Pilots Use Last-Minute Heroics to Defeat Waves

Greg Klosterman and Dionn Holton each made key free throws in the closing seconds of overtime Thursday night, leading Portland to a 69-68 victory over visiting Pepperdine in the West Coast Conference.

Klosterman scored 18 points to lead the Pilots (7-10, 2-3 WCC). Chivo Anderson had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Holton had 14 points. Marc McDowell led Pepperdine (5-12, 2-3) with 17 points and Bryan Hill had 13 points and a season-high 21 rebounds.

Portland freshman Brian Jackson put back an intentionally missed free-throw by Jimmie Rainwater with 1 second left in regulation to send the game to overtime tied at 58-all.

In overtime, the Pilots jumped to a 64-61 lead with 3:21 left on a layup by Holton.

Tommie Prince hit one of two free throws with 21 seconds left before Klosterman hit one of two to make it 69-66. Hill’s uncontested layup with 5 seconds left brought the Waves within 69-68.

In another Big West game:

Gonzaga 71, Loyola Marymount 60--Axel Dench had 18 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Bull-dogs (10-7, 3-2) at Spokane, Wash. Jim Williamson led the Lions (5-12, 2-3) with 25 points.

BIG WEST CONFERENCE

UC Irvine, the nation’s last winless Division I basketball team, held on for a 76-74 overtime victory over Nevada at the Bren Events Center.

Wendell Robinson sank a five-foot jumper with 18 seconds left for a 75-74 lead. After Brian Johnson made a free throw, the Anteaters had to sweat out Jimmy Carroll’s three-point attempt, which glanced off the rim at the buzzer.

The victory ended a losing streak at 16 games, dating to last season, for Irvine, which is 1-13 overall and 1-4 in the Big West.

Utah State 91, Cal State Fullerton 80--The Aggies shot 64% and held the Titans’ John Williams to only eight shots and 13 points at Fullerton.

Guard Kevin Rice had 22 points to lead Utah State (13-4, 6-0). Five other Aggies scored in double figures.

Fullerton (9-6, 2-3) played without starting forward Craig Whitehead, who was sidelined because of a strained groin muscle.

Long Beach State 68, UC Santa Barbara 59--Guard James Cotton scored a game-high 23 points for the 49ers (6-9, 2-3) at the Pyramid.

Long Beach center Ike Nwankwo played his best game of the season, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds.

The Gauchos (7-8, 2-3) were led by Raymond Tutt, who scored 17.

In other Big West games: Rayne Mahaffey led a second-half comeback that carried Pacific (14-1, 5-0) to its 14th consecutive victory, a 68-64 decision over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (9-8, 3-2) at Stockton. . . . Denmark Reid scored 18 points and helped spark a second-half surge that carried New Mexico State (8-7, 2-3) to a 71-47 victory over Idaho (7-11, 0-5) at Las Cruces, N.M.