Portland, Ore. – The University of Portland shot thelights-out in the second half to beat Concordia 95-72, in the Pilots’ final exhibition game Friday night at the Chiles Center. Sophomore Donald Wilson led the way for Portland putting up 21 points on a night UP shot 60 percent from the field in the second half.

Joining Wilson with double-digit points were Portland sophomore Eugene Jeter who netted 11, and senior Casey Frandsen who put up 21 points and went 5-for-9 from behind the arc. The Pilots out-muscled the Cavaliers down low as the Pilots outscored Concordia, 50-19 in the paint.

The game started off all Cavaliers as Concordia junior Brandon Erlandson was on fire. Erlandson hit a two, and nailed back-to-back three’s as CU led 8-2 early on.

“We didn’t match their intensity or energy in the first half,” said Pilot head coach Michael Holton.

Portland battled back on the strength of it’s inside game. Dustin Geddis was a force down low and hit a couple buckets to give the Pilots their first lead of the game. Concordia refused to go away as Steve Ford converted a three-point play to pull CU within 19-18 halfway through the first half.

Portland’s Casey Frandsen took over, going 4-of-6 from three-point land in the first half. Frandsen sparked a 17-5 UP run that was capped off by Donald Wilson’s drive to the hoop. Wilson’s bucket gave UP it’s first double-digit lead of the night at 34-23.

The Pilots shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, and led 44-35 at the break. Frandsen finished the half with 12 points, while Wilson had 10. Erlandson had 18 for Concordia.

The Pilots came out of the locker room looking like a different team. Wilson started the Pilot scoring with a steal at mid-court and an uncontested cram at the other end. Frandsen continued the onslaught with a three-pointer making it 53-37 just two minutes into the second half. When Portland senior Adam Quick found Wilson for an alley-oop stuff, the Pilots had their first 20 point lead of the night (58-37).

“It was a game of two halves,” Holton said. “During the second half, we played the type of ball that we are going to have to play this year.”

UP opened the second half a perfect 7-for-7 from the field as they went off on a 14-4 run. Freshman Dreshawn Vance joined the Pilot party with a two-handed cram off a nice feed from Quick, making it 70-54. The Pilots sailed home from there.

Portland finished with a 40-24 advantage on the boards. Dustin Geddis cleaned up the glass for the Pilots ripping down nine boards. He also swatted away two Concordia shots. The Cavs didn’t help themselves as they racked up 25 turnovers on the night. The Pilots turned the ball over 19 times, but the Pilots more than made up for it as they shot 53 percent from the field for the game.

Portland gets the regular season under way against Boise State University in the Chiles Center on Nov. 21 at 7:00 p.m.