Alec Wintering’s career night lifts Portland over Pepperdine

Alec Wintering scored a career-high 34 points to lead Portland to an 87-79 win over Pepperdine in West Coast Conference men’s basketball action on Wednesday night in Portland.

Wintering was 11-of-15 shooting from the field for the Pilots (8-7, 2-0 WCC). Bryce Pressley made four 3-pointers and scored 15 points, and Jarrel Marshall added 10 points for the Pilots, who made 10 3-pointers.

Wintering hit a 3-pointer to give Portland a 35-23 lead with 4:47 left in the first half and then made three consecutive layups in the final 1:49 of the period for a 44-36 lead.

Pressley’s 3-pointer midway through the second half sparked a 10-3 Portland run for a 70-52 advantage with 10:21 to play. Pepperdine closed to within six points, 72-66, with 6:18 remaining but Wintering kept the Pilots on top, scoring 11 of the team’s final 15 points.

Jeremy Major led the Waves (7-6, 0-2) with 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting.

San Francisco 89, Pacific 76: Devin Watson scored 23 points as the Dons (7-5, 1-1) recovered from a nine-point halftime deficit to beat the visiting Tigers (2-9, 1-1).

Watson was 6-of-12 shooting from the field including 5-of-5 from distance for the Dons. Ronnie Boyce III had 20 points, Tim Derksen posted a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds and Uche Ofoegbu added 14 points and seven rebounds.

The Dons trailed 45-36 at the break but Watson sank a 3-pointer to start the second half and later, he and Boyce combined for three-consecutive 3-pointers that helped lift San Francisco to a 66-64 lead with 8:14 to play. Pacific went ahead, 68-66, with 7:08 left and Ofoegbu responded with a pair of 3-pointers and Watson drained another for an 85-74 Dons lead with 1:40 remaining.

D.J. Ursery led the Tigers with 16 points.

Saint Mary’s 81, Santa Clara 59: Evan Fitzner had 21 points with 4-of-5 3-point shooting and the Gaels (10-1, 2-0) beat the Broncos (4-10, 0-2) in Santa Clara, California, for their fourth straight win and first road victory of the season.

Dane Pineau had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Gaels. Calvin Hermanson added 11 points and Jock Landale scored 10.

The Gaels, who have traveled less than 100 miles this season, lost their other away game 63-59 to California on Dec. 12.

Saint Mary’s made 11 of its first 12 shots in the second half to extend a four-point halftime lead to 62-47 with 10 minutes left. The Gaels cruised from there, shooting 68 percent in the half and 63 percent for the game.

Jared Brownridge scored 15 points for the Broncos, who dropped their third straight. KJ Feagin added 13 points and Matt Hauser 10.