STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific Tigers held off the Portland Pilots by a 70-61 margin in West Coast Conference men's basketball action Thursday night at the Alex G. Spanos Center. The Tigers took advantage at the free throw line on their home court, converting 25-of-34 compared to 11-of-15 for the Pilots.

Portland junior point guard Alec Wintering led the Pilots (9-12, 3-5 WCC) with 15 points, while sophomore guard D'Marques Tyson followed up a season-high 21 points versus BYU on Saturday with 14 points off the bench.

Ray Bowles paced the Tigers (6-12, 4-4) with 19 points and Alec Kobre added 11. Senior center Eric Thompson, Pacific's leading rebounder and second leading scorer last season, returned to the lineup for just the second game of the season and finished with nine points and five rebounds.

The Pilots trailed by 11 early in the second half following a Sami Eleraky dunk, but would battle back to tie the game four times in the closing minutes. Portland had nine chances to take a lead with the ball in the closing minutes of regulation, but came up empty each possession.

Bench play was key for the Pilots as they gained a 30-25 edge in points from reserves. Freshman Jazz Johnson added eight points and junior Jarrel Marshall chipped in six points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Portland shot 38 percent from the field and made 6-of-20 three-pointers, while Pacific shot 44 percent overall and 7-of-19 from three-point range.

The Pilots attempted 15 more field goals in the game and had a 13-9 edge in offensive rebounds.

The road trip will continue with a Saturday night matchup with the Saint Mary's Gaels. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the game will be televised live on ROOT Sports Northwest and Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.