PORTLAND — Freshman Marcus Shaver Jr. scored seven of his nine points in overtime and Tahirou Diabate had 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting to help Portland hold on for an 85-76 victory over Pepperdine on Thursday night.
Portland appeared to have the game in hand at the end of regulation after Shaver hit two free throws — his first points of the game — with 55 seconds left to give the Pilots a 71-65 lead. But Knox Hellums and Colbey Ross hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the final 39 seconds to send the game to overtime.
Shaver took over in the extra period. His 3-pointer 41 seconds in gave the Pilots (9-15, 3-8 West Coast Conference) a 74-71 lead. Shaver added two free throws to keep the lead at three after Hellums buried a jumper. Shaver’s bucket with 1:16 left pushed the advantage to 81-76 and Franklin Porter hit 4 of 4 free throws in the final 30 seconds .
Eric Cooper Jr. topped Pepperdine (4-19, 1-10) with 19 points, while Trae Berhow added 12 points and nine rebounds. Hellums scored 13.
