PORTLAND- The University of Portland men’s basketball team improved to 7-1 at home with a 74-57 victory over the Loyola Marymount Lions today at the Chiles Center. It was the first time Portland (13-6, 2-2 WCC) swept a WCC homestand since the 1997-98 season when the Pilots defeated Santa Clara and San Francisco. With the loss, LMU drops to 9-8 overall, 1-3 in WCC play.

“Today was a quality win for what I thought was a good week of Pilot basketball,” said head coach Michael Holton. “We started slow, but our intensity and focus increased as the game went on. Out half court defense allowed scoring opportunities for us. All in all it was a great weekend of Pilot basketball.”

Portland’s dominance in the paint created numerous scoring opportunities in the second half. For the second half alone, Portland shot 59 percent from the floor (13-22) and 56 percent (28-50) for the game. Portland handled the Lions down low, outscoring them 38-26 and Portland’s bench contributed 24 points compared to LMU’s 13. The Lions won the battle of the boards, 37-29 in the game.

A 9-0 run by the Lions with 14:50 left, closed the gap to four, but it would be as close as they would come throughout the rest of the game. An 11-0 run by Portland with just over two minute to play gave Portland a 17 point advantage as the Pilots went on to win, 74-57

For the game, Portland saw three players score in double figures. Led by Pooh Jeter’s 15 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the stripe, Portland also saw nine player score in the game. Donald Wilson picked up 14 points and shot 6-of-8 from the field, while freshman Marcus Lewis added 13 points. Andreas Gahlmann led Portland on the boards with five.

LMU’s Matthew Knight led all players with 17 points in the game. Knight shot 8-of-12 from the floor and added three rebounds in the effort. John Haywood was the only other LMU player to score in double figures with 10 points. Daryl Pegram led all players with eight rebounds in the game.

The Pilots started sluggishly, turning the ball over four times through the first four minutes of play. Portland’s first score of the game came on a Ben Sullivan trey with 15:47 left. The Lions held a 9-5 advantage at the 14 minute mark, but Portland put its gears in motion, and in a two-minute span, went on an 11-0 run for a 16-9 lead of its own. Portland would lead the rest of the half, extending its lead to 13 on a a long Jeter trey with just 43 seconds to go. The Pilots held a 36-26 lead heading into the break.

For the half, Portland held the Lions to 34 percent shooting from the field and just 28 percent shooting from long range. The Pilots were on target from both the floor (54 percent) and three-point range (50 percent), as eight players scored in the first half. Portland held the Lions to just eight points down low, while collecting 18 points of its own in the paint. The Pilot bench also contributed 13 first half points, while LMU’s reserves managed seven points.

The Pilots hit the road next week to take on San Diego and San Francisco. Portland’s game at San Diego on Jan. 20 will tip at 7:05 p.m., while the Pilots’ game at San Francisco on Jan. 22 will tip at 4:00 p.m.