PORTLAND — Beau Levesque had 16 points and seven rebounds Saturday night to lead Saint Mary’s to a 72-63 victory over Portland.
The Gaels (11-4, 2-1 West Coast Conference) were up 60-52 with only 2:53 left when Stephen Holt gathered his own miss and Saint Mary’s ran down the shot clock a second consecutive time. Ryan Nicholas missed his jumper for Portland on the other end and Saint Mary’s made 12 of 14 free throws from there.
Holt led Saint Mary’s with 19 points and Brad Waldow added 13.
After a 9-0 run by Portland (9-7, 1-3) cut the Gaels’ lead to 52-50, Saint Mary’s held the Pilots scoreless for five minutes and rebuilt a double-digit lead.
Portland closed its four-game home stand to open WCC play with only one win. Nicholas led the Pilots with 12 points, Alec Wintering scored 11, and Kevin Bailey and Bobby Sharp each had 10.
