PORTLAND, Ore. – The BYU Cougars led start-to-finish in a 72-60 win over the Portland Pilots on Thursday night before 3,003 fans at the Chiles Center. Portland recognized seniors Philipp Hartwich and D'Marques Tyson prior to tip-off as part of Senior Night, but the Cougars raced out to a double-digit lead early and never looked back.

Portland freshman Marcus Shaver Jr. finished with a game-high 21 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead the Pilots (10-20, 4-13 West Coast Conference). Freshman guard Malcolm Porter added 10 points, while Hartwich collected a team-best 11 rebounds.

Sophomore Yoeli Childs tallied 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Cougars (22-8, 11-6), while Elijah Bryant and Dalton Nixon added 15 and 14 points, respectively.

BYU gained a 38-28 rebounding advantage and 38-20 margin for points in the paint. The Cougars shot 46 percent from the field, while the Pilots finished at 41 percent overall.

Childs erupted early by making his first six field goal attempts and had 15 points and seven rebounds by halftime as the Cougars pushed to a 42-28 lead at the break.

The margin grew to 18 points early in the second half, but Portland cut it in half with a 9-0 run to force a BYU timeout with 12:04 remaining. Shaver Jr. had a drive to the basket and three-pointer to ignite the run and then Franklin Porter hit a runner to make it a 50-41 deficit.

Shaver Jr. then drilled a three-pointer to pull Portland within 63-54 with 5:21 left, but that would be as close as the Pilots would get down the stretch.

Tyson and Hartwich were applauded during a pregame recognition highlighting their career achievements over the last four years. Both have etched their names in the Pilot record books as Tyson is second all-time in three-pointers made (248) and five points shy of joining the 1,000-point club, while Hartwich is Portland's all-time leader in blocked shots (158). Both have at least two more games to continue their ascent.

The Pilots will conclude the regular season on the road Saturday night against the Pepperdine Waves. Tip-off is 5 p.m. at Firestone Fieldhouse, while radio coverage begins at 4:30 p.m. on 910 ESPN-Portland.

A win will secure Portland at least a tie for eighth-place in the WCC standings. Portland is locked into the WCC Championships first round game against Loyola Marymount featuring the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds, scheduled for Friday, March 2 at 6 p.m. at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.