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Dons Move To WCC Quarterfinals With 65-60 Win Over Portland
March 5, 2005
mwlbl1
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - Tyrone Riley had 22 points and eight rebounds and San Francisco made five free throws in the final 50 seconds en route to a 65-60 win over Portland in the first round of the West Coast Conference tournament Friday.
Riley scored 14 of his points in the second half, 10 during a 21-6 run that erased a seven-point deficit and left San Francisco with a 58-50 lead. Portland rallied to tie the game at 58 with less than two minutes left before the Dons made five of six free throws to seal the win.
Johnny Dukes added 15 points and seven rebounds for San Francisco (16-12), which beat Portland for the third time this season. The win advances the Dons to Saturday's game against tournament host Santa Clara.
Darren Cooper had 23 points, four assists and two rebounds for the Pilots (15-15), who dropped their fifth straight game. Ben Sullivan added 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists, but committed a costly turnover with 10 seconds remaining when Portland had a chance to tie the game.
San Francisco led for most of the first half but had a a seven-point deficit midway through the second half after a 3-pointer from the Pilots' Darren Cooper left Portland with a 44-37 lead.
That's when Riley and Dukes took control for San Francisco, combining for 14 of the Dons' next 16 points. Dommanic Ingerson then scored five straight points to push San Francisco's lead to 58-50 with three minutes remaining and the Dons never trailed again.
San Francisco's John Cox, who led the WCC in scoring this season, scored just nine points and was only 3-for-11 from the floor.
Portland shot only 33 percent from the floor in the first half but used a 20-13 edge in rebounding to stay close. San Francisco never led by more than four, failed to grab an offensive rebound and went scoreless over the final 3:06 minutes, allowing the Pilots to go into halftime trailing 26-24.
USF led 26-24 at the break, despite holding the Pilots to just 33% shooting for the floor, as the Pilots were able to win the battle of the boards 20-13. Junior forward Johnny Dukes got his first start of the season instead of normal starting center Alan Wiggins, who turned his ankle in practice on Thursday.
The Dons will play host Santa Clara on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. in the quarterfinals. The Dons won both games against Santa Clara this season, both in the last possession. With the win, USF defeated Portland in all three meetings this season.
The Dons will be trying to snap a streak of losing to the WCC tournament host five years in a row
