Box Score

Pilots Fall to USF in WCC Tournament Second Round

LAS VEGAS, Nev. --- Senior guard Nemanja Mitrovic scored a team-high 16 points for Portland, but the Pilots were knocked out of the 2012 Zappos.com West Coast Conference Basketball Championships with a second round loss to San Francisco, 87-66, Thursday night at the Orleans Arena.

The Dons (19-12) move on to the quarterfinals and will face the Loyola Marymount Lions Friday at 6 p.m.

The game was close for much of the first half before San Francisco ran off 14 unanswered points and outscored the Pilots 18-2 over the final 4:27 of the period for a 51-32 lead at the break.

USF made 9-of-14 three-pointers in the first half and shot 56 percent from the field. The 51 points allowed in the half were the second most of the year for the Pilots. The Dons previously scored 53 first half points against Portland on Jan. 12 at San Francisco.

The lead would grow to as much as 29 points in the second half as the Dons went inside while making just 2-of-9 three-pointers.

Mitrovic made 4-of-6 three-pointers in the game and concludes his career fourth on Portland’s career charts with 159 threes made.

Seniors Angelo Caloiaro and Rashad Green scored 19 points each to pace the Dons, while junior forward Perris Blackwell added 15 points.

USF shot 51 percent from the field for the game and made 11-of-23 three-pointers. Portland finished at 40 percent from the floor and 10-of-25 from beyond the arc. The Dons also gained a 40-34 rebounding edge.

The WCC Tournament continues with quarterfinals on Friday, the semifinals on Saturday and the championship game scheduled for Monday night.