CORVALLIS, Ore. – Ahmed Ali and Eddie Davis combined for 48 points and the Portland Pilots made clutch plays late to secure an 87-86 road win against the Oregon State Beavers Thursday night at Gill Coliseum.
Isiah Dasher added 18 points for Portland – including 16 after halftime – as Portland extended its winning streak to four games.
After the Pilots (4-1) missed two long shots at the end of regulation, OSU opened the overtime scoring before Portland took control. Dasher found Davis for a layup and then put the Pilots up three with one of his own. Ethan Thompson answered with a three-pointer and then Ali made back-to-back baskets to give the Pilots an 80-78 lead.
Thompson – who scored a game-high 31 points – tied it once again, but Davis converted a three-point play to put UP ahead 83-80. Following another Thompson jumper, Ali drilled a dagger three-pointer to beat the shot clock and make it a two-possession game with 14 seconds left.
Despite a decisive size disadvantage, the Pilots outrebounded the Beavers (2-3) by a 44-37 margin. Seven Portland players grabbed three or more rebounds in the game.
"We challenged our guys to really get after it on the boards and put a body on a body," Portland head coach Terry Porter said. "The reward for us is we'll be able to get out in the open court and get some easy baskets. I thought we did a great job of taking advantage of those situations."
Portland also was solid on defense and held the Beavers to 41 percent shooting for the game. The Pilots held OSU scoreless for more than eight minutes mid-way through the first half to spark a 10-0 run. The Beavers missed 11 straight field goal attempts and committed four turnovers during the run.
Ali heated up during the spurt and scored eight straight points, including a pair of three-pointers. He then closed the half with a step-back triple to give the Pilots a 36-29 lead at the break. Ali and Davis both scored 13 points in the period.
"We knew they were going to come out hard in the second half. Our guys just didn't quit. We had multiple guys step up and make big shots for us," Porter said.
The Beavers stormed out of halftime and went up by eight points with 5:59 remaining on a Maurice Calloo dunk, but the Pilots answered with a 6-0 run sparked by layups from Dasher and Latrell Jones. Portland held OSU without a field goal for nearly four more minutes before Warith Alatishe converted a putback to give the Beavers a 66-62 lead with 2:35 left.
Dasher, a Jersey City, N.J. native, made a three-point play and then assisted on a three-pointer by Michael Henn with 1:13 remaining. Two Thompson free throws gave OSU a three-point lead, but Dasher tied it with a right-wing three-pointer with 41 seconds left.
The Pilots got a defensive stop, but Ali's 30-footer hit the back room and Latrell Jones desperation 20-footer missed to end regulation.
Ali recorded his third 20-plus point game of the young season with 26 points and grabbed six rebounds along with four assists. Davis finished with 22 points and nine rebounds.
Portland shot 46 percent overall and finished 20-for-26 (.769) at the free throw line. The Pilots have been better than 70 percent at the line in all five games this season.
The victory marks the second straight win over the Beavers for Portland, who also defeated OSU 53-45 on Dec. 18, 2016 at Moda Center.
The Pilots are currently not scheduled to play again until they host Montana State on Tuesday, Dec. 22 at noon live on NBC Sports Northwest and 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT). Portland is actively looking to add a game next week if schedules allow. Visit PortlandPilots.com for the latest updates.