The University of Portland men’s basketball team seems to be quite comfortable on the road. The Pilots dealt New Mexico a rare loss at The Pit in Albuquerque Monday night, 77-71. Portland improves to 3-1 overall, and is now 2-0 in road games. The Lobos fall to 2-1 on the season.

Senior guard Casey Frandsen lit up New Mexico for 23 points, going 6-for-8 from the three-point line. Four other Pilots scored in double-figures as Portland outscored the Lobos 48-37 in the second half to pull off the come-from-behind win. New Mexico has an all-time home record of 524-128, but the Pilots maintained their poise and gutted out the win.

“The goal tonight was to have a good second half,” said Head Coach Michael Holton after the game. “The question was, would we have enough composure to stay in the game after a rough start, and we showed that ability and came away with a great performance. This is a big win for our program.”

The Lobos capitalized with the home court advantage early, jumping out to a 7-0 lead highlighted by junior forward Alfred Neale’s dunk and three-pointer. Pilot senior Dustin Geddis put the crowd back in their seats with an 18-foot jumper free-throw line extended on the right side.

New Mexico extended to a 14-4 lead behind sophomore forward David Chiotti’s seven early points, forcing the Pilots to take an early timeout at the 13:32 mark.

Portland weathered the storm and battled back on the shoulders of Frandsen, who came off the bench to score 12 points, including 3-for-5 from three-point range. Frandsen ignited an 18-11 run to close out the half. Eugene “Pooh” Jeter struggled with his shot in the first half (2-for-7) but made a clutch driving layup at the halftime buzzer, making it 34-29.

Neale finished the half with 12 points, going 3-of-4 from long-range. Portland struggled with a 3-for-11 start from the field, but went into the locker room at 12-for-26 (.462). New Mexico continued their hot shooting and finished 13-for-25 (.520), knocking down five treys.

Chiotti paced the Lobos again in the second half after being forced to sit the last few minutes of the first period in foul trouble. Chiotti made a three-point play and also converted a jump hook in the lane to make it 47-39 at the first media timeout with 14:46 remaining. He would finish with 19 points on just eight shot attempts.

The Pilots kept their composure and got two easy baskets to cut the lead to four. Junior Patrick Galos and Geddis were the beneficiaries of nice assists from Frandsen, making it 47-43 with a little less than 13 minutes to play.

After another Galos layup, Neale hit his fourth trey of the game to take the lead back to five, but Portland claimed their first lead of the night after back-to-back three-pointers from senior guard Adam Quick, making it 51-50 with just under 10:09 to go. Quick who did not attempt a shot in the first half, started 4-for-4 and put in 11 points through the first 10 minutes of the second period.

The Pilots were able to execute as well as they have in any of the first few games, reminiscent of the road-win over Oregon State last week. Portland quieted a rowdy crowd many times late, none more important than a Frandsen trey off a Geddis hand-off with under seven minutes left. After a defensive stand, Geddis made a nice move in the paint to draw a foul, and converted both free-throws, extending the advantage to 60-54.

Freshman forward Dreshawn Vance blocked Mark Walters shot, then beat the Lobos down the floor and converted a fast-break layup to push the lead to eight.

Frandsen’s hip-injury was an afterthought as the senior knocked down consecutive threes making it 68-59 with less than four minutes.

“I had a few open looks at the beginning that got me going,” said Frandsen. “We came into a place with great atmosphere, played tough and came away with the win.”

After two Chiotti free-throws and a Tindall layup, the Pilots turned the ball over and Galos committed his fifth foul, sending Chiotti back to the stripe down five, with 1:43 remaining. The sophomore from San Jose, Calif. made one-of-two, cutting the lead to four.

The Lobos stole the ball and made an uncontested layup making it a 68-66 game as the crowd erupted. Poise was key, and coach Holton called on senior Dustin Geddis to make a big shot. Geddis went hard to the hoop and made a five-footer with 48 ticks remaining. Another defensive stop and Pooh Jeter grabbed the rebound and was instantly fouled with 37 seconds left.

It was a matter of knocking down free-throws, and the Pilots took care of business, making seven of their final eight attempts to put the game away.

The Pilots finished 27-for-49 from the field (.551), 10-for-20 from three-point range (.500) and 13-for-18 at the charity stripe (.722). Portland shot over 65 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes. Wilson had 12 points and eight rebounds, Geddis finished with 12 points and seven boards, while Quick and Jeter chipped in 10 each.

The Lobos were led by Neale’s 22 points and 13 rebounds. Chiotte finished with 19 points, but only brought down one board. New Mexico was held to 38.5 percent (10-26) from the field in the second half.

“It was a breakthrough game for us,” noted Holton. “Hopefully we can keep it going.”