Nik Raivio

PORTLAND, Ore. --- Sherrard Watson and Nik Raivio each scored 20 points, but the Portland Pilots could not overcome a balanced scoring attack from crosstown rival Portland State in a 78-73 loss to the Vikings at the Chiles Center on Wednesday night.

Scott Morrison, Deonte Huff and Tyrell Mara each scored 15 to pace the Vikings (4-3), while junior point guard Jeremiah Dominguez added 12 points and four assists off the bench.

Freshman forward Luke Sikma scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds to record his third double-double of the year for the Pilots (2-5). Junior guard Walter Thompson added 10 points off the bench.

The Vikings led 37-35 at the half and jumped out to a double-digit lead early in the second period as Sikma went to the bench with three fouls. A three-pointer by Mara with 14:51 left made it 52-42, the largest lead of the game for either team.

Watson, the lone senior on the Pilots roster, kept Portland in the game with nine consecutive points. Sikma returned with consecutive baskets to pull the Pilots within four at 56-52 with nine minutes remaining.

Morrison’s layup pushed the margin to 72-63, but UP answered with consecutive three-pointers by freshman Jared Stohl and Raivio with 1:24 remaining. Huff made four consecutive free throws in the final 36 seconds to keep the Pilots out of reach.

“The loss is disappointing, but I’m proud of our team’s effort,” Portland head coach Eric Reveno said. “Strategically, they hurt us inside and Morrison was a big factor. That is something we will need to address and improve on.”

Portland shot 47 percent for the game and the Vikings connected on 48 percent shooting. The Pilots owned a 36-29 edge on the boards and committed just 12 turnovers after averaging 18.2 entering the game.

“It was nice to see us take care of the ball much better today,” Reveno added. “But against good teams you have to make plays, and we didn’t make enough plays tonight.”

NOTES: Portland played its third consecutive game without the services of starting point guard Taishi Ito, who returned to Japan last week to be with his family following a death in the family … Nik Raivio was forced to the locker room early in the first period after splitting his chin on a drive to the hoop. Raivio returned heavily bandaged and scored 13 second-half points.