Three Pilots record career-highs in the game
SOUTH BEND, Ind. --- The University of Portland men’s basketball team hung around all game, but the No. 20 Notre Dame Fighting Irish held on for an 86-69 win Tuesday night at the Joyce Center. It marks the eighth straight win for the Fighting Irish (9-1), while the Pilots (2-11) lost their eighth consecutive outing.
Irish senior Russell Carter scored a game-high 28 points, including 18 in the second half, while junior Rob Kurz added 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Sophomore point guard Brian McTear led the Pilots with a career-high 14 points and six assists, while senior Darren Cooper added 11 points and six rebounds off the bench. Freshman Ethan Niedermeyer and senior Chris Jackson also tallied career-highs with eight and nine points, respectively.
Trailing 35-29 at the half, McTear drained a three-pointer for the Pilots to cut the deficit to three points. The Irish then went on a 10-2 run to push the margin to double-digits. A pair of free throws by Carter pushed the lead to 56-43 with 12:43 remaining, but the Pilots bounced back with an 8-0 run capped by a three-pointer from Cooper to make it 56-51 with 10:49 left.
Carter continued to pile up the points, but a free throw by Jackson made it 65-56 with less than eight minutes remaining. The Irish were able to pull away late and led by as much as 20 in the closing minutes.
"I think you have to give some credit to Portland," Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said. "I thought they came in here and really played well and defended us physically. They have bodies like a BIG EAST team and they kind of took some things away from us and that was a good thing."
“We appreciate the opportunity to play such a good team in this setting,”
Portland head coach Eric Reveno said. “They have potential to be a great team and I thought our guys stepped up and played well.”
Portland shot 50 percent for the game, including 6-for-10 from the three-point line. The Pilots entered the game shooting just 39 percent from the field and 24 percent from three-point range.
“Our guys made shots tonight,” Reveno said. “We focus on effort and execution, trying to be a sound and competitive team. We’ve struggled offensively this season, but tonight it came together, we executed and knocked down shots.”
Notre Dame shot 41 percent from the field, but converted 34-of-42 free throw attempts and 8-of-20 three-pointers.
Portland had 19 turnovers to Notre Dame’s 10, allowing 24 points off turnovers. The Irish also gained an 18-7 edge in second chance points, courtesy of 15 offensive rebounds.
Portland came out with great energy in a hostile environment and gained an early six point lead and led a good majority of the first half. Ahead 27-25 with 5:45 remaining, the Irish tied the game on a layup by Kurz. A technical foul on the Portland bench on the ensuing possession resulted in four free throws, which the Irish converted. Notre Dame would not relinquish the lead.
The Pilots will next be in action at the Chiles Center on Friday, Dec. 22 against the Montana Grizzlies at 7 p.m. The game can be heard live on KKAD 1550 AM or online at portlandpilots.com.
