SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Portland closed out its non-conference men's basketball schedule with an 80-75 victory over the Sacramento State Hornets Thursday night in a college basketball doubleheader at the Golden 1 Center, home of the NBA's Sacramento Kings. Sophomore Josh McSwiggan tallied 18 points and seven rebounds to lead five Pilots in double figures, while senior D'Marques Tyson added 17 points off the bench.

Senior center Philipp Hartwich finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, freshman Marcus Shaver Jr. added 12 points, and freshman JoJo Walker scored all 10 of his points in the second half for the Pilots (6-7).

Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa led the Hornets (3-9) with a career-high 23 points, while Justin Strings added 19 points and 13 rebounds.

The Pilots led for most the game, but the Hornets took a 46-45 lead early in the second half forcing a Portland timeout. The margin stayed close until McSwiggan and Tyson buried consecutive three-pointers, giving the Pilots a 71-63 lead forcing a Sacramento State timeout.

Mauriohooho-Le'afa drilled a three-pointer to cut the margin to 74-71 with 2:45 remaining. Shaver Jr. then hit two free throws and the Pilots got a defensive stop. McSwiggan sealed it with a step-back jumper for a 79-73 lead with less than 30 second remaining.

Portland was on fire early as McSwiggan hit a trio of three-pointers and then Tyson came off the bench and buried his first four from beyond the arc. Hartwich added three first half dunks as Portland led by as much as 13 in the early going, but the Hornets closed the period with a 12-2 run to make it 43-40 Portland at the break.

Portland forced 12 turnovers, while committing just seven and gained a 16-9 edge in points off of turnovers.

The Pilots shot 50 percent overall and made 11-of-26 three-pointers, while Sacramento State finished at 51 percent and 8-of-20 from three-point range.  

The Pilots will take a short break for the holidays and then open West Coast Conference play with a tough road game at BYU on Thursday, Dec. 28 at 6 p.m. (PT). The game will be televised live on BYUtv. Portland then returns home to host San Francisco on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 6 p.m. live on ROOT Sports NW.