STOCKTON, Calif. – The Portland Pilots used a late 11-0 run to pull out a 75-69 West Coast Conference road win over Pacific Thursday night at the Spanos Center. Moses Wood and Chris Austin scored 18 points apiece in leading Portland to its sixth consecutive victory. The Pilots improve to 17-12 overall and 7-6 in WCC games.
The six-game win streak is the first since the 2008-09 season and the five consecutive WCC wins is also the first since that same season. The sweep of Pacific is the first since the Tigers rejoined the WCC for the 2013-14 season.
The game featured seven ties and 13 lead changes as Pacific forward Alphonso Anderson was dominant with 26 points and nine rebounds. His jumper gave the Tigers (8-20, 3-10 WCC) a 65-63 lead with 5:58 remaining in regulation, but the Pilots made the winning plays down the stretch.
Mike Meadows – making his return after missing three games with a back injury – hit a big three-pointer to give the Pilots a 66-65 lead. Tyler Robertson then converted a three-point play for a 69-65 edge with 3:07 remaining. The Pilots defense shut down the Tigers for more than five minutes without a point in the closing minutes and scored 11 unanswered points to pull away down the stretch.
Portland held the Tigers to 41 percent shooting from the field and 5-of-22 from three-point range. The Pilots made 9-of-19 first half three-pointers, but were just 1-for-10 in the second half from beyond the arc. Portland shot 43 percent overall and finished with a 36-32 rebounding margin.
Wood and Austin started hot and combined for 22 first half points. The Pilots shot 56 percent in the period, but committed eight turnovers that led to 14 Pacific points. Portland led 43-39 at the half.
Wood was 6-for-14 from the field and added eight rebounds. Austin dished out a career-high six assists while playing all 40 minutes. Robertson added 15 points and eight rebounds, while Meadows chipped in 12 points off the bench.
Portland will conclude the regular season at Santa Clara on Saturday with major WCC seeding implications on the line. Tip-off is schedule for 2 p.m. at the Leavey Center and the game will be available on the WCC Network and live on 1080 The Fan (KFXX).