March 4, 2005
San Francisco - 65
Portland - 60
Santa Clara, Calif. - San Francisco (16-12) held off a stubborn Portland (15-15) squad for a 65-60 victory in the WCC Tournament. Tyrone Riley connected on 1-of-2 free throws with 7.4 seconds to give USF a three-point lead. Darren Cooper's tying three-point attempt missed for the Pilots. The Dons will play Santa Clara tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. in the WCC quarterfinals. Riley paced the Dons in scoring with 22 points, while Donald Wilson had 23 for Portland.
Leading 62-60 John Cox missed a clear lay-up to give Portland the ball back with 23-second left in the game. The ensuing play saw Pooh Jeter throw an errant pass to give USF the ball back with 10.5 seconds.
A three-pointer by Dommanic Ingerson gave USF a 58-50 advantage with 2:52 remaining in the game. Portland went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 58-58 with 1:50 left. Wilson completed a four-point play to cut the Dons' lead to three. Cooper free throws tied the game at 58-58. Johnny Dukes put USF up by two at 60-58 with just over a minute to go.
The Dons pulled to within three of Portland at 46-43 with 7:36 left on baskets by Riley and Dukes. Andre Hazel free throws brought USF to within 46-45 of the Pilots. Portland went back up by one at 48-47 on Wilson free throws. Riley put the Dons up four at 52-48 at the 5:06 mark after a three-point play.
Portland captured a seven-point lead in the early minutes of the second half on hot three-point shooting. Wilson hit two three-pointers and Jeter hit one to give Portland a 44-37 margin. USF's Riley had cut the Pilots' lead to 39-37.
In the first half of action, San Francisco held a 26-24 advantage over Portland as the two teams exchanged the lead. USF held a 16-13 lead with 11:12 to go in the half, but fell behind by one at 19-18 on a 3-point play by Portland's Cooper. A Riley 3-pointer put USF up by one at 21-18, then Jeter gave Portland a one-point advantage at 22-21. USF's Dukes scored consecutive baskets for a 25-22 Don edge. Jeter connected on a 3-pointer to end the half.
USF's Riley was the high point scorer at the half with eight. Portland's Jeter had six points to pace the Pilots. San Francisco shot 40 percent in the first half, while Portland shot 33 percent from the floor.