WCC Basketball Tournament Central | Bracket

VIDEO: Sendek, Justice Talk Victory Over Portland

SENIOR REFLECTIONS: Carlyle | Mitchell | Reynoso-Avila | Vrankic

LAS VEGAS – Keshawn Justice came back from injury to score 22 and Jalen Williams posted a career-high 21 points to help lift Santa Clara men's basketball past pesky Portland, 95-86, in first-round action of the University Credit Union West Coast Conference Tournament.

Christian Carlyle and Guglielmo Caruso each scored 14 and DJ Mitchell added 12 for the No. 7 seed Broncos (11-7) who shot a season-best 60 percent from the field in advancing to play Pacific in Friday's second round.

Ahmed Ali scored 21 and Eddie Davis posted 18 points for the 10th-seeded Pilots (6-15) who shot 51 percent from the field, including 12 of 22 from beyond the 3-point line, in dropping their 13th-straight game.

Santa Clara's leading scorer Josip Vrankic was relegated to only 10 minutes due to foul trouble and scored only four points.

Justice sat out the previous four games due to concussion protocol but it looked like he hardly missed a beat, connecting on 7 of 12 from the floor, including 5-for-8 from beyond the 3-point line.

Portland led 54-48 less than 3 minutes after halftime, but Justice, who scored 15 in the second half, nailed back-to-back 3-pointers. Williams, who was 6-for-12 from the floor, added a 3-pointer and the Broncos forged ahead for good when a 3-point play by Mitchell made it 64-62 with 12:17 left.

Santa Clara pulled away with a 9-2 run. Another 3-pointer from Justice pushed the lead to 77-69 with more than 6 minutes left.

The Broncos closed the game by nailing 10 of 12 free throws in the final 2 minutes.

Santa Clara's point total was its second-most ever in a WCC Tournament game. The Broncos lost to Loyola Marymount, 104-96, in the 1988 title game.

Isaiah Dasher scored 12 and Latrell Jones added 10 for Portland which erased a 13-11 first-half deficit with 10 straight points as Ali capped the flurry with a 3-pointer with 11:05 remaining.

Santa Clara took a 29-28 lead on a 3-pointer from Justice, but Ali and Jones followed with back-to-back baskets behind the 3-point line.

The Broncos scored 10 of the final 13 points of the half. Despite shooting 62 percent from the floor they only lead 46-45 at intermission.

NOTES
• In a series that began in 1946, Santa Clara leads 70-33. The Broncos have captured the last 12 meetings, which followed a three-game winning streak for Portland. Santa Clara now has a 5-2 mark in the conference tournament, including a 91-60 triumph in the first-ever tourney game for both programs on Feb. 28, 1987.
• Santa Clara's point total was a season-high, eclipsing the 88 scored against Fresno Pacific (Dec. 15).
• The Broncos connected on a season-best 85.2 percent (23 of 27) from the free-throw line. The previous high was 84.0 percent (21-for-25) at Loyola Marymount (Jan. 23). Santa Clara entered the game eighth in the WCC in free-throw percentage (67.4).
• Santa Clara nailed a season-high 59.6 percent (31 of 52) of its field goal attempts. The previous best mark was 52.7 percent (29-for-55) against Fresno Pacific (Dec. 15).
• The Broncos connected on 10 of 21 from behind the 3-point line. They made a season-best 11 (of 20) at San Diego (Jan. 17).
• Portland's field-goal percentage (51.9) and 3-point field-goal percentage (54.5) were season-highs for an opponent. In addition, the 12 3-pointers matched a season-best by a foe (also Fresno Pacific, Dec. 15).
• Jalen Williams (21 points) had scored in double figures in six of the last seven games.
• Keshawn Justice (15) and Jalen Williams (11) accounted for 26 of the team's 49 second-half points.
• Josip Vrankic fouled out for the first time this season. He was whistled for two fouls in the first 4 minutes of the game and had three in the first half. Vrankic picked up his fourth foul with 17:34 remaining in the game. He returned with 4:45 left, but was disqualified a little more than 1 minute later.

Check out the @HerculesTires Strong Plays of the Game from Thursday's @WCCSports Tournament victory over Portland!#TeamFirst #StampedeAhead #WCCHoops pic.twitter.com/TTQBly0IjQ

— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) March 5, 2021

Plenty of highlights in @SantaClaraHoops' win over Portland in the opening round of the UCU WCC Tournament!@DriveToyota | #WCChoops pic.twitter.com/EFFXJnQ1wY

— WCC Basketball (@WCChoops) March 5, 2021

NEXT UP
The Broncos will face No. 6 seed Pacific in the second round of the WCC Tournament on Friday at 9 p.m. from Orleans Arena.

2021 University Credit Union West Coast Conference Tournament Schedule

Friday, March 5
SECOND ROUND 
• Game 3: No. 5 LMU vs No. 8 San Francisco 6 p.m. (Stadium)
• Game 4: No. 6 Pacific vs No. 7 Santa Clara, 9 p.m. (Stadium)
 
Saturday, March 6
THIRD ROUND 
• Game 5: No. 4 Saint Mary's vs Game 3 Winner, 6 p.m. (ESPNU, ESPN app)
• Game 6: No. 3 Pepperdine vs Game 4 Winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN2, ESPN app)
 
Monday, March 8
SEMIFINALS 
• Semifinal: No. 1 Gonzaga vs Game 5 Winner, 6 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN app)
• Semifinal: No. 2 Brigham Young vs Game 6 Winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN2, ESPN app)
 
Tuesday, March 9
CHAMPIONSHIP
• 6:00 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN app)

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