Luke Sikma |
Portland limits Broncos to 33 percent shooting
PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots held the Santa Clara Broncos to 32 percent shooting and made clutch plays down the stretch for a 64-58 win Saturday at the Chiles Center in front of 1,745 fans. Sophomore Robin Smeulders led Portland with 12 points, while freshman Jared Stohl added 11 to pace the Pilots.
Freshman forward Luke Sikma made a critical, go-ahead three-pointer 1:49 remaining, grabbed three boards in the final 72 seconds and clinched the win with a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining. Sikma finished with nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists off the bench.
The Pilots (9-20, 3-10 West Coast Conference) built a 10-point lead with 7:48 left on a three by Stohl, but the Broncos (14-14, 6-7) used a 12-0 run over the next five minutes to take the lead before Sikma’s trey.
Portland held Santa Clara scoreless in the final 2:40 and made five of six from the stripe in the final 31 seconds to clinch the win.
“It was frustrating that we went through a scoring drought in the second half, but I was proud of our resilience to bounce back,” Portland head coach Eric Reveno said. “We had good looks in the first half, but Santa Clara clamped down in the second half and gave us problems.”
The Broncos led a majority of the first half before Stohl caught fire at the end of the period. He drained a jumper and a pair of threes in three straight possessions and Taishi Ito converted a three-point play to give the Pilots a 33-28 lead with 35 ticks left. A pair of free throws by junior center John Bryant made it a 33-30 halftime score.
Bryant, who entered the game averaging 19.5 points in conference play, was held to nine points on 1-of-6 shooting. SCU senior guard Brody Angley only finished with four points, almost nine below his season average.
Senior Mitch Henke paced the Broncos with 21 points, while freshman Ben Dowdell added 15.
Portland shot 47 percent from the field, but the Broncos gained a 15-point edge at the free throw line. SCU made 25-of-36 from the stripe, while the Pilots converted 10-of-14. Portland managed a 26-18 edge in the paint.
The Pilots will conclude the regular season at home on Monday night against 23rd-ranked Saint Mary’s at 7 p.m. The contest will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet Northwest. It will be Senior Night as Portland’s Sherrard Watson will be recognized prior to tipoff.
