LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Portland Pilots season came to an end with a 92-67 loss to the Gonzaga Bulldogs Saturday night in the West Coast Conference Championships quarterfinals action at the Orleans Arena. Portland finishes the season with a 12-20 overall record.
Senior guard Bryce Pressley, who scored a career-high 37 points in his regular season finale last Saturday at San Diego, made his final appearance as a Pilot and scored a team-high 16 points. Pressley finished with 13 points on the night and concludes his career among the Portland all-time leaders in scoring, assists, three-pointers made and percentage, steals and blocked shots.
Pilot junior point guard Alec Wintering finished with a 13 points and finished second on the Portland single-season charts for points with 584 (Rick Raivio, 587, 1978-79).
Gonzaga sophomore Domantas Sabonis and senior Eric McClellan each finished with 24 points. It marked a career-high for McClellan.
Pressley's night started off rough as he took an elbow in the first minute and opened up a wound on his forehead. He was able to return shortly thereafter, but the Bulldogs took control early and jumped out to a 19 point lead. Portland used 13 first half points from sophomore guard D'Marques Tyson to go into the break trailing 46-32.
The Pilots pulled within 12 on a Ray Barreno layup with 14:28 remaining, but the Bulldogs countered with an 8-2 run and Portland would get no closer.
The Bulldogs made 10-of-24 three-pointers and shot 51 percent overall from the field, while the Pilots were 7-of-23 from beyond the arc and finished at 40 percent from the floor.
The teams each grabbed 35 rebounds, but Gonzaga was able to gain 15-10 margin in second chance points and 36-24 edge in the paint. Gonzaga also committed just five turnovers, while the Pilots had 12 giveaways.
Gonzaga advances to Monday's WCC Championships semifinals against BYU, while Saint Mary's will face Pepperdine in the other semifinals matchup.