Box Score

Portland Comeback at San Francisco Comes Up Short

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. --- Portland cut an 18-point first half deficit to five, but could not complete the comeback in an 84-71 loss to San Francisco on Wednesday night in West Coast Conference action at War Memorial Gymnasium.

The Dons (14-8, 7-3) sweep the season series after opening league play with a Dec. 28 comeback victory in Portland. Chris Adams forced OT with an off-balance three-pointer just before the regulation buzzer and USF went on to win that game 87-81.

The Pilots (12-10, 4-6 WCC) cut the margin to 54-49 early in the second period on a Bryce Pressley three-pointer. Portland would stick around, but Cole Dickerson's corner three-pointer with 2:05 remaining pushed the margin back to double digits and clinched the game for the Dons.

Freshman guard Alec Wintering matched a season-high with 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting, 3-of-4 from three-point range, and 4-of-4 at the foul line. Pressley also finished with 15 points, while junior center Riley Barker finished with 10 points for the second straight game off the bench.

The Dons frontcourt of Cole Dickerson and Kruize Pinkins finished with 21 and 20 points, respectively. Avry Holmes and Mark Tollefsen added 15 and 12, apiece.

USF shot a blistering 56 percent from the field for the game, while Portland shot 49 percent overall.

Rebounding was an issue once again for the Pilots against USF. After being outrebounded 40-27 on Dec. 28, the Dons had a 32-24 margin on Wednesday night. USF also gained a 17-7 edge in points off of turnovers.

The Pilots trailed by as much as 18 points late in the first half as USF shot 67 percent from the floor in first period, including 5-of-7 three-pointers. Behind six first half three-pointers, Portland was able to cut the deficit to ten at the break.

Portland will continue its road trip on Saturday at Santa Clara. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and video will be available at TheW.tv and radio courtesy of Sports 910.