Matthew Dellavedova scored 21 points to lead the Saint Mary’s Gaels to an 83-69 victory over the Portland Pilots in West Coast Conference action at McKeon Pavilion.
Stephen Holt added 16 points for Saint Mary’s (23-7, 11-3 WCC), which clinched its first WCC regular-season title since 1997. The Gaels, who are sharing the title with Gonzaga, also received 15 points from Mickey McConnell and a 13- point, nine-rebound effort from Rob Jones.
Jared Stohl registered 16 points for Portland (20-10, 7-7), while Luke Sikma added a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Nemanja Mitrovic contributed 11 points, while Eric Waterford posted 10 points.
The Pilots jumped out to a 39-38 halftime lead thanks to a sizzling 55.6 percent shooting effort.
However, the Gaels fought back in the second stanza, as they posted a 57.9 percent shooting display, and also made 20-of-24 attempts from the foul line.
Saint Mary’s finished the night 31-of-41 from the charity stripe, while Portland made just 11-of-14 free throw attempts.