Box Score
LOS ANGELES, Calif. --- Junior guard Nik Raivio recorded his first career double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds to help the Portland Pilots to a 75-59 win over Loyola Marymount Thursday night at Gersten Pavilion in front of a national television audience on ESPNU. Raivio paced four Pilots in double figures and established a new career-high in rebounds in the game.
Portland (12-7, 3-1 West Coast Conference) has now won three in a row and four of its last five games, while the Lions (1-19, 0-4) continue to struggle with a depleted roster from injuries.
Junior forward Ethan Niedermeyer added 13 points for the Pilots, while junior forward Robin Smeulders had 12 and junior point guard T.J. Campbell added 11.
Raivio’s 15 boards were the most since Dustin Geddis grabbed 15 during the 2003 season.
“Nik was battling today,” Portland head coach Eric Reveno said. “He played hard and rebounded the heck out of it. Nobody else was rebounding in the first half and I think it had more to do with Nik not allowing anyone else to get one.”
Four Lions also reached double figures led by freshman Kevin Young’s 15 points and eight rebounds. Senior Corey Counts added 14, all in the first half.
Portland extended a three point halftime lead to double digits with an 8-0 run over the first 1:46 of the second half. Raivio made a runner and then assisted on back-to-back three-pointers by T.J. Campbell and Ethan Niedermeyer. He would finish with six assists in the contest.
The Pilots would continue to control the tempo and took their largest lead of the game on a Jared Stohl three-pointer for a 67-45 edge with 7:40 remaining.
“Any road win is a great win,” Reveno said. “Veteran teams make plays to win on the road and we are on the verge of being a veteran team and developing that mentality.”
Portland dominated in rebounds gaining a 42-27 edge for the game, including 19 on the offensive glass. The Pilots also made 9-of-20 three-pointers in the game.
The Pilots would lead by as much as nine points on two separate occasions late in the first half behind Raivio, who recorded his double-double with 11 points and 10 boards in the first period alone. LMU countered with Counts and Young. Counts drained four treys in the period and Young had nine early points.
“I felt we played well in the first half but just didn’t finish plays,” Reveno added. “We rebounded well and defended better in second period, then made some threes to open it up.”
Portland will conclude its road trip in Southern California against Pepperdine on Saturday at 2 p.m.
