West Coast Conference Tournament Recaps

Las Vegas, NV (SportsNetwork.com) – Led by 16 points from Kevin Bailey, the six-seeded Portland Pilots knocked off third-seeded Saint Mary’s-CA Gaels, 69-52, in quarterfinal action of the West Coast Conference Tournament.

For the Pilots (17-14), who snapped a four-game losing streak, Jason Todd added 14 points, while Thomas van der Mars and D’Marques Tyson each finished with 10 points. The Pilots now await the winner of the BYU-Santa Clara matchup in the semifinals on Monday night.

Brad Waldow scored a game-high 25 points and pulled down eight rebounds to pace the Gaels (21-9).

The Pilots led at the break, 32-26, by knocking down 50.0 percent of their field goal tries in the first half and holding the Gaels to just 33.3 percent shooting from the field. The Pilots scored the last five points of the period to take momentum into the locker room.

Portland stayed consistent, again shooting 50.0 percent from the field after the break. Saint Mary’s continued to have difficulty shooting the ball, particularly from deep, as it missed on all seven of its tries from 3-point distance in the second half. The Gaels got to within two, 43-41, with just under 12 minutes to play, but the Pilots answered with an 8-2 run, as they pulled away down the stretch for the upset win.

The Pilots had the slight edge on the boards, 31-30, and held SMC to just 2- of-16 shooting on the perimeter.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball