Jamie Jones and Darren Cooper each record double-doubles for the Pilots

MALIBU, Calif. --- The Portland Pilots swept the season series against the Pepperdine Waves with an 87-76 win Monday night at Firestone Fieldhouse. Sophomore forward Jamie Jones went for 20 points and 13 rebounds and senior guard Darren Cooper had 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds to lead the Pilots.

It was a season-high point total for Portland (7-18, 3-6 West Coast Conference) who won for the first time away from home this season. Portland was 0-12 in road and neutral site games entering the contest. Pepperdine (6-19, 2-7) falls to 1-8 at home.

Portland junior Sherrard Watson finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists on the night, while Ben Sullivan and Taishi Ito added 11 each.

Pepperdine junior center Jarrad Henry set a West Coast Conference single-game record with 11 blocked shots. Kingsley Costain led four Waves players with 13 points.

“You know going in how they want to play,” Portland coach Eric Reveno said. “Our guys did a good job of following the game plan, which was take care of the ball and stay aggressive. We knew we’d have an advantage on the boards, but I was most pleased with how few turnovers we commited.”

Portland owned a 53-33 rebounding advantage and committed 15 turnovers for the game against the Waves’ pressure, less than the team’s average of 17.5.

The Pilots used a 13-5 run early in the second half to break the game open and gain a 60-41 lead. Four transition layups and a pair of short jumpers by Parker Emerson and Ben Sullivan capped the surge. After shooting just 33 percent in the first period, the Pilots came out on fire in the second half and ran away. Portland finished the second period at 71 percent from the floor.

Portland would lead by as much as 22 points following a Cooper three-pointer and Watson layup midway through the second period, but the Waves drained three consecutive treys and a layup by Henry pulled the margin within 75-66 with 3:32 remaining. Sullivan answered with a shot clock-beating three-pointer on the ensuing possession. The Waves pulled within eight on two occasions in the final minute, but Portland held on for the victory.

Portland raced to a 36-30 halftime edge thanks in large part to a 31-19 rebounding advantage, including 17 offensive rebounds. Pepperdine made just 1-of-17 three-pointers in the period, but Portland managed a meager 33 percent shooting to keep the Waves in the game.

For the game, the Pilots shot 47 percent compared to Pepperdine’s 41 percent.

“This was a good team win with lots of sharing of the ball and playing hard,” Reveno said. “I felt like the players deserved a win with how hard they have worked and getting it on the road made it that much sweeter.”