PORTLAND, Ore. – Santa Clara junior guard Jared Brownridge scored a game-high 38 points, including clutch baskets late, as the Broncos held on for a 90-84 West Coast Conference victory Saturday night at the Chiles Center. Portland junior guard Alec Wintering scored a team-high 31 points in the loss.
The two All-WCC guards battled back and forth all night and saved their best for last as each finished with 22 second half points.
The Pilots (9-15, 3-8) overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to take a 70-69 lead on Wintering's layup with 5:29 remaining. Brownridge answered with a three-pointer, but Wintering found Gabe Taylor for an easy bucket to tie it at 72.
Another Wintering drive and lay-in put Portland on top 76-75 with 2:44 remaining. Brownridge followed with seven straight points, including a three-pointer for an 84-79 lead with 44 seconds left. Out of a timeout, Wintering countered with a three of his own and Portland was forced to foul.
KJ Feagin made all six of his free throw attempts in the final 30 seconds to keep a two-possession lead and the Broncos (8-15, 4-7) escaped with a season series sweep.
Feagin finished with 15 points on the night, while Matt Hubbard added 10 points off the bench for Santa Clara.
Portland senior Bryce Pressley finished with 17 points, while D'Marques Tyson and Taylor added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Broncos shot 53 percent from the field en route to a season-high 90 point effort. Santa Clara finished 10-for-10 from three-point range with Brownridge converting 7-of-11 himself.
The Pilots shot 51 percent overall, had a slight 27-26 rebounding edge and outscored the Broncos by a 44-32 margin in the paint.
The teams traded early leads before Santa Clara closed the half with a 20-7 run highlighted by 10 points from Brownridge.
Portland will look to snap its current four-game losing streak with a road trip to Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount next week. The Pilots face the Waves on Thursday at 8 p.m. on ESPNU and then visit LMU on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip-off on TheW.tv. Radio coverage starts 30 minutes prior to each game on 910 ESPN-Portland. The Pilots swept both teams to open WCC play in late December.