Box Score
LAS VEGAS, Nev. --- The Portland Pilots couldn’t overcome foul trouble to junior point guard T.J. Campbell and dropped a 71-61 decision to the Saint Mary’s Gaels in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament Sunday night at the Orleans Arena. Campbell, the WCC Co-Newcomer of the Year, was limited to just 14 minutes of action before fouling out, yet still finished with 12 points.
The Gaels (25-5) advance to the WCC Championship game and will face No. 1 seed Gonzaga on Monday at 6 p.m. on ESPN. The Pilots (19-12) will now await word on postseason opportunities after matching the most wins by the program since 1996.
The game featured eight ties and 19 lead changes before the Gaels pulled away in the final three minutes. Carlin Hughes hit a three-pointer and runner on consecutive possessions to give Saint Mary’s a double digit lead at 62-51 with 2:04 remaining.
The Pilots led by five midway through the first period and managed to go into halftime tied at 24-24 despite Campbell and fellow junior starter Robin Smeulders sitting for all but six minutes with two fouls each.
Campbell drilled a three-pointer on Portland’s first possession of the second half, but picked up his third foul on the following possession. He went to the bench and then returned with9:58 remaining and the game tied at 42-42. Another trey by Campbell with 8:00 left cut the Gaels lead to 48-47, but he picked up his fourth foul less than a minute later. Saint Mary’s pushed the margin to five points with Campbell on the bench and put the game out of reach shortly thereafter.
Portland shot 48 percent from the field and made 9-of-12 three-pointers, but were just 2-of-8 from the foul line. Saint Mary’s made two less field goals than the Pilots and shot 43 percent, but made 18-of-30 free throws.
Saint Mary’s welcomed back sophomore point guard Patrick Mills to the lineup after he missed the last eight games with a broken hand. Mills struggled with his shot making just 3-of-12 from the field, but played 35 effective minutes off the bench and had 12 points.
Junior guard Nik Raivio led the Pilots with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Campbell made all four of his three-point attempts to join Raivio in double figures.
Five Gaels players scored in double figures, led by senior forward Diamon Simpson with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
