Box Score
LAS VEGAS, Nev. --- T.J. Campbell scored 15 points and dished out eight assists as the No. 3 seeded Portland Pilots defeated the No. 6 seeded San Diego Toreros 72-57 in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Zappos.com West Coast Conference Basketball Championship on Saturday at the Orleans Arena. Portland advances and will face second-seeded Saint Mary’s on Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
Portland (21-9) tied a single-season record for wins at the Division I level with the victory on Saturday, matching the 1994-95 squad.
Jared Stohl added 13 points for the Pilots, while Robin Smeulders and Ethan Niedermeyer added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
San Diego (11-21) was led by freshman guard Ken Rancifer with a career-high 20 points, but no other Torero reached double figures in the game.
The Pilots raced to a 37-28 halftime lead as Campbell paced the Pilots with nine points and five assists.
The Pilots would push the lead to 13 points on numerous occasions throughout the second half, but San Diego always fought back to keep the deficit within reach until the final two minutes. The Pilots shot 49.0 percent from the field for the game and committed just seven turnovers. Portland held the Toreros to 41.9 percent from the field and forced 11 turnovers which led to a 21-5 advantage in points off of turnovers.
Portland also gained a 31-27 rebounding edge, had a 30-18 margin in points in the paint and 9-3 advantage in second chance points.
The semifinals matchup with Saint Mary’s is a rematch of last year’s semifinal which the Gaels won 71-61. The teams split the regular season series this year with each team winning on their home court. Saint Mary’s took a 77-72 decision in Moraga, while the Pilots won 80-75 in overtime in Portland.
The other semifinal matchup features top-seeded Gonzaga and No. 5 Loyola Marymount, who defeated No. 4 San Francisco in the early game on Saturday. The Gonzaga-LMU game tips at 5:30 p.m. and the Pilots-Gaels will follow. Both contests will be televised live nationally on ESPN2. The WCC Championship game will be Monday at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
