PORTLAND, Ore. – Tyler Robertson and Bol Dengdit both recorded double-doubles to help lead a shorthanded Portland men's basketball team past the Santa Clara Broncos 80-75 in overtime Thursday at the Chiles Center.
The Pilots (10-20, 4-11 WCC) had four players score in double figures, led by Robertson, who recorded a double-double with 32 points and 10 rebounds. Dengdit, a redshirt freshman, picked up his third double-double during WCC play with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Juanse Gorosito tacked on 15 points and four assists and Vukasin Masic helped out with 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Pilots won despite competing with a seven-player rotation as Robertson playing all 45 minutes and Dengdit rested just 28 seconds.
The victory puts Portland in position with a win on Saturday against LMU to move into a tie for sixth-place in the WCC standings.
How It Happened
After jumping out to a 10-7 advantage, Portland went on a 10-0 run with 15:29 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Coleman Lemke, to increase its lead to 20-7. The lead grew to as much as 1 late in the period, but Santa Clara closed with a 10-3 run to cut the margin to make it 33-25 at the half.
Portland responded out of intermission with back-to-back three-pointers from Chris Austin and Gorosito before Dengdit's putback dunk made it 41-25. Another Austin triple gave the Pilots their largest lead of the night at 44-27, but the Broncos (18-12, 9-6) refused to go away.
Johnny O'Neil buried a pair of threes to ignite an 8-0 run to bring the margin back to single digits and then Adama Alpha Bal got hot late. He drilled three consecutive three-pointers and Brendon Knapper added another to make it a 59-56 deficit with 5:35 remaining.
The Pilots maintained the lead into the final minute when O'Neil hit one-of-two free throws to tie it at 65 with 15 seconds left. Masic's jumper missed just before the end of regulation and the contest went to overtime.
Santa Clara took its first lead of the night when O'Neil opened OT with a three-pointer, but Robertson responded with seven straight points to put the Pilots back ahead. Austin then converted a clutch and-1 to put the Pilots up 75-72 with 1:51 left.
Portland got a stop and Masic hit a three, but O'Neil answered with another three to pull within 78-75. The Pilots got a defensive stop and Gorosito hit a free throw to make it a two-possession game with 16 seconds left and Santa Clara was unable to score again.
Game Notes
» Robertson earned his first double-double of the season and recorded his second game this year with 30-plus points. The other was a 34-point effort at Santa Clara on Jan. 20.
» Bol Dengdit has now recorded three double-doubles in the last eight games, while the 13 rebounds matched a season-high.
» The Pilots held the Broncos to only 37.8 percent shooting from the field.
» This was the first overtime game of the season for both the Pilots and Broncos.
» The win snapped a 14-game losing streak in the series against Santa Clara for the Pilots.
» Tyler Harris (ankle) and Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams (hip) were unavailable.
Up Next
A pivotal final game of the 2023-24 season happens when the Pilots host the LMU Lions (12-17, 5-10) on Saturday at 5 p.m. A Portland win would move them ahead of LMU and Pepperdine based on WCC tiebreakers. Saturday's winner will earn the No. 6 seed and an opening round bye at next week's 2024 Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championships, while the loser will face No. 9 Pacific in Thursday's first round contest as the No. 8 seed. Saturday will also be Senior Night where the Pilots will recognize seniors prior to tip-off.
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