PORTLAND, Ore. – Senior center Ray Barreno came off the bench to record career highs of 14 points and 15 rebounds as the Portland Pilots defeated the Lewis & Clark Pioneers 98-52 victory before 2,034 fans Friday night at the Chiles Center. Eleven different Pilots scored and six reached double figures as the Pilots took control early and never looked back.
The win propels the Pilots (3-0) into the Wooden Legacy Thanksgiving weekend tournament next week at Fullerton and Anaheim, Calif. Portland will face No. 16 UCLA on Thanksgiving night to open the tournament, Thursday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2. Other competing teams at the event are Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, Dayton, Nebraska, New Mexico and Cal State Northridge.
It was all Pilots on Friday against the Division III Pioneers (0-2). Portland used a 13-0 run to grab a 10-point lead and the margin would grow to 53-28 into halftime. The lead would balloon to as much as 52 points late in the second half as head coach Terry Porter rested his starters and went to the bench for a majority of the period.
Barreno came off the bench and had an early impact 10 rebounds in the first half. Junior center Philipp Hartwich also brought down a career-best 12 rebounds in just 18 minutes of court action.
Senior point guard Alec Wintering recorded 13 points and five assists in 18 minutes. Gabe Taylor and Rashad Jackson also finished with 13 points, while D'Marques Tyson added 11. Sophomore guard Jazz Johnson tallied all 10 of his points in the first half.
Freshman point guard Andre Ferguson scored his first career points and finished with eight points and four assists. Freshman forward Joseph Smoyer added season highs of six points, six rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals.
Portland shot a blistering 58 percent from the field and held the Pioneers to 25 percent overall. The Pilots also gained a 55-27 rebounding edge and 60-10 margin in points in the paint.
The focus now shifts to the Wooden Legacy and a familiar matchup for Pilot fans. The last time the Pilots participated in the event was in 2009 when Portland went on a memorable run. The Pilots defeated UCLA by a 74-47 margin in the first round and then upset No. 16 Minnesota, 61-56. Portland fell to eventual NCAA runner-up West Virginia in the title game, but earned a spot in the following week's Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in 50 years.
NOTES: Wintering moved into 15th place on the Pilot career scoring charts with 1,254 points, passing former teammate Thomas van der Mars. He is eight points shy of Floyd Banks (1,262, 1972-75)… Wintering also passed current Miami HEAT head coach Erik Spoelstra (488, 1988-92) for third on the UP all-time assists chart (491) and is now tied for fourth in program history in steals (145) with Ron Davidson (1973-75).