Taishi Ito

Portland plays well for a half before Oregon runs away down the stretch

PORTLAND, Ore. --- Senior guard Malik Hairston scored 24 points to lead the No. 11 Oregon Ducks to an 85-61 victory over the Portland Pilots before 4,881 fans at the Chiles Center Saturday night. Four Pilots reached double figures in the loss led by sophomore point guard Taishi Ito’s 13.

After a first half which featured four ties and three lead changes, the Ducks (4-0) pulled away from a 31-29 halftime lead with a 54-point second half.

Senior Maarty Leunen added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Oregon, while Tajuan Porter finished with 15. Freshman guard Kamyron Brown had a double-double with 10 points, 10 assists and five rebounds.

Sherrard Watson and Robin Smeulders each finished with 12 points for the Pilots (1-3), while Nik Raivio added 11. Smeulders has now reached double figures in all four games this season. Freshman forward Luke Sikma collected 10 rebounds, marking his fourth straight game with double digits on the glass.

As they had done in the first three games of the season, the Pilots got off to another strong start and held the lead for much of the first period. Hairston scored eight straight points to spark a 10-2 run late in the half, giving the Ducks 24-20 edge. A Leunen three-pointer made it a seven point Ducks advantage, but the Pilots tied the game at 29-29 on a Smeulders’ layin. Leunen’s floater at the halftime buzzer gave Oregon a 31-29 lead.

Portland dominated the boards in the first half with a 22-13 edge, 18-10 margin in points in the paint, and 6-0 advantage in second chance points.

Oregon turned the tables in the second half and outrebounded the Pilots 24-11 as Portland seemed fatigued.

“They wore us out,” Portland head coach Eric Reveno said. “They didn’t look too much more athletic than us in the first half. We battled, but broke down at key times. You can’t do that against a good team.”

The Ducks led 57-46 with 8:40 remaining when Hairston followed a dunk with a three-pointer to give Oregon a 63-46 edge. Portalnd would cut it back to 11 at 63-52 with 6:04 left, but the Ducks piled it on late with free throws.

“We coached to win in the closing minutes and not to keep it close,” Reveno said.

Oregon shot 54 percent from the field and made 10 of 20 three-pointers in the game. Portland shot 40 percent from the floor, but made just 3 of 21 from beyond the arc.

The Pilots will next head to Corvallis for a pair of non-conference games at Gill Coliseum. Portland will face Idaho State on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 5:30 p.m. and then take on the Oregon State Beavers on Sunday at 4 p.m.

“Our guys aren’t afraid of anyone and I have complete confidence that we will keep getting better,” Reveno added. “There are a lot of guys in our locker room right now who are eager to learn, and we as a staff have to put them in situations that will allow them to succeed.”