Box Score Video HighlightsPORTLAND, Ore. – Thomas van der Mars scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Portland to a 71-49 victory over the Lewis & Clark Pioneers in the final non-conference game of the season for the Pilots Monday afternoon at the Chiles Center.
The Pilots (9-3) dominated the NCAA Division III Pioneers (4-4), leading by as much as 30 points midway through the second period.
Senior guard Bobby Sharp added 12 points on 4-of-7 three-point shooting, grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists. Sophomore guard Alec Wintering added 10 points, three assists and three steals in 18 minutes. A total of ten Pilots scored on the day.
Portland used a big size advantage to gain a 42-25 rebounding edge and 24-12 margin in points in the paint. The Pilots also had eight steals and seven blocked shots.
Lewis & Clark was led by Serg Ovchinnikov's game-high 17 points, including four three-pointers.
The Pioneers jumped out to an early 6-2 lead on back-to-back Ovchinnikov three-pointers, but the Pilots would use a 22-5 run capped by a van der Mars jumper to push the margin to double digits. Lewis & Clark would hit a buzzer beating baseline jumper from Alex Jones to cut the deficit to 38-24 at the break.
Pilot freshman Gabe Taylor's jumper concluded an 8-0 midway through the second period for a 64-34 lead and Portland head coach Eric Reveno went with the reserves for the remainder of the game.
The Pilots were without leading scorer Kevin Bailey (foot) for the fifth straight game and he will be re-evaluated on a week-to-week basis.
Portland will now focus on West Coast Conference play which begins on Saturday at San Diego with a 6 p.m. tip-off. The game will have free live video at
www.TheW.tv, while radio coverage begins at 5:30 p.m. on Sports 910. The Pilots continue their road trip at BYU on Monday, Dec. 29 with a 6 p.m. (PT) tip on BYUtv.
GIF Highlights:
Thomas can der Mars started off the second half with back-to-back dunks, the second coming off an incredible behind-the-back from Voldy Gerun.
Bobby Sharp accounted for much of the Pilot offense in the first half, scoring nine points on three three-pointers. He hit one more in the second half, finishing with 12 points.
Alec Wintering was one of three Pilots to finish in double figures, netting 10 points while adding three assists and three steals.
Portland's newcomers combined for a total of 44 minutes in the game, with Jason Todd playing a career-high 22 minutes. He finished with seven points and four rebounds, including this first half three pointer.
Gabe Taylor added five points, three rebounds, and two blocks, and showed off his shooting range with this long jumper in the second half.
