WCC Tournament Quarterfinals Recap: Portland Overwhelms Saint Mary’s
A nice little win there for the Pilots. After spending the entire year watching Portland on TV and the Internet, I was finally able to watch a game live and boy they did not disappoint. I think this is the team that Portland fans were expecting all season. The Pilots used a balanced attack to knock off a struggling but still talented Saint Mary’s squad that has looked quite one dimensional in these last few weeks.
Things weren’t looking good before the game when it was announced that Voldymyr Gerun is recovering from the flu and that he would not start. Freshman Jason Todd started in his place and he came to play today, making tough shots and scoring 14 in 31 minutes. Kevin Bailey who scored 16 on 6 shots and made 8 of 9 from the free-throw line led the Pilots. But it doesn’t stop there, each and every Pilot who played contributed in one way or another. When Thomas van der Mars got in foul trouble, freshman Philipp Hartwich came in and provided valuable minutes for the Pilots. Bobby Sharp played will in his limited minutes working hard on the defensive end. D’Marques Tyson stepped up when Bailey got in foul trouble putting up 10 points. And what else can be said about Byrce Pressley. He was huge again leading the team in minutes playing 37 of the 40.
More from 2015 WCC Tournament
- Looking Back on Gonzaga’s Season
- Gonzaga Wins Men’s WCC Championship
- BYU Wins Women’s WCC Tournament Championship
- WCC Tournament Men’s Final Preview: #1 Gonzaga vs. #2 BYU
- WCC Championship Keys to the Game: Gonzaga
Portland came together and got a team win by just playing solid team basketball. Saint Mary’s on the other hand was very one-dimensional. Each offensive set started by getting the ball into Brad Waldow, and while the big man was super effective, there wasn’t enough production from the rest of the team to keep up with Portland’s balanced attack. Waldow netted a game high 25 points on 8-14 shooting, making 9-13 from the line. He also added game high 8 rebounds, but in the end it wasn’t enough. For for the first time in his career at Saint Mary’s, the Gaels will miss the semifinals of the WCC tournament.