Saint Mary’s Downs Portland

With the sixth spot in the WCC standings and a first round bye in the WCC tournament on the line, Portland could not steal a victory away from the Gaels in McKeon Pavilion as Saint Mary’s defeated the Pilots by a score of 70-61.

Stephen Holt had another stellar game for Saint Mary’s, scoring 26 points, dishing out four assists and snagging three boards in the win. Brad Waldow’s nine rebounds were a team-high tonight, and Beau Levesque tied Stephen Holt with four assists as well. The Gaels had two other double-digit scorers in Waldow (14) and Kerry Carter (12).

Portland got a big performance for Thomas van der Mars in the loss. The junior center had a double-double with 22 points and 17 rebounds, both of which were team-highs. Bryce Pressley chipped in 10 points and led the Pilots in assists with seven. Ryan Nicholas and David Carr both finished in double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively.

Saint Mary’s and Portland’s spot in the final conference standings could change when Saturday rolls around. The Gaels can finish in second place if San Francisco loses to LMU and they knock off Gonzaga at home. Otherwise, they have the fourth spot locked up.

Portland needs a win against Pacific or a San Diego loss at BYU to claim the six seed. If those results were flip-flopped, the Pilots will be playing Thursday in the WCC tournament as a seven seed instead of debuting on Saturday as the six seed.