WCC tourney:

Portland overpowers Pepperdine, 69-45

Pilots move ahead to face St. Mary’s in semifinals

Saturday, March 7, 2009 | 11:06 p.m.

West Coast Conference Basketball Tournament

The West Coast Conference basketball tournament is expected to come down to a championship game matchup of top-seeded Gonzaga against No. 2 Saint Mary's on Monday.

Just don't tell that to the Portland Pilots. They showed Saturday night that they have the potential to crash the party.

Portland shot 57 percent in the first half to open its quarterfinal game against Pepperdine on a 16-2 run and never looked back in a 69-45 victory. Portland was so commanding that it limited Pepperdine to six points in the game's opening 15 minutes.

"I really love when they play defense like that," said Portland coach Eric Reveno, whose team held Pepperdine to 6-of-28 shooting in the first half. "When we play defense like that, we are fun to watch."

The win pushes Portland (19-11) into Sunday's semifinal against Saint Mary's, which like Gonzaga, enters the tournament with a 24-5 record. One of those five losses was an 84-66 setback at Portland Jan. 31 — a result the Pilots, thanks to the momentum they gained Saturday, feel they can duplicate.

"Our guys were just clicking and having fun tonight," said Portland guard Nik Raivio, who finished with a game-high 16 points. "Hopefully we can carry that over to tomorrow."

Portland led 36-16 at halftime, and then held Pepperdine to eight points in the initial 10 minutes of the second half in building a 30-point advantage.

Jared Stohl had 13 points for Portland and B.J. Porter contributed 11. The Pilots played all 14 players who dressed — 10 of them scored — in resting their starters for Saint Mary's.

However, duplicating the success against Saint Mary's will not be easy. While Portland's 24-point victory was impressive, it pales in comparison to Saint Mary's 96-46 win against Pepperdine on Jan. 17.

Patrick Mills, who averages 18.7 points per game and is considered Saint Mary's top player, is expected to play after missing last nine games with a broken hand.

"They are a NCAA viable team with or without him," Reveno said. "At this point of the season, it is really about us and how we play."

Pepperdine (9-23) only had one player reach doubles figures — guard Keion Bell who had 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting.