PORTLAND, Ore. - Senior guard Darren Cooper drilled three consecutive three-pointers to give Portland an early double digit lead and the Pilots never looked back in a 70-52 victory over the Portland State Vikings Wednesday night at the Chiles Center. The Pilots (3-5) have now won two straight and have beaten the Vikings (2-6) in five of the last six meetings.

Cooper scored 11 points in the first four minutes and the Pilots led by as much as 14 points in the first period. For the second game in a row Portland shot the lights out, finishing at 54 percent from the field. In a 99-95, come-from-behind victory over Long Beach State on Saturday, the Pilots shot 61 percent for the game, including 75 percent in the second half.

"Each night we are trying to improve and tonight I felt like we got a little better," Portland head coach Michael Holton said. "There is still a lot of room for improvement, specifically with rebounding and playing with a lead."

After halftime, Portland used a 10-0 run to push the margin to 21 points at 41-20 and later followed with a 12-3 spurt to gain the largest lead of the game at 56-29 with less than 10 minutes remaining. PSU would trim the deficit to 13 in the closing minutes, but the game was long out of reach.

Cooper finished with 18 points on 7 of 8 shooting to lead all scorers. Portland senior guard Pooh Jeter added 14 points and has reached double figures in all eight games this season. Jeter also moved into sixth place on the UP career scoring charts with 1,296 points. Pilot Hall of Famer Jim Winters (1949-52, 55-56) is fifth at 1,440.

Junior center Kevin Field came off the bench to add 14 points and five rebounds, while senior swingman Donald Wilson chipped in 12. Junior Ben Sullivan tallied a career-high six assists and played a solid all-around game in the post.

Sophomore guard Ryan Sommer led the Vikings with 15 points, while senior reserve Josh Neeley added 13. PSU was held to under 40 percent shooting from the field and converted just nine of 18 free throw attempts. The Vikings’ frontline of Scott Morrison, Anthony Washington and Juma Kamara came into the game averaging a combined 34.2 points, but were held to a collective 10-point performance.

"Our defensive energy never dipped tonight," Holton noted. "Defending gets us in the open court and energizes our team. I thought our defense led to many offensive opportunities early in the game and was resilient down the stretch."

The Pilots look to continue their winning streak on Saturday, Dec. 10 when they host the Oregon State Beavers at 7 p.m. in the Chiles Center. The game will be televised on KPDX (UPN 49) in Portland and on KVAL-TV in Eugene. At halftime, the 2005 NCAA Champion University of Portland women’s soccer team will be honored.