Frank Ben-Eze. More photos below by Tim Cowie.

SEATTLE - Nationally ranked Gonzaga outlasted Davidson, 103-91, in a high-scoring game Saturday afternoon in the “Battle in Seattle” at KeyArena.

Six Wildcats scored in double figures. Forward Jake Cohen had 16 points, guards Brendan McKillop and JP Kuhlman each had 15, Will Archambault had 11, and Ben Allison and Nik Cochran added 10 apiece.

Elias Harris led 8-2 Gonzaga with 27 points. He was one of three Bulldogs who scored 20 or more.

Davidson fell to 2-7 on the season. Gonzaga improved to 8-2.

“Right now this is a tough patch for us,” guard Brendan McKillop said after the game. “But we know we’re right there.

“We’ve shown flashes of brilliance,” he said. “We have a bunch of weapons and we can score from all over the place.”

Coach Bob McKillop said after the game: “I think we’re getting better.”

This, though, was a tough task.

Gonzaga is one of the most consistent winners in college basketball. The Bulldogs have been to 11 straight NCAA tournaments and came into this game ranked No. 21 in the nation.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, still searching for the right mix this season, made a cross-continental flight Friday night to play on the Saturday afternoon in the middle of final exams.

They battled foul trouble in the first half but used balanced scoring and hot three-point shooting to cobble together a very competitive first 20 minutes.

Before halftime, 10 Wildcats played, and nine of them scored. They got 12 points on four three-pointers from McKillop. They got seven points from back-court sub Cochrane, six from Allison, five from Kuhlman and four apiece from Jake Cohen and Frank Ben-Eze. They got five assists from Archambault.

All of that added up. Even though the Bulldogs shot 14-for-21 from the floor, even though they shot 24 free throws, even though they went on a 17-0 run over five minutes late in the half, they were up only 47-45 at the break.

In the second half, though, the lead for Gonzaga, which shot a school-record 54 free throws, started to swell. It was 62-53, and then it was 69-56, and then it was 78-60 with less than 10 minutes left. But the Wildcats cut the deficit down to 10 four times in the last four and a half minutes.

“Davidson’s the kind of club that’s going to run up and down,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.

Coach Few called Brendan McKillop’s performance “phenomenal.” His 15 points were a career high. He ended up with five threes and also had five assists in 34 minutes.

McKillop, the junior guard, was asked in the press conference what that kind of statistical output meant.

“Nothing,” he said, “with a loss.”

Michael Kruse writes about Davidson basketball at 16point8.blogspot.com.

DAVIDSON vs. GONZAGA GALLERY

Photos by Tim Cowie. Click on any image to launch the slideshow.