Box Score Slow Start Dooms Men’s Hoops in Road Loss at Santa Clara

SANTA CLARA, Calif. --- The Santa Clara Broncos opened up a 28-4 lead and cruised to a 70-46 victory over the Portland Pilots Thursday night in West Coast Conference action at the Leavey Center. Marc Trasolini scored 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Broncos, while junior forward Ryan Nicholas paced the Pilots with 14 points and eight rebounds.

Portland was held without a field goal for the first 11:37 of the game as the Broncos (17-6, 5-3 WCC) built a 28-4 lead. Freshman guard Bryce Pressley’s steal and layup at the 8:33 mark snapped a 0-for-15 field goal streak. Santa Clara went into the break with a 36-18 lead as the Pilots were 5-for-27 from the field.

The lead swelled to as much as 26 points early in the second half on a Trasolini layup. Portland was able to use 13-4 run to cut the deficit to 17 points, but the Pilots (8-15, 1-7) would get no closer as the Broncos cruised to their fifth straight win.

It was Portland’s fifth consecutive loss and third straight game in which the Pilots allowed their opponent to shoot 50 percent or better from the field. SCU finished the game 26-for-52 from the floor in the game, while Portland was 13-for-50 (.260).

Pressley was once again solid for Portland off the bench finishing with a season-high eight points and four assists. He also recorded six steals, a Portland season-high.

The Pilots will continue their Bay Area road swing on Saturday at Saint Mary’s. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. and the game will be televised live on ROOT Sports Northwest and Comcast SportsNet California.