Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. --- The Portland Pilots made 11-of-18 three-pointers and picked up a West Coast Conference road victory with a 72-67 win over the San Francisco Dons Thursday night at War Memorial Gymnasium. Portland (16-8, 7-2 WCC) maintains its hold on second-place in the conference standings and guaranteed its highest win total since finishing 19-11 overall in 1996.
Portland entered the contest ranked fourth nationally in three-point percentage (.407) and upped those numbers behind stellar perimeter shooting from T.J. Campbell and Jared Stohl. Campbell was 5-for-7 from beyond the arc and Stohl finished 4-for-5 from three-point range. Stohl led the Pilots with 16 points, while Campbell added 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
It looked as if the rout was on early as the Pilots jumped out to a 21-8 lead just eight minutes into the game, but USF would go on a 15-0 run over the next 4:53 and limit Portland to only eight points the rest of the half to take a 29-27 lead at the break.
The Dons (9-16, 1-9) came out of the second half with back-to-back jumpers by junior forward Dior Lowhorn, the WCC’s leading scorer, but Portland quickly turned the tables. The Pilots would drill five three-pointers in less than a four minute span to spark a 23-6 run that put the visitors on top 50-39 with 12:01 remaining. Another trey by Stohl gave the Pilots a 16-point lead at 65-49 with 5:23 left, but the scrappy Dons made it close down the stretch.
A steal and two free throws by freshman Angelo Caloiaro cut the lead to 69-64 with 17 ticks remaining, but a pair of free throws by Nik Raivio iced the game.
“It was a good road win,” Portland head coach Eric Reveno said. “San Francisco played hard, unselfish basketball and got their best player the ball in good positions. We overcame some bad stretches and pulled out a victory. Offensively, we have to get better and not rely so much on perimeter shooting.”
It was the first road win for Portland over San Francisco since 2001 and first season sweep of the Dons since 1995.
Robin Smeulders added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Pilots. Raivio entered the game averaging 16.7 points, but struggled to seven points on 2-for-9 shooting.
Lowhorn led all scorers with 24 points for the Dons, while freshmen Kwame Vaughn and Caloiaro chipped in 10 each.
Portland concludes its two-game Bay Area road swing on Saturday against the Saint Mary’s Gaels. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet Northwest.
