PORTLAND, Ore.- The University of Portland men’s basketball team shot 41 percent from the floor and held all-American Luke Jackson to under his averages, but the Oregon Ducks went on a shooting spree from behind the arc to claim an 88-70 victory on Mon., Dec. 22 at the Chiles Center. With the loss, Portland falls to 5-5 on the season, while the Ducks improve to 5-2 overall.

"Oregon played great tonight,” said Head Coach Michael Holton. “They made us extend our defense and still hit threes.”

The first half could have been anyone’s game. There were four lead changes each before the break. Portland controlled the tip, while the Ducks scored first on a bank shot by Ian Crosswhite. The Pilots came right back at Oregon on a Dustin Geddis 10-footer at the 18-minute mark. Senior Casey Frandsen made it into the Pilot record books with 11:49 left in the first half on a quick released trey, recording his 1,002nd point of his career. The score went back and forth and Portland was right in it until the Ducks went on a 13-4 run with 3:49 left in the first half. With 51 seconds left, Adam Quick cut Oregon’s lead back to three on a deep trey. Oregon’s Brandon Lincoln responded with a three of his own for a 34-28 Oregon lead heading into the break.

“I thought it was a good college basketball game,” said Holton. “Our team played hard, but Oregon is a great shooting team.”

For the half, Casey Frandsen tallied eight points in 12 minutes of play. Portland had less turnovers than Oregon, but the Ducks capitalized on those opportunities, racking up 13 points. The Pilots were held to just four points in the paint in the first half and were edged on the boards, 16-12.

In the second half, Oregon was able to extend their lead substantially. It seemed like for every two point play Portland recorded, Oregon responded with a three. And they hit a lot of threes; 15 to be exact. The Ducks tied a Chiles Center record for three-pointers in a game, shooting 15-for-21 on the night, for an impressive 71.4 percent. James Davis went 5-of-8 and teammate Luke Jackson hit 3-of-5, while teammate Andre Joseph nailed 3-of-3 from long range.

Portland’s Pooh Jeter once again came to aide Portland, scoring 15 second-half points and finishing the night 7-of-18 from the floor, tying a season-best six assists. Portland stayed in contention until around the six minute mark, when the Ducks opened a 20-point lead. Portland closed the gap to 14-points on a lay-up by Jeter with 3:46 left to go, but Oregon maintained their energy level and pulled out an 88-70 win.

“We didn’t have a run in the second half and expended a lot of energy,” said Holton.

For the game, Jeter racked up 19 points, while teammates Adam Quick and Casey Frandsen scored 13 and 12 points, respectively. Patrick Galos led Portland on the boards with seven, while grinding out eight points. Senior Dustin Geddis added six rebounds in the game. Portland shot 41 percent (25-61) from the floor, 42 percent (8-19) from behind the arc and 60 percent (12-20) from three-point range.

“Oregon came in and played tonight,” said Pooh Jeter. “They played hard, they had the crowd in it and they were just feeling it. They really shot the ball well, even when we extended.”

“Pooh (Jeter) and Donald (Wilson) believe they have to carry the basketball team,” said Holton. “They play together, but they feel the weight of our program is on their shoulders.”

Jackson led the Ducks with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Ian Crosswhite and James Davis finished with 18 points each. Oregon shot 53 percent (30-57) from the field and just 57 percent (13-23) from the charity stripe.

In the game, Oregon totaled 10 more rebounds (39-29) than the Pilots and held the advantage in the paint (24-points-to-16-points) and from the bench (32-points-to-18-points).

The Pilots will take on Boise State on Sun., Dec. Dec. 28 on the road for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off at BSU Pavilion.