STOCKTON, Calif. – Alec Wintering scored a game-high 26 points and Ray Barreno added 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench to lift the Portland Pilots to an 80-76 victory over Pacific on Thursday night in the West Coast Conference opener for both teams at the Spanos Center. A total of five Pilots reached double figures, while the team committed just two turnovers in securing the road win.

Wintering added six assists, five rebounds and committed zero turnovers as he took over late with 17 second half points.

The Pilots (8-5, 1-0 WCC) led by a 70-57 margin following a Wintering layup with 5:20 remaining, but the Tigers (6-8, 0-1) refused to go away.

Following a pair of Pacific three-pointers, T.J. Wallace and D.J. Ursery drove to the basket at will and the Tigers continued to foul the Pilots in the final minute. Portland made enough free throws to keep a two possession margin, but a Wallace layup made it 78-76 with six seconds left. Jazz Johnson converted two free throws on the ensuing inbounds play to ice the game.

Johnson finished with 17 points, while Gabe Taylor added 13 and D'marques Tyson scored all 11 of his points after halftime for Portland.

Barreno provided a big boost off the bench after not appearing in the last five games. Head coach Terry Porter called his number on Thursday and Barreno made the most of his opportunity. He finished 5-of-6 from the field and also blocked two shots in 25 total minutes.

Portland led by eight early in the game, but the Tigers used a 10-0 run late in the first half to grab a lead. Johnson tied the game at 32 with a three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer.

Tyson opened the second half with a three-pointer to ignite a 13-5 run capped by three straight layups to give the Pilots an eight-point lead and force a Pacific timeout. Tyson buried another three-pointer to give the Pilots their largest lead of the game at 50-38.

Anthony Townes led the Tigers with 18 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out late in regulation. Ursery added 17 and Ray Bowles finished with 16 points.

Portland shot 48 percent overall and made 8-of-22 three-pointers, while Pacific shot 50 percent and was 6-of-20 from three-point range. The pilots gained an 11-2 margin in points off of turnovers.

The Pilots will now return to the Chiles Center to host the Pepperdine Waves on Saturday at 5 p.m. Kids 6th grade and younger will receive free admission to the game, while tickets are available for all upcoming Pilot home games by visiting PortlandPilots.com/Tickets.

NOTES: The game featured a pair of head coaches in Terry Porter and Damon Stoudamire that each played a number of years professionally for the Portland Trail Blazers... The Pilots had lost five straight games at Pacific in the all-time series.