Portland cruises to 78-61 win over Santa Clara

Jan 9, 2015, 12:34 am

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Alec Wintering scored 26 points on 8-for-13 shooting and sank all nine of his shots from the free throw line to lead Portland to a 78-61 win over Santa Clara on Thursday night.

Gabe Taylor and Jason Todd added 12 points apiece for Portland (11-5, 2-2 West Coast), which shot 53 percent from the floor on 47 attempts and held a 34-17 rebounding advantage. Thomas van der Mars hauled in 12 rebounds with eight points.

Portland trailed only briefly after the opening bucket from Santa Clara, then took control with 11 unanswered points and carried a 30-25 advantage into the break. The Pilots continued to pull away in the second half and after Bobby Sharp's 3-pointer that made it 59-49 with 6:54 left the margin never fell below double figures the rest of the way.

Denzel Johnson and Jalen Richard led Santa Clara with 13 points apiece.