STATS I VIDEO REPLAY I TOUR BLOG

LEICESTER, England – Franklin Porter buried a 10-foot floater at the buzzer to end a furious final minute and give the Portland Pilots a 67-66 victory over a select team from the Newcastle Eagles Tuesday evening at the Leicester Arena. The win opened Portland's four-game foreign tour throughout England in thrilling fashion.

Trailing by seven late in regulation, Portland came up with numerous big plays down the stretch. Hometown boy Josh McSwiggan, playing on his home club's court, drilled a three-pointer and then found Franklin Porter with a nice pass for a layup in the closing minutes to cut the deficit to one.

Newcastle led by one with the ball and 16 seconds left, but redshirt freshman Malcolm Porter knocked it away from behind to his brother, Franklin. He passed back ahead to Malcolm for the transition layup and a 65-64 lead with 10.8 seconds left.

The Eagles answered with a layup in traffic with five seconds left. Franklin Porter then went the distance to beat the buzzer and ignite a benches clearing celebration.

The Pilots led 31-30 at halftime and the game was tied at 47 after three quarters.

Franklin Porter finished with a game-high 14 points and seven rebounds, while Malcolm Porter added 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Senior center Philipp Hartwich was dominant defensively with nine rebounds and nine blocked shots.

Newcastle's club was the regular season and post-season runner up in last year's British Basketball League (BBL), the top professional league in the nation. Newcastle was featuring a mix of players from its top team, as well as others from lower division rosters as they a preparing for the start of preseason training.

Portland will continue its foreign tour with a closed scrimmage on Wednesday and then play the host Leicester Riders on Thursday night. The Riders won both the regular season and BBL tournament title last season. The team's final game will be at Barking Abbey Basketball Academy on Saturday in London.

Fans can follow the Pilots on the foreign tour by visiting PortlandPilots.com/LondonTour.