SAN DIEGO, Calif.- The University of Portland men’s basketball team dropped an exciting road game to San Diego State, 67-61 at Cox Arena on the SDSU campus. Pooh Jeter scored 25 points and dished out a career-high seven assists for the Pilots (6-6), but Portland had no answer for the Aztec senior forward Aerick Sanders, who erupted for 34 points and 14 rebounds.

The Aztecs (8-5) dominated the interior and the boards, out-scoring the Pilots 34-20 in the paint and racking up a 20-3 edge in second chance points. Portland was also on the short end of free throws, getting only nine attempts to SDSU’s 22.

The first half was a see-saw affair that was spearheaded by stellar individual performances from each side. Jeter erupted scored 18 first half points, while Sanders tallied 20 points by the break.

Jeter put on a shooting clinic for the Pilots nailing his first four shot attempts, including three from beyond the arc, in the first seven minutes of action. The hot hand spread to other Pilots, as Karl Aaker and Adam Quick found the range.

After Aaker nailed his first attempt, Quick knocked down two more treys, the latter an off-balance 30-footer at the end of the shot clock. The basket gave Portland a 23-16 lead at 11:12.

The Pilots had no answer for Sanders, who tied the game at 27 apiece on a fast break dunk and then gave the Aztecs their first lead with a pair of free throws at the 5:15 mark. Sanders would finish the half going 8-of-12 from the field and adding five rebounds.

Sanders three-point play at 3:42 gave SDSU their largest lead at 34-31, but the Pilots would hold the Aztecs scoreless for the remainder of the half. A jumper by Quick and Jeter’s fourth three-pointer gave Portland a 36-34 lead at the break.

Portland shot a sizzling 7-of-15 on three-pointers in the first twenty minutes, but were out-rebounded by a 23-15 margin. Jeter hit 4-of-5 treys alone in the period.

The Pilots jumped out to a 45-41 lead after a fast break lay-in by Quick and an acrobatic finish from Jeter at the hoop.

SDSU adjusted and went to a big lineup midway through the second half, and Marcus Slaughter (6-9, 208) capitalized with a lay-up and a putback he converted into a three-point play to tie the game 51-51 with 8:39 to go.

The game became very physical and as tempers flared, Pilot center Patrick Galos was hit with a technical foul at the 5:12 mark. Sanders hit one-of-two free throws to give SDSU the 56-53 lead.

Pilot sophomore Donald Wilson, scored his first points of the game with a three-pointer at 4:44 to tie it at 56-56. Sanders scored an uncontested lay-up at the other end but Wilson knotted it up again with an emphatic baseline dunk on the next possession.

The Aztecs went back to Sanders who scored and was fouled, making the free throw to put SDSU up three with 2:20 remaining.

On the ensuing Pilot possession, Jeter came up big again with a three-point play of his own, going coast-to-coast and finishing over Sanders, but it would be Portland’s final score of the game. SDSU went up 63-61 with under a minute to play on Chris Walton’s runner in the lane.

After a Jeter turnover gave SDSU possession with 40 ticks remaining, Pilot senior forward Dustin Geddis drew a charge from Wesley Stokes giving UP another chance to tie or take the lead with 38.4 left to play.

Jeter missed a three-pointer and SDSU’s Brandon Heath grabbed the rebound and was instantly fouled with 19 seconds remaining. Heath made both free throws, extending the lead to four points and then sealed the game for the Aztecs with a steal on the defensive end and two more free throws for a 67-61 final.

Portland’s perimeter game struggled in the second half as they connected on just 1-of-9 three-pointers. The Pilots shot better in every category compared to the Aztecs, but the difference in the game was free throws. SDSU made 15-of-22, while the Pilots only went to the line nine times, making seven.

“Sanders was a beast,” said Portland head coach Michael Holton. “They did a good job finding him for good looks. Every lineup they played rebounded well. The fouls piled up and they got more free throw chances which was the difference in the game. We played hard enough to win and I was very pleased with the effort on both ends of the floor.”

The Aztecs held a 44-27 rebounding edge, converting 20 offensive boards into 20 second chance points. SDSU finished 39 percent (24-61) from the field and 29 percent from long range (4-14). Portland finished the game 43 percent (23-53) from the field and 33 percent (8-24) from three-point range.

It was a career night for Jeter, who tied a career-high with 25 points, set a new career-high with seven assists and also grabbed five rebounds. Adam Quick was the only other Pilot in double figures, finishing with 10 points and a career-tying six boards. Dreshawn Vance also set a new career-high with four blocked shots.

Sanders recorded a career-high with 34 points and 14 rebounds, his fifth double-double of the season.

“It’s a game of inches,” Holton noted. “If we make one or two of those open looks in the last three minutes it could have ended up in our favor.”

Portland next heads to Flagstaff, Ariz. for a match-up with Northern Arizona on Sat., Jan. 3 at 7:05 p.m. (MST).