LAS VEGAS — Keshawn Justice scored 2x points, Jalen Williams added 21 and No. 7 seeded Santa Clara held off tenth-seeded Portland 95-86 to conclude the opening round of the West Coast Conference tournament Thursday night.
Santa Clara meets sixth-seeded Pacific in the second round on Friday.
Justice, who missed the previous four games with a concussion, made five 3-pointers and Williams three as Santa Clara (11-7) was 10-of-21 from behind the arc.
Williams fired a dazzling bounce pass through traffic, perfectly leading Christian Carlyle, who scored, was fouled and converted the three-point play, extending a late four-point lead to 83-76 with under three minutes to play.
Carlyle finished with 14 points, as did Guglielmo Caruso while DJ Mitchell chipped in 12.
Ahmed Ali scored 21 to lead Portland (6-15), Eddie Davis added 18, Isiah Dasher 12 and Latrell Jones 10.
Both teams shot well. Santa Clara finishing 60% from the floor (31 of 52) and Portland shooting 52% (29 of 56).
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