The Portland Pilots did not want their men's basketball season to end unofficially, ending at 12:16 a.m. Sunday at the Orleans Arena.
3 seed Santa Clara in the West Coast Conference men's basketball quarterfinals, Portland's 91–67 loss was not so competitive. This did not paint a picture of the incredible progress the sixth-seeded pilots made under first-year coach Shante Legans.
It could have been that Portland (18-14) was running on smoke, entering 191 out of a possible 200 minutes in Friday night's win over San Diego after its start. It's also possible that Santa Clara may be on the verge of being a really good WCC team, and could challenge to be included in Tuesday's championship game.
"We played against a better team tonight," Legans said. "Proud of my friends. Proud of how they have played throughout the season, how they have faced challenges."
Chris Austin scored 19 points and Tyler Robertson to lead Portland. This season, WCC's leading scorer Jalen Williams shot 9 of 13 and scored 24 points to help Santa Clara advance to Monday's semifinals.
Despite the Saturday/Sunday losses, the Legans and the revised roster of pilots brought a sleepy schedule to life. UP holds the record for the school's first win since 2014-15, and the Pilots' 18 wins is the most in 11 years.
It is likely that Portland will have a chance to add to their winning totals, as the Pilots have been invited to play in the CBI and the College Basketball Classic (formerly CIT). Legans said he was interested in playing. The Pilots who lost a few scheduled regular-season games due to COVID conditions, have a young roster, and have reason to give a better team meaningful playing conditions.
"Those guys want to play," Legans said. “Those guys need some experience. You want to keep playing and playing for a championship and you want to win your last game.”
The Legions started this year's team anew, bringing in an entirely new roster of players, some new players, some transfers. Rough in the beginning, better mid year and dangerous near the end. The Pilots won seven of their last eight matches in Saturday's game.
"Our progress has been tremendous in my opinion," Austin said. "You look at the movie, we're two completely different teams. It's disappointing that we lost tonight, but this season we want to come back with a vengeance."
Legans said the Pilots have improved this season not only as players but as teammates and people. He had several examples of team development, one pointing to Austin, who is second on the team this season.
“If you had told me that early in the season, I would have told you that I had a bridge for you somewhere in New York,” Legans said.
Despite making their tournament debut on Saturday night, Santa Clara showed no panic. The Broncos did away with an early tip, scoring the first eight points of the game. His first four baskets were three-pointers. After trailing 16-3, Portland briefly scored a run, pulled within 18-14 on a dunk by Kristian Sjölund.
Then the lights went out. Led by the dazzling Williams, Santa Clara scored the next 12 points to take a 34–18 lead. It was 43-28 at halftime, but it didn't feel that close.
The Broncos ensured it early in the second half. Williams continued to fire, hitting various perimeter shots as Santa Clara left the game to lead 62–37 in 14:37.
From there, it was only a matter of determining the final difference, as it was clear that Santa Clara was headed for the semi-final date against 2-seeded St.
"He hit some fours, obviously, he hit 13 of 27. You can't win a game doing that," Legans said. “These are lessons learned for a young team. We still have some basketball to play, fingers crossed. ,