Box Score I Video Highlights
PORTLAND, Ore. --- The No. 25 Portland Pilots lost a hard-fought 86-82 decision to cross town rival Portland State before 2,413 fans at the Chiles Center on Wednesday. Portland, ranked for the first time since the 1958-59 season, led by 12 points midway through the second half, but the Vikings tied a Chiles Center record by making 15 three-pointers and came back for their fourth consecutive win over the Pilots.
Portland senior guard Nik Raivio became the 31st player in school history to score 1,000 points late in the first period and just the 12th player to do it in three or less years. He finished with 17 points on the night.
“I don’t like losing,” Portland head coach Eric Reveno said. “What satisfies me as a coach is playing to our potential and tonight I’m not sure we did that. Give Portland State credit, they battled us on the boards and were making shots.”
The Vikings (2-4) got a big lift in the second half from junior guard Dominic Waters, who despite picking up his fourth foul with 13:27 remaining in regulation, led Portland State to the win down the stretch. Waters finished with 23 points and nine assists with 21 points coming in the second half. He drilled a go-ahead three-pointer with 2:59 remaining to give the Vikings an 81-80 lead and cap a 19-6 run, the team’s first lead since a 3-2 margin to open the game.
After a Pilot 35-second shot clock violation, the Vikings made it a three-point lead when Julius Thomas attempted a dunk off of a nice feed from Melvin Jones. The shot was blocked by Portland’s Robin Smeulders, but managed to pop up and roll into the basket. Smeulders made two free throws to make it a one-point game with 27 seconds left, but Waters answered with two from the foul line at the other end. Raivio’s attempted game-tying three-pointer was short and Paul Guede collected the rebound and clinched the win by making one of two free throws.
Portland (5-2) finished 2-for-11 from the field with five turnovers in the final 9:55 of regulation.
The Vikings tied the Chiles Center record of 15 made three-pointers, previously set by Loyola Marymount (Feb. 19, 1998) and Oregon (Dec. 22, 2003). PSU made 15-of-25 for the game, including 10-of-14 in the first half. It was the fourth consecutive victory for the Vikings in the series. PSU also made 53 percent from the field and 77 percent at the foul line.
Smeulders led the Pilots with 20 points and nine rebounds, while T.J. Campbell added 15 points and eight assists. Portland shot 48 percent from the field and 38 percent from the free throw line. The Pilots gained a 42-18 edge in points in the paint and 25-10 margin in points off of turnovers.
Portland will look to return to its winning ways on the road Sunday at Idaho. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. with pregame radio coverage beginning at 4:30 p.m. on 750 AM (KXL).
“We’re off to a good start and we’re a good basketball team,” Reveno added. “We have tons of attainable goals ahead of us, but it’s incredibly difficult to be a good consistent basketball team.”
