FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Junior guard Pooh Jeter scored 24 points and Portland made 30-of-36 free-throws in a 74-60 win over Georgia Southern Sunday afternoon at the Top of the World Classic. Portland (2-1) earned a fourth place finish in the eight-team tournament, while Georgia Southern (1-2) finished in sixth place.

Jeter was 8-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range in 38 productive minutes. The Pilots got a big lift from their reserves, outscoring the Eagles 32-19 in bench points. Junior guard Darren Cooper finished with 16 points going 9-for-9 from the charity stripe and freshman guard Jeremiah Dominguez scored all eight of his points in the waning minutes on free throws to seal the victory. Freshman forward Marcus Lewis had another solid performance, finishing with eight points, nine rebounds and four steals in 28 minutes.

“I feel that our team did great, we had good energy and a hard edge,” said Jeter. “I feel confident about the way we’re playing at this point.”

“It was a tough, physical game and we struggled at the start,” Portland head coach Michael Holton said. “Their first half pressure had us on our heels, but to our guys’ credit, we pushed the ball and got things going. It is a good start for our season and we learned a lot about our team this weekend.”

Georgia Southern got things started when Courtney Joseph nailed an open jumper for an early 2-0 lead. Elton Nesbitt stole the ball from Portland on the next possession and made an easy lay in, but the Pilots responded with a 9-0 run during the next four minutes of play. A Darren Cooper scoop shot that went up and in gave the Pilots a 11-7 lead with 12:49 left in the first half. Portland went on a scoring drought for the next four minutes of play as the Eagles outscored the Pilots, 12-0 for a 19-11 lead. An 8-2 Portland run at the three minute mark, sparked by six points from freshman Marcus Lewis, cut the GSU lead to two (21-19). A long range trey by Cooper put the Pilots back on top, 22-21 with 2:24 left before the break. The Eagles scored four more points, but a Donald Wilson lay up and a Lewis 15-footer with five seconds left, gave Portland a 28-25 halftime lead.

Georgia Southern’s Nesbitt led all players in the first half with 11 points, but Lewis led the Pilots with eight points and teammate Darren Cooper tallied seven points. Portland forced 12 turnovers from the Eagles, while tallying seven of their own. Neither team shot well from three-point range in the first half as Portland connected on just 1-of-6 and the Eagles went scoreless in six attempts.

The Eagles scored first out of the locker room as Terry Williams launched a three-pointer that was good, tying the game at 28.

Portland then went on a 6-2 run with assistance from Dreshawn Vance and Pooh Jeter. With 13:40 left in the game, Jeter stole the ball and went coast-to-coast for a 41-35 Pilot lead. Portland’s second three-pointer of the game came at 12:59 when Jeter connected on a long range trey from the corner. The Pilots opened a 12-point lead at 52-40 over the Eagles at the nine minute mark following a pair of threes and a layup by Jeter. Portland’s last 10 points of the game came at the free-throw to ice the game.

Portland’s 30 free-throws matched the total of their first two games combined. The teams finished with 36 rebounds each, while GSU finished with 20 turnovers to Portland’s 18. Dreshawn Vance joined Jeter and Cooper in double figures with 13 points and seven rebounds. Nesbit and Jean Francois led the Eagles with 17 and 16 points, respectively.

“The intensity and energy that we showed today was great,” said Cooper. “We trusted each other to get the job done and that is what we did.”

Jeter was named to the all-tournament team for his efforts. Central Florida's Gary Johnson was the tournament's Most Valuable Player after leading the Golden Nights past New Mexico State, 62-58 in the championship game.

The Pilots return to the Chiles Center for their regular season home opener on Saturday, Nov. 27 against Seattle University at 3 p.m.