The clock wound down and the buzzer final sounded. Students rushed the court in the Chiles Center. Players hugged, coaches exchanged high fives and students squealed in celebration of Portland's 84-81 upset win over BYU.
The win marks an end to a four-game losing streak for Portland.
Portland guards Alec Wintering, Bryce Pressley and D’Marques Tyson combined for 64 points in the victory.
Head coach Eric Reveno said a strong sense of urgency from the whole team fueled this afternoon's win. In the day since their loss to San Diego, the entire team attended meetings and studied film to prepare.
“After Thursday’s disappointment, I really wanted our team to play a certain way,” Reveno said. “Our players, to their credit, were dialed in (tonight). They trusted in each other and knew that they could do better.”
Tyson was the hero for Portland Saturday, pouring 21 points after going scoreless in the loss to San Diego. He shot 5-of-10 from behind the arc and 57 percent from the field overall.
Guard Chase Fischer paced the Cougars in the loss with 22 points. Forward Nate Austin snagged 11 boards, the high-mark for any players on either team.
The game came down to the wire in the second half. A right-wing three from Tyson with 1:06 left gave Portland a six-point advantage at 80-74. With the crowd on their feet, BYU’s Nick Emery sank a fadeaway three from the corner with an outstretched hand in his face to bring the deficit to two with 22 seconds left.
The Pilots hung on to victory by sinking a trio of free-throws, two from Wintering and one by sophomore Jason Todd.
Wintering dished out five assists to go with his team-leading 22 points. Pressley added 20 points for the Pilots.
Portland (9-11, 3-4 WCC) will next travel south to Northern California for a pair of away games. First up will be to face the Pacific Tigers (4-12, 3-4 WCC) in Stockton. Ben Arthur is a Sports Reporter for the Beacon. He can be reached by email at arthur17@up.edu or on Twitter @KingArthur_425.
