CORVALLIS, Ore. - Portland trailed by as many as 19 points in the second half but battled back and had a chance to win late before falling to Oregon State 66-63 Wednesday night at Gill Coliseum. Pooh Jeter scored a game-high 27 points, 22 in the second half, but Portland (4-2) had no answer for Oregon State (3-2) in the post. OSU held a 37-23 rebound advantage for the game, including 17 offensive rebounds.
Sasa Cuic and J.S. Nash led the Beavers with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Cooper joined Jeter in double-figures with 10 points for the Pilots, all coming in the first half.
Down nine with 1:27 remaining, UP freshman guard Jeremiah Dominguez came off the bench and drilled a three-pointer from the left corner followed by four-straight free-throws by Jeter after two Beaver turnovers to make it a two-point game at 65-63 with 36 seconds left. OSU guard Lamar Hurd missed two free-throws and Jeter penetrated but had the ball knocked away in the paint. Pilot forward Donald Wilson gathered the loose ball but was called for travelling before making a five-footer.
OSU’s Sasa Cuic was fouled on the ensuing inbounds pass and hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe for a 66-63 lead with 4.9 ticks remaining. Jeter penetrated and kicked out to Cooper who’s three-point attempt was blocked by Kenny Hooks at the buzzer.
Jeter was spectacular down the stretch, going 7-of-10 from the field in the second half, knocking down two three-pointers and all six of his free-throw attempts. In addition to his 22 second half points, Jeter added six assists as he sliced-and-diced through the Beavers defense.
A six-minute scoring drought after halftime had Portland down 43-24, but the resilient Pilots chipped away at the lead and got the deficit down to 61-53 at the 3:14 mark on a dunk by sophomore forward Dreshawn Vance on a dish from Jeter. Vance entered the game averaging 11 points and eight rebounds but was limited to nine minutes in the second half because of foul trouble and finished with five points and one rebound.
After a torrid start gave Portland a 13-4 lead, the Pilots struggled from the floor and Oregon State used a 15-0 run that led to a 35-24 halftime edge. Portland shot just 31.8 percent from the field in the first period and it didn’t look much better early in the second half.
The Pilots were scoreless through the first six minutes after the break as OSU gained a 19-point lead with 13:50 remaining before Wilson’s 10-foot leaner stopped the bleeding. Jeter went coast-to-coast twice during a 10-3 Pilot run to get the game back into reach before the bizarre finish.
UP shot a blistering 63 percent from the floor in the second half and 47.8 percent for the game. OSU shot 43.6 percent and attempted nine more shots than the Pilots.
The Pilots return to action against crosstown rival Portland State at the Stott Center on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.
