PORTLAND, Ore. – Tahirou Diabate and Malcolm Porter had numerous hustle plays and combined for 18 points in the second half as the Portland Pilots pulled away from the Maine Black Bears for a 71-62 non-conference victory Saturday night at the Chiles Center.

Diabate finished with a team-high 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting, while Porter scored 10 of his 12 points late in regulation. Junior guard JoJo Walker added 13 points and has been in double figures all four games for the Pilots (3-1).

Portland led by three at the half, but went scoreless for the first 4:19 of the second half as Maine jumped ahead by a 33-30 margin. Diabate converted a layup and then outworked four Black Bears in the paint for a rebound and put-back to retake the lead.

Portland, who entered the game shooting 45 percent from three-point range, finally buried its first triple of the game when Walker hit from the wing for a 37-35 edge. Diabate continued to make energy plays at both ends of the court and before Takiula Fahrensohn made a corner three for a 42-35 lead and forced a Maine timeout.

The Black Bears (1-2) brought the deficit back to one on a few occasions, but Fahrensohn got a friendly roll on a pull-up jumper and then Porter scored five straight points extending lead to 59-51.

Porter later beat the shot clock buzzer with a 30-footer to make it 64-56 with 1:38 remaining and Quincy Ferebee followed with a steal and layup on the ensuing possession to essentially put the game away.

All nine Pilots that saw court action scored in a balanced, energetic effort. Portland shot an efficient 55 percent from the field and had 17 assists on 28 made field goals. The Pilots also outrebounded Maine by a 29-28 margin despite a significant size disadvantage.

The Pilots led by 11 midway through the first half, but the Black Bears whittled the margin down and Precious Okoh converted a transition layup to beat the halftime buzzer to make it 30-27 Portland at the break.

Sergio El Darwich led all scorers with 21 points and five assists for the Black Bears.

Portland will next face crosstown rival Portland State on Wednesday at Viking Pavilion with tip-off set for 7 p.m.