PORTLAND, Ore. – In a game that featured nine ties and 13 lead changes, Portland led for nearly 27 minutes before dropping a 74-71 heartbreaker to the San Francisco Dons Saturday in West Coast Conference basketball action at Chiles Center. Chris Austin scored a game-high 25 points and Tyler Robertson filled the stat sheet with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists in the tough loss.

Yauhen Massalski finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds on 10-of-12 shooting to lead the Dons (19-5, 6-3 WCC), while Jamaree Bouyea made clutch plays down the stretch and finished with 21 points and seven assists.

Moses Wood was the third Portland player in double figures with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

The Pilots (11-12, 2-6) led by as much as seven points midway through the second half after a Chika Nduka jumper, but the experienced fifth-year seniors from San Francisco then took over. Bouyea made a jumper and stepback three-pointer followed by a Massalski three-point play. Another Bouyea jumper gave USF a 61-60 lead, but Wood answered with a three-pointer. It would remain a one-possession game for the final five minutes of regulation.

Bouyea's three off a screen at the top of the key gave the Dons a 68-65 lead with two minutes remaining. Portland made three free throws to tie it and then Massalski and Austin traded buckets to make it 70-70 with less than a minute remaining.

The Pilots nearly forced a shot clock violation, but Josh Kunen gathered a miss from Gabe Stefanini and scored on the putback for his first points of the game to make it 72-70 with 27 seconds left. A frenzied sequence followed as Khalil Shabazz intercepted a pass from Wood and appeared to have a breakaway layup, but Wood recovered with a chase-down blocked shot. Austin got the rebound and would eventually be fouled with six seconds on the clock. He made the first but missed the potential game-tying free throw. Stefanini then converted two free throws and Bouyea collected a steal and ran out the clock as Portland tried to get off a rushed three-pointer to tie the game.

The Pilots led for nearly the entire first period and took a 41-36 lead into halftime. The dynamic trio of Austin, Wood and Robertson combined for 33 first half points.

San Francisco shot 50 percent from the field and the Pilots finished at 47 percent overall. The Dons used their decisive size advantage to gain a 40-28 margin in points in the paint.

These teams will complete a back-to-back on Tuesday in San Francisco. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Sobrato Center and War Memorial Gymnasium.