Portland, Ore. (Feb. 11) - Ali Thomas scored 16 points, including a crucial three-pointer to give USF (11-14, 4-6) a late 66-62 lead as the Dons got revenge on Portland (10-13, 3-7) for an earlier win at Memorial Gym with a 66-64 victory Feb. 11 at the Chiles Center. The Dons took sole possession of fifth place in the WCC with the win and are now 4-6, just two games out of third.

The Dons led throughout, mostly by double figures after breaking ahead by early 5-0 and 17-6 scores. Ali Thomas, who played just seven minutes in the loss to Portland earlier in the season, made several key plays for USF starting at point instead of Chris Barideaux.

USF has now won four of its last five games, with just a two-point loss at Gonzaga last Friday interrupting the run.

Darrell Tucker added 14 points, James Lee 13 and Tayo Akinsette 12 for the Dons.

The Pilots were paced by 20 points by center Tim Frost and 18 by Ryan Jones.

"This was a great road win," said coach Philip Mathews. "We knew Portland would make a run on us late in the game, but we made some big stops and were able to hold on."

Ali Thomas' three-pointer with 2:53 remaining were the biggest points of the night for USF, giving the Dons a 66-62 lead.

Dons' center Hondre Brewer set a new all-time Bay Area record for blocks in a season in the first half, surpassing the 92 set by Brad Millard of St. Mary's in 1997. He now has 95 blocks this year, just one behind the all-time West Coast Conference season record held by Nevada's Edgar Jones.

The Dons led 37-31 at the half, taking an early 5-0 lead and expanding it to 36-23 before the Pilots ended the half on an 8-1 spurt.

USF returns home for its final two home contests Friday vs. Santa Clara and Saturday's homecoming game against San Diego. Former USF guard Phil Smith will have his jersey retired during halftime of the Toreros' contest.