PORTLAND, Ore. – The Santa Clara Broncos scored 48 second half points to pull away late in an 81-72 victory against the Portland Pilots in West Coast Conference basketball action Thursday night at the Chiles Center.

Senior center Emmanuel Ndumanya scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to pace the Broncos (10-17, 7-8 WCC). Ndumanya's previous career-high was 15 points. Freshman forward Josip Brankic added 19 points, while junior guard KJ Feagin chipped in 15 points and seven assists.

Freshman guard Marcus Shaver Jr. led the Pilots (10-18, 4-11) with 19 points, 15 coming in the second half. Senior guard D'Marques Tyson added 16 points off the bench, while freshman guard Malcolm Porter finished with 12 points in his second career start.

After fall behind by seven points early, Tyson sparked the Pilots with 12 first half points as Portland carried a 35-33 lead into halftime.

The Broncos opened the second half drilling three consecutive three-pointers and again went up by as much as eight. Portland answered with three straight layups to tie the game at 55 midway through the period. Santa Clara was able to spread the Pilot defense and made five layups on the next six possessions to push the margin back to seven points.

Shaver Jr. then took over and brought Portland back to a one possession game. He scored eight points in a three-minute span late to keep the Pilots close. He hit a pair of free throws to make it a 72-70 deficit with 2:36 remaining, but Ndumanya got free for a dunk and a questionable offensive foul call on the ensuing possession on Shaver gave the ball back to Santa Clara.

Portland got a defensive stop, but missed runners on consecutive possessions in the final two minutes and was forced to foul. The Broncos made 7-of-8 free throws at the end to pull away.

The Broncos finished the game shooting 53 percent from the field, while Portland shot 46 percent overall. Santa Clara gained a 38-30 edge in points in the paint, but the Pilots gained a 27-8 margin in bench scoring.

Portland continues its three-game homestand against No. 15-ranked Saint Mary's on Saturday at 7 p.m. Limited reserved seats and general admission tickets still remain and are available by visiting PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or by calling (503) 943-GO-UP. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. to accommodate the third annual Pilots Brewfest, held in the Chiles Center upper mezzanine. Brewfest is free for all those of age with a ticket to the game.

The Pilots will also recognize the 2017 NCAA runner-up men's cross country team during the game. Portland finished a program-best second place at the NCAA Championships in November. With Junior Parents Weekend on campus and a number of youth basketball events in the area securing group tickets, inventory is going fast.