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PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots scored 56 second half points to erase an eight-point halftime deficit and defeat the Utah Utes, 88-79, Friday night before 1,756 at the Chiles Center. Nemanja Mitrovic and Jared Stohl scored 21 points each to lead four Pilots in double figures. Portland committed a season-low four turnovers in the game and zero in the second half to run their win streak to five games.

Portland improves to 8-0 at the Chiles Center this season and is now 12-3 entering West Coast Conference play. The Pilots will open league play at Gonzaga next Saturday. The 12-3 start is tied for the second best in school history.

Mitrovic scored 18 second half points in recording his third consecutive 20-point game. He drilled 5-of-6 three-pointers and was 7-for-10 from the field. Stohl was 5-for-11 from three-point range as the duo extended their margin as the top three-point shooting tandem in the nation.

Senior center Kramer Knutson added a season-high 17 points and junior point guard Eric Waterford matched his career-best with 13 points.

Will Clyburn paced the Utes (7-7) with 24 points, but was held to four in the second half. Chris Kupets added 20 points and four assists for Utah.

Portland shot 51 percent from the field for the game, including 10-of-20 from three-point range. The Pilots also made 22-of-30 free throws. Utah also shot 51 percent from the floor, converted 11-of-21 three-pointers and 16-of-20 free throws.

The Pilots outscored Utah 56-39 in the second period despite the Utes shooting 54 percent from the field and 5-for-7 from three-point range in the period. Portland countered by making 61 percent from the field, 5-of-9 from three-point range and 17-of-22 free throws in the second half. In addition to committing no turnovers, the Pilots gained a 16-6 rebounding advantage in the period.

Portland trailed by 11 at 50-39 with 16:10 remaining on a layup by Kupets. The flood gates would open from there for the host Pilots as a 13-0 run capped by two Stohl free throws gave Portland the lead for good. Utah didn’t go away and pulled within one at 67-66 on a Kupets three with 7:16 left, but three straight jumpers by the Pilots kept it a two possession game. A 7-0 run capped by a Derrick Rodgers runner made it 81-70 in favor of Portland with 2:32 left.

The Pilots jumped out to an 11-0 lead right off the bat after making 5-of-6 shots, but Portland missed 11 of their next 12 field goal attempts and Utah capitalized by taking a 10-point lead late. The Utes would go into the break with a 40-32 lead.

Portland opens WCC play at Gonzaga on Saturday, Jan. 8 at 5:30 p.m. The game will be televised live on FSN Northwest and have live radio at 800 AM (KPDQ).

NOTES: Stohl passed Blake Stepp of Gonzaga and moved to No. 2 all-time in the WCC in career three-pointers made … Stohl currently has 292 career threes and trails only Jeff Fryer (LMU, 363) … Mitrovic and Stohl entered the game with 83 combined three-pointers, the most in the nation … Mitrovic was also No. 5 nationally in three-point percentage and will move up as he is now shooting .548 from beyond the arc … Portland’s best start was 13-2 during the 1979-80 season … this year’s Pilots matched the 1958-59 and 1994-95 teams with 12-3 starts.