STOCKTON, Calif. – Portland sophomore Marcus Shaver Jr. scored a career-high 30 points, but the Pacific Tigers raced to an early 20-point lead and held on for a 74-70 victory over the Pilots Saturday afternoon in West Coast Conference basketball action at the Spanos Center.

The Pilots (7-15, 0-7 WCC) went 21-for-33 from the free throw line and shot just 24 percent from the field in the first half. Despite the struggles, Portland was within five points twice midway through the second half and had chances late to make it interesting.

Shaver Jr. continued his solid play of late and went 9-of-14 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range to finish with 30. It marks the third time in the last five games that he has scored 20 or more points.

Sophomore guard JoJo Walker battled foul trouble and finished with 12 points in just 20 minutes.

Roberto Gallinat led three Pacific players in double figures with 16 points, despite a 2-for-11 shooting performance. He made 10-of-12 free throws. The Tigers (12-10, 2-5) gained a 42-26 rebounding edge in the game.

Pacific made four early three-pointers and raced to a 36-16 lead as Portland struggled offensively to get going. Shaver Jr. scored the final four points of the half to make it a 37-22 deficit at the break.

The Pilots quickly cut the deficit to single digits on a Shaver Jr. layup to make it 39-31. Jacob Tryon then made a three-point play to make it 54-49 with 6:33 remaining.

Four Gallinat free throws and a jumper from Anthony Townes pushed the margin back to double digits, but the Pilots fought until the end and were able to cut the margin all the way down to four.

Portland will return to the Chiles Center on Thursday and continue WCC play by hosting the Pepperdine Waves at 7 p.m. It will be the annual Halftime Mile event as members of Portland's track and field team will join others to compete in a mile race on the Chiles Center mezzanine track at halftime. Tickets for that and other upcoming games are available by visiting PortlandPilots.com/Tickets.