stormed the court, celebrating a triumph that few will soon forget.

"That’s what college basketball is all about," said Portland head coach, his voice nearly drowned out by the jubilant crowd. "These guys have worked so hard and believed in themselves, even when nobody else did. To beat a team like Gonzaga, you have to play nearly perfect—and tonight, we did just that."

Statistically, Portland’s performance was remarkable. The Pilots finished the night shooting 59% from the floor and 44% from beyond the arc, far exceeding their season averages. They out-rebounded Gonzaga 32-27, a feat made even more impressive given their struggles on the glass all year (Portland ranked 255th nationally in rebounding per game coming into the contest). Defensively, they forced the Bulldogs into contested perimeter shots—Gonzaga went just 16-for-35 on two-point attempts and 10-for-30 from three, unable to generate their usual scoring rhythm inside.

For Gonzaga, the loss was a gut punch. It snapped their 14-game conference winning streak and marked just their second defeat of the season—the other coming against then-No. 7 Michigan back in December. The Bulldogs, who had not lost to Portland since 2014 and led the all-time series 43-3, will need to regroup quickly before a road test at Oregon State on Saturday. Head coach Mark Few acknowledged the setback, saying, "Portland played with more energy and executed their game plan. We didn’t match their intensity on the boards or on defense. That’s on us, and we’ll have to learn from it."

The Pilots, now 11-14 overall and 4-8 in West Coast Conference play, snapped a three-game losing streak with this victory. Their reward? Another home test against Seattle on Saturday, February 7. As for Gonzaga, they’ll look to bounce back and protect their standing atop the conference.

Adding extra intrigue, this was the final scheduled meeting between the two teams in Portland, as Gonzaga is set to join the revamped Pac-12 Conference next season. The Bulldogs will host the Pilots in Spokane on February 25 for what promises to be another emotional matchup.

On a night when the odds, history, and the experts all pointed one way, the Portland Pilots flipped the script. With grit, belief, and a little bit of magic, they reminded everyone why college basketball’s regular season is one of sport’s greatest theaters. For the Chiles Center faithful, this upset wasn’t just a win—it was a statement, a celebration, and a memory for the ages.