Box Score

LAS VEGAS, Nev. --- The Portland Pilots dropped a 72-68 heartbreaker to the Loyola Marymount Lions in the opening round of the 2011 Zappos.com West Coast Conference Basketball Championships on Friday at the Orleans Arena. Senior guard Jared Stohl led the Pilots with 23 points and junior guard Nemanja Mitrovic added 14 points.

The game featured 12 ties and 14 lead changes as neither team led by more than seven points. Portland (20-11) was held without a field goal over the final 5:05 and a breakaway layup by LMU’s Larry Davis with 10 seconds left in regulation sealed the win for the eighth-seeded Lions (11-20).

Portland had two layups by sophomore guard Derrick Rodgers in the closing minutes erased by offensive foul calls and the Lions were able to pick up three key offensive rebounds in the final five minutes. The first led to a Vernon Teel jumper that gave LMU a 68-66 lead with 3:40 remaining. The last was retrieved by Ashley Hamilton with 32 seconds left in regulation. He passed out to Davis who was fouled and made both free throws to make it 70-66. Two free throws by Rodgers pulled the Pilots within two, but LMU sent Davis long on the ensuing inbounds play and he finished uncontested at the rim.

The Pilots shot 48 percent from the field for the game and struggled to 31 percent from the three-point line (5-16). Portland entered the game No. 3 nationally in three-point percentage. The Lions were the worst three-point shooting team in the league this season, but finished 8-for-17 from beyond the arc, including 4-of-5 from leading scorer Drew Viney who finished with 25 points. LMU shot 49 percent from the field.

Portland will now await the possibility of a postseason invitation. The Pilots have competed in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) each of the last two years.