WCC Tournament Central | Bracket
VIDEO: Men's Basketball Defeats Portland
LAS VEGAS – Santa Clara men's basketball defeated Portland for the second time in six days to advance in the West Coast Conference Tournament.
DJ Mitchell posted 17 points to lead four players in double figures for the seventh-seeded Broncos who never trailed in a 76-62 win over the No. 10 seed Pilots in Thursday's first-round action.
Tahj Eaddy and Trey Wertz each scored 13, and Jaden Bediako scored 10 for the Broncos (20-12) who will face No. 6 seed Pepperdine in Friday's second round.
JoJo Walker posted 15 points and Chase Adams scored 13 for the Pilots (9-23) who dropped their 15th-straight game.
Santa Clara defeated Portland, 73-68, in Saturday's regular-season finale.
The Broncos, who led by as many as 24 in the second half, reached the 20-win plateau for the first time in seven seasons.
Keshawn Justice scored just four points, but he matched his career-high with nine rebounds and added five assists with no turnovers for the Broncos who held a 41-30 edge on the glass.
Eaddy matched his career-high with eight rebounds.
Mitchell was 6-for-10 from the floor and had five rebounds and three of the team's eight steals.
"Our guys really feed on his tenacity, on his energy, and when he plays with toughness like he did tonight it really galvanizes our team," head coach Herb Sendek said of Mitchell.
Wertz and Josip Vrankic, who both came off the bench, returned after missing two games due to injury. Wertz played 27 minutes and Vrankic 13.
The Pilots kept the Broncos scoreless for nearly 4 minutes to trim the deficit to 62-46, but they did not get closer than 15 until there were 2 minutes remaining in the game.
"For us, the biggest thing is the collective effort our guys played with, especially on defense," Sendek said. "The first half, in particular, stands out to us in the locker room. That's what we're hanging our hats on tonight."
Santa Clara closed the first half by scoring the final nine points for a 42-23 advantage
The Broncos, who shot 54 percent from the floor in the opening half, led by double digits for the final 10 minutes. They held the Pilots to 3 of 16 from the behind the 3-point line in the opening half.
After trailing by as many as 15, Portland closed the gap to 33-23 with 4 minutes left on a 3-pointer by Malcolm Porter, but the Broncos scored the final nine with Wertz tallied the next seven points.
HIGHLIGHTS | Best of the Broncos from Thursday's victory over Portland at the @WCCSports Tournament!#TeamFirst #StampedeAhead #WCCHoops pic.twitter.com/F8OBwmXpz4
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) March 6, 2020
NOTES
• In a series that began in 1946, Santa Clara leads 69-33. The Broncos have captured the last 10 meetings, which followed a three-game winning streak for Portland. Santa Clara now has a 4-2 mark in the conference tournament, including a 91-60 triumph in the first-ever tourney game for both programs on Feb. 28, 1987. The Broncos went on to win the title.
• Portland was held to 39.3 percent shooting from the floor, the lowest by an opponent in the last 10 games.
• Trey Wertz (concussion) and Josip Vrankic (ankle) returned to action after missing the last two games. Guglielmo Caruso (right lower leg), who appeared in just four of the previous 16 games for a total of 31 minutes, did not play. Vrankic had his streak of starting in 62 straight games snapped.
• Keshawn Justice (nine) led the team in rebounding for the third-straight game.
• DJ Mitchell (17) scored in double figures in all three games this year against Portland.
2️⃣ 0️⃣ wins for the first time in 7️⃣ seasons and only the 4th time in the last 1️⃣ 9️⃣ years! #FridayFeeling | #TeamFirst | #StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/hvpRuxcIDn
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) March 6, 2020
NEXT UP
The Broncos will play Pepperdine on Friday at 8 p.m. in Orleans Arena.
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