Pilots at Santa Clara – Thursday @ 7pm

Pilots Pick up Road Win at Santa Clara

SANTA CLARA, Calif. --- The Portland Pilots used a big second half to pull out an 84-78 win over the Santa Clara Broncos in a West Coast Conference men’s basketball game played on Thursday night at the Leavey Center. Sophomore forward Ryan Nicholas scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Pilots, who shot 74 percent from field in the second half.

Nicholas and freshman center Thomas van der Mars controlled the interior throughout the contest. Nicholas was 8-for-12 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. van der Mars finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, finishing 4-of-5 from the field.

Sophomore guard Tim Douglas came off the bench and finished with 16 points, including 11 in the second half while making numerous clutch plays down the stretch.

The game featured six ties and 10 lead changes with the Broncos leading by as much as seven points in the second half. A van der Mars free throw tied the game at 63-63 with 5:17 remaining and after a defensive stop, the big man gave the Pilots a two-point lead with a layup. Nicholas and van der Mars each hit two more free throws to push the lead to six.

Santa Clara pulled within 75-73 with 1:14 remaining after a Denzel Johnson jumper and two free throws by Yannick Atanga as the Pilots were called for a foul after the shot was released. Out of a timeout, Portland drew up an inbounds play and freshman guard Kevin Bailey threw down a thunderous dunk and was fouled with 49 seconds remaining. He converted the three point play and the Pilots would continue to sink free throws to secure the win.

The Pilots (6-17, 3-7 WCC) won for the first time this season on the road and matched their season high in points, which was also set against Santa Clara earlier this season in an 84-74 win at Portland.

The team shot 56 percent from the field for the game and outrebounded the Broncos by a 35-25 margin. The Pilots outscored the Broncos by a 51-40 margin after trailing 38-33 at the half. All 10 Pilots that logged minutes scored in the game. Sophomore guard Tanner Riley provided a spark off the bench with nine points.

The Broncos (8-14, 0-9) led by as much as 10 points early and the teams had five lead changes in the first period.

Johnson led four Bronco players in double figures with 18 points, while Niyi Harrison added 16 points and seven rebounds.

The Pilots next return home to host the BYU Cougars on Saturday at the Chiles Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and tickets are still available through all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com and through the Pilot Box Office (503-943-7525).