PORTLAND, Ore.- The University of Portland men’s basketball team used its defensive play to grind out a 74-59 win at home over the Loyola Marymount Lions tonight. Four Pilot players scored in double figures with Pooh Jeter leading the way, hitting 4-of-5 from three-point range for 15 points. Portland owns the series with the Lions this season, and improves to 10-11 overall, 4-4 in WCC play. LMU falls to 11-10 on the year, 2-6 in the WCC.

“It wasn’t the prettiest game, but we sharpened up as the game went on,” said Head Coach Michael Holton. “Our defense was a constant as our offense sputtered, and I thought our response to their pressure was great. Every game is not poetry in motion and this game became a grinder.”

Portland held the advantage in a slow scoring game right from the opening tip. The Pilots scored first on a six-footer by senior Dustin Geddis for an early 2-0 UP lead. Portland’s defense forced 10 Lion turnovers before the break. Portland led throughout the half and opened up a seven-point lead three different times. With 14:14 left in the first half, Adam Quick hit a trey for a 9-2 Pilot lead. Quick hit his second trey of the night with 2:42 left in the half. LMU’s Keith Kincade made two free-throws with 49 seconds left, but Portland went into the lockerroom with a 30-25 lead.

Quick led the Pilots in the first half with eight points, followed by Geddis and Jeter who tallied six points each. Kincade led LMU with eight points, while Dustin Brown totaled seven boards.

“LMU is a good team,” said Adam Quick. “They play hard, and just like us, they’re trying to get to the next level.”

After leading 30-25 at the break, the Pilots went dry. The Lions went on a 10-0 run on two treys by Wes Wardrop and field goals by Kincade and Matthew Knight to take a 41-40 lead. The Pilots quickly regained the lead on a three-pointer by Jeter, but Kincade tied the game at 43 with 11:49 left on a seven-footer. Jeter hit another three with 11:18 on the clock, giving Portland a 46-43 advantage, but it wasn’t until the last five minutes of the game that Portland was able to pull away. The Pilots went on a 20-5 run the final seven minutes of regulation. A Donald Wilson cram with 1:29 sparked the crowd and coach Holton decided it was time to put in the Pilot reserves. Portland finished with a cushy 15-point margin of victory on the night.

“Tonight’s game lacked rhythm and I thought our defense was the reason why we were able to separate ourselves down the stretch,” said Holton.

Eugene Jeter scored 15 points while Adam Quick, Dustin Geddis and Casey Frandsen scored 14 each. Geddis led all players with 11 boards on the night. The Pilots finished 9-for-15 from long range, including four from Jeter and three from Frandsen.

For the game, Portland scored 21 points off LMU turnovers and 24 points from its bench. The Pilots shot 22-of-53 from the floor and 21-of-31 from the stripe.

“We’ve got some great scorers on our team,” said Casey Frandsen. “I am glad that I can give that added scoring punch coming off the bench. Our defense was key, but we executed and got some good shots down the stretch.”

“LMU is a tough team,” said Holton. “The game was a challenge and they made a run in the second half, but we kept our composure and responded well.”

Wardrop and Kincade led the Lions with 13 points as LMU scored just two field goals the final 9:50 of the game. Foul trouble hurt the Lions early as the WCC’s third leading scorer, Sherman Gay played just 16 minutes, five in the first half as he fouled out of the game. He had just three points and five rebounds. Dustin Brown finished with seven points and eight rebounds as the Lions finished with a 37-31 edge on the boards.

“We grinded out a win in a very tough game tonight,” said Holton.

The Pilots are back at home on Feb. 7, hosting Pepperdine at 7:00 p.m.