Box Score
MORAGA, Calif. --- The University of Portland struggled offensively en route to a 77-65 loss to the Saint Mary’s Gaels Saturday night at McKeon Pavilion. Portland shot 43 percent from the field, but committed 16 turnovers, while the Gaels shot 56 percent for the game and improved to 10-1 this season at home.
The Pilots (16-9, 7-3) remain in second place in the West Coast Conference standings, while the Gaels (20-5, 7-4) are third behind Portland and Gonzaga (10-0).
Junior guard Nik Raivio led the Pilots with 16 points, but scored just four after halftime. Junior point guard T.J. Campbell added 15 points, while junior forward Robin Smeulders chipped in 13 points and nine rebounds.
Sophomore guard Mickey McConnell scored a career-high 20 points to lead four Saint Mary’s players in double figures. Senior forward Diamon Simpson added 17 points and nine rebounds, while junior center Omar Samhan contributed 17 points.
Portland entered the contest ranked No. 3 nationally in three-point shooting (.414), but finished just 6-for-18 from beyond the arc. The Pilots did gain a 35-27 edge in rebounding, but gave up a 34-14 margin in points in the paint and 17-5 scoring deficit in points off of turnovers.
“Saint Mary’s is a good team,” Portland head coach Eric Reveno said. “Their defense didn’t give us any good looks and we needed to be tighter in our execution in order to beat a team like this on the road.”
The Gaels turned a tight game into a double-digit lead with stifling second half defense. Portland managed just 10 points through the first 12:13 of the second period, but still trailed by only seven points at 48-41. A layup by Simpson followed by a steal and three-pointer by McConnell turned it into a 12-point deficit with 5:28 remaining and the Pilots would never get it back to double digits.
The Pilots committed 10 turnovers in the second half, while the Gaels only turned it over four times.
Portland held a 31-29 halftime lead behind 12 points from Raivio and a pair of shot clock-beating three-pointers by Campbell.
“The next stage for us is to come in a place like this and win a game,” Reveno added. “We have beaten some good teams at home, but now we have to prove that we can do it on the road. This season has been all about progress, but we cannot be satisfied with where we are right now. We’re in a good place still in that we control our own destiny (for second place in the conference), but we have four very important games remaining.”
The Pilots will return to the Chiles Center for their final homestand of the season. Portland will host Pepperdine on Thursday at 7p.m. and then face Loyola Marymount in the home finale on Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available for both games through all Ticketmaster outlets. Visit ticketmaster.com or call 503-224-4400 to secure tickets in advance.
