SANTA CLARA – Eugene Jeter scored a career-high 24 points Saturday as Portland beat Santa Clara 75-63 in a pivotal West Coast Conference game. The win improved Portland to 11-16 overall, 4-10 in the WCC and a tie for sixth with Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount.

The Pilots will open the WCC tournament next week at San Diego as the #7 seed (due to tiebreakers), and will face #6-seed LMU on Friday, March 7 at 6 p.m. The Pilots also won their fifth road game of the season, and improved last season’s win total by five games.

Donald Wilson added 13 points and a career-high nine rebounds, while Adam Quick and Casey Frandsen each scored 12 points. Ethan Rohde led Santa Clara with 13 points

Jeter scored five points in a key 12-4 run midway through the second half, taking the Pilots from a 43-41 lead to a 55-45 lead over a span of just under four minutes. Tied at halftime, the two teams traded the lead four times before Donald Wilson hit two free throws and Frandsen hit a 3-pointer for a 43-39 lead at 13:55. After a Rohde jumper, the Pilots opened the game up its run.

The Pilots stretched out to a 66-55 lead with 1:47 left in the game, and buoyed by outstanding free throw shooting, Portland walked out with the win. The Pilots were 16-of-20 at the free throw line in the second half, 20-of-26 at the free throw line.

Portland shot 50% from the field in the game (23-46), made 9-of-20 3-point attempts, and committed just eight turnovers. The Pilots also improved to 2-0 this season when tied at halftime.

Jeter had five points in a 12-0 Portland run which pushed the Pilots to a 29-26 lead, capped by Casey Frandsen’s 3-pointer on the right wing. Alex Kargbo had given the Broncos a 26-17 lead on a 3-pointer, but Karl Aaker started Portland’s comeback with a layup. Jeter then hit a 3-pointer, Patrick Galos and Donald Wilson made free throws around a Jeter drive, and Frandsen nailed the 3-pointer.

The Pilots forced Santa Clara into six first-half turnovers, but the Broncos got a tying 3-pointer from Ethan Rohde with 17 seconds left in the half. Jeter had 13 points in the first half, while Aaker and Galos added five points each.

Santa Clara slowly opened up early leads, including a 10-2 lead. A pair of Kargbo free throws gave SCU a 17-9 lead, but Jeter had consecutive 3-point plays to bring the Pilots back within 17-15. Santa Clara answered again, though, outscoring Portland 9-2 before the Pilots settled down to get back into the game.