PORTLAND, Ore. – Freshman Dante Censori-Hercules converted a putback with 1.9 seconds left to lift Portland to a 54-53 win over the Seattle University Redhawks Saturday night at Chiles Center. The victory puts a bow on an unforgettable week of basketball on The Bluff following the team's historic win over No. 6 Gonzaga on Wednesday.

Portland fans got their money's worth at Saturday's doubleheader as the Pilot women came back late to knock of in-state rival Oregon State 53-50 a few hours earlier.

The Pilots (12-14, 5-8 WCC) trailed by as much as 12 in the first period and eight at the half before storming back in the second to pull out the thriller.

Portland's frontline of James O'Donnell, Jermaine Ballisager Webb and Cameron Williams combined for 35 points – 24 in the second half – as the Pilots dominated the Redhawks (15-10, 4-9) on the interior and finished with a 34-18 edge in paint points.

Pilot leading scorer Joel Foxwell drew a lot of defensive attention and scored just five points on 2-of-11 shooting, but made his presence felt by grabbing a season-high eight rebounds, dishing out nine assists, and hitting a clutch shot late.

Jun Seok Yeo led scored 14 points and John Christofilis added 13 points to lead the Redhawks.

How it Happened
Both teams came out sluggish and struggled offensively. The Pilots took an early 4-0 lead but were outscored 15-2 over a span of more than 10 minutes as Seattle U took control. A layup from Christofilis gave the Redhawks their largest margin of the half at 20-8. Portland used a 7-0 run to pull within five before Seattle U closed the period with a 27-19 lead. The Redhawks were held to 39 percent shooting, but the Pilots were just 27 percent overall and held to a season low for points in a half.

Portland came out of the halftime locker room with great energy and consecutive three-pointers from Ballisager Webb made it a 30-27 deficit. O'Donnell took over midway through the second stanza and scored seven straight points, capped by a transition alley oop, to give the Pilots a 41-38 lead with 10:58 remaining. There would be three ties and four lead changes down the stretch as neither team could muster more than a four-point lead.

It appeared Seattle U may have snuck out the win after five straight points from Brayden Maldonado gave them a 53-49 edge with 59 seconds left, but Foxwell buried a clutch three-pointer and the Pilots got a stop defensively. Out of a timeout with 21 seconds to go, Foxwell found Garrett Nuckolls who penetrated and dished to Ballisager Webb. His shot at the rim missed but Censori-Hercules was there to clean it up and send the home crowd into a frenzy. Will Heimbrodt's desperation 60-footer wasn't close as the Pilot bench erupted and mobbed Censori-Hercules.

Game Notes
» The Pilots shot 37 percent overall and held the Redhawks to 35 percent.
» Portland outrebounded Seattle U 34-33 and gained a 34-18 edge in paint points.
» The Pilots also had a 17-6 edge in points off turnovers, forcing 15 from the Redhawks.
» The game featured four ties and six lead changes.
» Portland limited the Redhawks to just 10 two-point field goals.
» Jermaine Ballisager Webb knocked down a career-high three triples.
» Censori-Hercules scored a season-high eight points and grabbed seven rebounds.
» O'Donnell was an efficient 5-of-7 from the field in 21 minutes.

Up next
The Pilots have just one road game next week as they visit the San Diego Toreros on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m.

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