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With Santa Clara down by two at 11:36 in the second half, a 12-2 run by Portland helped the Pilots pull away from the Broncos and win 76-68 on Saturday night in the Leavey Center.
Santa Clara is 10-14 and 3-8 in the WCC. Portland is 13-10 and 5-6 in the WCC.
Santa Clara shot 38.2 percent from the field (21 of 55), including 22.7 percent from the three-point line (5 of 22). The Broncos shot 89.5 percent from the free throw line (17 of 19). They collected 24 rebounds, 15 assists, three blocks, six steals and had seven turnovers.
Jared Brownridge scored 20 points and dished out five assists. It is the 11th time he has scored 20+ and sixth time in WCC play. Jerry Brown scored 11 points with seven boards. Despite going 1 of 11 from the field, Brandon Clark was 8 of 8 from the free throw line for 11 points. Evan Roquemore collected a team-high six assists.
Portland shot 52.1 percent from the field (25 of 48), including 28.6 percent from the three-point line (2 of 7). The Pilots shot 85.7 percent from the free throw line (24 of 28). They collected 35 rebounds, 16 assists, four blocks, six steals and had nine turnovers.
Thomas Van Der Mars lead Portland with 28 points, including 9 of 10 from the field and 10 of 10 from the free throw line. He also collected 11 rebounds. Ryan Nicholas added 13 with 10 boards. Kevin Bailey scored 10 and Alec Wintering scored 10 and dished out six assists.
The second half featured three ties and one lead change. Jalen Richard and Bailey traded baskets inside to open the second half. Brownridge tossed in a floater at 18:31 to give him double figures for the 18th time this season. The Pilots scored three straight free throws to take a 40-38 lead at 16:53.
Portland scored on back-to-back possessions and took a 46-42 lead at 13:33. Brownridge scored inside for his 16th point to pull SCU within two, 48-46, at 11:36.
Portland's12-2 run over the next 4:32 gave provided its largest lead of the night, 12 points, at 6:50. A pair of free throws by Brandon Clark cut the Portland run at 5:53. But Portland scored two more inside to make its lead 14, 64-50, at 4:48.
Both teams put each other on the free throw line consistently in the final two minutes. As the Broncos continued to battle, Bailey fouled out with 1:14 left and Clark hit both free throws. Wintering and Richard traded sets of two free throws as the Broncos trailed by nine with 59 seconds left, 71-62.
SCU started the first half down by as many as eight before an 8-0 run tied it up 15-15 at 8:28. Portland started the game on a 6-0 run before Atanga scored inside at 17:02. Brownridge knocked down a pair of free throws at 16:40. Portland led 11-4 after a Van Der Mars lay-up at 16:14.
Kratch hit a three at 12:48, but back-to-back Portland baskets made it 15-7 at 10:00.
The Broncos 8-0 run tied it up 15-15 at 8:28. Roquemore crushed a three at 9:52 and Brownridge drove coast-to-coast and dished off a dandy pass to Brown for two before Brownridge scored his first three of the game. It was his first three since late in the USF game on Jan. 25.
Van Der Mars stopped the run with an inside bucket, but Brown scored inside again at 7:43 to tie it up again. Van Der Mars answered at 7:25 to put the Pilots back up 19-17.
The team's traded the lead three times the next few minutes. Brown dunked on Nichols to give SCU its first lead of the game at 6:36. Van Der Mers answered quickly to get the lead back at 6:10. Brownridge hit his second three at 5:53 and Clark hit his first of the game at 5:02 to put the Broncos up 26-23. After a basket by the Pilots inside, Clark's dish to McArthur resulted in two. The next Bronco possession, McArthur scored an and one.
Portland and McArthur traded baskets with less than a minute to go. Nichols closed out the first half with a pair of free throws with 3.3 seconds left to pull the Pilots within one at halftime, 34-33 SCU.
Game notes: Santa Clara started Jalen Richard, Jared Brownridge, Brandon Clark, John McArthur and Yannick Atanga.