PORTLAND — Emmanuel Ndumanya scored a career-high 23 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and Josip Vrankic tossed in 19 points in Santa Clara’s 81-72 win at Portland on Thursday night.
Ndumanya threw down a dunk with 1:36 remaining after Portland cut the gap to 72-70 and the Broncos (10-17, 7-8 West Coast Conference) closed out the game making five of six from the line in the last 23 seconds to fend off the Pilots rally.
KJ Feagin added 15 points with seven assists for Santa Clara, which shot 58 percent in the second half (17 of 29) and 53 percent for the game.
Marcus Shaver, Jr. led Portland with 19 points, including free throws that cut the gap to 72-70 with 2:36 remaining and to 76-72 with 24 seconds left.
D’Marques Tyson added 16 points and Malcolm Porter 12 for the Pilots (10-18, 4-11), who have lost three straight.