ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Portland Pilots struggled from the field as Winthrop raced to a 77-46 non-conference win Saturday night at Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill, S.C. It’s the second straight loss for the Pilots who drop to 1-4 on the season. The Eagles, who beat Marquette on the road last week, improve to 3-0.

"I thought we played with good energy and gave a good effort, but I give a lot of credit to Winthrop’s execution," head coach Michael Holton said. "I thought our defensive energy was good, but they’re a shot-making team and they made their shots."

The Pilots managed only 14 field goals on the night and finished shooting 24 percent from the field. Winthrop, of the Big South Conference, opened the game on fire and kept it up throughout the game as the Eagles shot 44 percent overall and a back-breaking 56 percent from behind the arc.

Four Eagles scored in double figures, while junior center Ben Sullivan led the way for UP with 12 points.

Senior guard Pooh Jeter notched 10 points giving him 1,254 in his career. Jeter is only nine points shy of moving into eighth place and 13 points of ninth on Portland’s all-time scoring charts.

UP junior center Kevin Field led the way on the boards with six rebounds as the Eagles outrebounded the Pilots 46-25.

The Eagles opened the first half red-hot from the field hitting eight of their first 10 three-pointers, led by junior forward Craig Bradshaw who hit his first three in a row from behind the arc. Bradshaw’s third three in the game’s first eight minutes gave the Eagles a 20-4 lead.

Junior guard Torrell Martin and sophomore guard Michael Jenkins had pair of three’s to help Winthrop open a 32-13 lead at 6:50, the Eagles’ biggest lead of the half.

The Pilots finally clamped down on defense forcing the Eagles to miss their next six from behind the arc.

Jeter led the way offensively in the first half for UP with eight points before break, as the Pilots trailed by 16 at 36-20. Portland hit 23.8 percent (5-21) of its first-half shots and were outrebounded 24-12 during the game’s first 20 minutes.

"Turnovers and missed shots kept us from getting into a rhythm early in the game," said Holton, whose Pilots finished with 17 turnovers to the Eagles’ 16. "When you’re playing a good team on the road, things can go downhill quickly."

The Pilots’ shooting woes continued in the second period, while the Eagles kept up their torrid pace. Back-to-back 3-point plays by James Shuler gave the Eagles their biggest lead of the night at 57-24 with 12 minutes left to play. The lead would grow to 64-24, capped off by a break-away dunk by senior center Billy Huston with nine minutes to play.

Winthrop was also lights-out from the line as the Eagles went 13-15 on their free throws. The Pilots matched the Eagles from the charity stripe going 13 of 16.

Bradshaw led Winthrop with 18 points, Shuler scored 12, Jenkins added 11, while Martin scored 10 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.

"We wanted to survive their first punch, but that first punch was a knock-out punch," Holton said.

Portland’s two-game swing through the Carolinas concludes Monday with a game against Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. (PST).