Box Score
SAN DIEGO, Calif. --- The Portland Pilots got off to a slow start and dropped a 66-60 West Coast Conference decision to the San Diego Toreros Thursday night at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. The Pilots overcame a 12-point first half deficit to tie it midway through the second period, but the Toreros (15-14, 6-7) used a balanced effort to hold on for the win.
Portland (18-10, 9-4 WCC) is now tied with Saint Mary’s in the WCC standings for second place with one game remaining for each team. Saint Mary’s defeated Pepperdine 62-49 on the road Thursday. A Pilot win and a Gaels’ loss on Saturday would secure a second seed for the Pilots and automatic bye to the WCC Tournament semifinals. Other tiebreakers will be determined based on the conclusion of Saturday’s WCC games. The Pilots travel to Santa Clara on Saturday, while the Gaels are at Loyola Marymount.
Junior guard Nik Raivio led the Pilots with 13 points on Thursday. Sophomore guard Jared Stohl added 12 points off the bench, while junior forward Robin Smeulders had 10 points and nine rebounds. Junior point guard T.J. Campbell was held to single digits for the first time in 12 games and finished 1-for-6 from the field with three points and five assists. Sophomore guard B.J. Porter provided a spark off the bench with seven points and a career-high seven rebounds.
Four Toreros reached double figures paced by Matt Dorr with 17 points. Gyno Pomare had 14, De’Jon Jackson 13 and Rob Jones 11.
Portland owned a 38-26 rebounding margin, but had seven more turnovers in the contest. Both teams shot 44 percent from the field, but USD made 18-of-23 free throws while the Pilots converted just 5-of-11 from the foul line.
“Give San Diego all the credit for being the aggressor and getting us out of offense,” Portland head coach Eric Reveno said. “I was disappointed with our response, but they didn’t let us find our way either. Turnovers really hurt us, but those turnovers don’t happen in a vacuum, so give them credit. On the other hand we’re a good team and we should be able to handle the pressure better.”
Trailing 31-24 at the half Portland roared back to tie the game at 39-39 with three consecutive three-pointers, the last by Stohl with 14:10 remaining. USD would quickly regain the lead and put the defensive clamps on the Pilots. Portland was held to just one field over a seven minute span down the stretch and the Toreros made free throws to secure the victory.
It was a challenging first half for the visitors as Portland committed 12 turnovers and made just 4-of-9 free throws in the period. San Diego led by as much as 12 points in the half, but a three-pointer by Raivio cut it to 29-24 with nine seconds left. A De’Jon Jackson runner just before the buzzer made it 31-24 in favor of the Toreros at the half.
Portland concludes the regular season on Saturday at Santa Clara. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Leavey Center and the game will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet Northwest (Comcast 37) and on Comcast California.
“It’s not about how you get knocked down that defines you as a team, its how you bounce back that makes all the difference,” Reveno added. “How we respond is most important and we have that opportunity on Saturday.”
