COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Saint Mary's beats Portland in WCC tourney

The Portland Tribune, Mar 8, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Saint Mary's broke open a competitive game in the second half and beat Portland 71-61 in the West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament Sunday at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

The Gaels (25-5) moved into the WCC final against Gonzaga on Monday, while Portland (19-12) will await word on a possible postseason playoff berth — either in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) or College Basketball Invitational (CBI).

The Saint Mary's frontcourt had a big game, but point guard play also made a difference. Portland's T.J. Campbell suffered foul trouble, and Patrick Mills returned for the game for Saint Mary's after a lengthy injury absence.

Nik Raivio scored 15 points for the Pilots and Campbell added 12 in only 14 minutes of play before fouling out. UP made 9 of 12 from 3-point land, but 2 of 8 from the free-throw line.

Diamon Simpson had 15 points (with 14 rebounds), Wayne Hunter 13 and Mills, Carlin Hughes and Omar Samhan 12 each for Saint Mary's. Mills was 3 of 12 from the floor.

The game featured eight ties and 19 lead changes before the Gaels pulled away in the final three minutes. Hughes hit a 3-pointer and another shot on consecutive possessions to give Saint Mary’s a double digit lead at 62-51 with 2:04 remaining.

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