PROVO, Utah – BYU raced to an early lead and then withstood a furious Portland rally early in the second half for a 96-70 victory Saturday night in West Coast Conference basketball action at the Marriott Center.

Portland junior forward Jacob Tryon led the Pilots (9-9, 1-2 WCC) with 12 points, six rebounds and a career-best eight assists. Malcolm Porter added a career-high 16 points, while Theo Akwuba finished with a double-double of 10 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots off the bench.

The Cougars (13-5, 2-1) were led by Zach Seljaas with 21 points off the bench, including 5-for-5 from three-point range. TJ Haws added 13 points and 14 assists as six BYU players reached double figures in a balanced effort.

BYU jumped out to a 15-0 lead and then led by as much as 22 points early. The Pilots finally got going and pulled within 10 on an Isaiah White jumper to make it 33-23. BYU closed the half with another onslaught and took a 51-30 lead into the break.

Portland came out firing in the second half led by the playmaking of Tryon. He hit an early three-pointer and consistently found his teammates for easy looks as the Pilots whittled the margin down.

JoJo Walker drilled a three-pointer to pull Portland within 62-55 midway through the second half and forced a BYU timeout. Alex Barcello sparked a 7-0 BYU run with a layup, followed by a Haws jumper and Toolson three-pointer to push the margin to 72-57.

The Pilots ran out of gas as BYU found its shooting stroke again and pushed the margin to as much as 27 points down the stretch.

BYU made 15-of-30 three-pointers and shot 52 percent overall from the field. Portland finished at 44 percent from the floor, but just 4-for-17 from three-point range.

BYU gained a 13-4 edge in points off of turnovers forcing the Pilots into 11 miscues while committing just five.

Portland will continue WCC play at home next week. The Pilots will welcome Pacific to the Chiles Center on Thursday at 7 p.m. and then San Diego on Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets for all remaining Pilot home games are available by calling 503-943-GOUP or visiting PortlandPilots.com/Tickets.