Portland nearly overcomes a 14-point second half deficit, sparked by freshman reserve Parker Emerson’s career-high 14 points

PORTLAND, Ore. --- The University of Portland men’s basketball team lost in heartbreaking fashion at the Chiles Center Monday night, falling 66-65 to San Francisco. The Pilots fall to 6-17 (2-5 West Coast Conference) on the year, while the Dons improve to 8-14 (4-3).

Trailing by as much as 14 points in the second period and 13 points at the 4:41 mark, the Pilots staged a furious comeback, limiting the Dons to one point for the remainder of the game. Portland cut the lead to two points after junior forward Sherrard Watson got a steal at mid-court and slammed home a thunderous dunk at the 1:31 mark.

In a wild and fast-paced final minute, the Pilots got the rebound after San Francisco guard Armando Surratt missed a three-pointer. Portland freshman point guard Taishi Ito was then fouled by Alan Wiggans, Jr., the fifth foul of the game for the Dons’ leading scorer. Ito missed the front end of the one-and-one, but Jones knocked the ball off of a Dons player to give the Pilots another chance. Senior guard Darren Cooper then had the ball stolen by USF guard Manny Quezada, who was immediately fouled with 27 seconds remaining. Quezada rimmed out the front end of his one-and-one free throw attempt and after a blocked three-point shot attempt by Ito, the Pilots retained possession with six seconds remaining. Ito took the inbounds pass and was able to draw a foul with 0.8 seconds left in regulation. After making the first free throw, USF called a timeout and Ito’s second attempt missed before time expired.

“Taishi is a great teammate and leader,” Portland head coach Eric Reveno said. “He wanted to make that play for his teammates more so than for himself. We told him after the game that he needs to go through these tough situations to become the player he wants to be. This will only make him better.

“More important than the last few plays was what got us behind in the first place. We had too many defensive breakdowns and turnovers.”

Portland matched a season-high with 24 turnovers and despite holding the Dons without a field goal in the last 4:41, allowed USF to shoot 52.1 percent for the game, the second highest percentage for an opponent this season. Portland countered by shooting 56.8 percent from the field and owned a 28-21 rebounding edge. The Pilots made just nine of 13 from the foul line.

Jones led the way for the Pilots with 16 points, while freshman Parker Emerson came off the bench to give Portland a big spark, scoring a career-high 14 points, hitting four of his five three-point attempts and adding five rebounds. Emerson led the surge back late in the game by scoring 11 of his points during the second half rally.

“Parker came in and made some big shots,” Reveno said. “He is a streaky shooter and he’s been performing well in practice of late. He definitely made the most of his opportunity tonight.”

Watson was the only other Pilot in double figures, scoring 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting. Cooper led the team with six rebounds and seven assists, but struggled to six points, ten below his season average, while shooting 1-for-6 from the floor.

For San Francisco, Wiggins led all players with 24 points and seven rebounds. Quezada added 12 off the bench for the Dons.

“After the game I challenged the guys in the locker room,” Reveno added. “We are 2-5 at the turn and I asked them what they wanted to be at the end. I think we have improved lately, but I think we can do better.”

Portland begins a rough February schedule with a Saturday night game at Loyola Marymount tipping off at 7 p.m. The Pilots conclude the Southern California trip at Pepperdine on Monday at 7 p.m. Five of the team’s final games will be on the road.