PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland trailed by 13 points early and 10 at halftime, but pulled out a thrilling 62-59 victory against Montana State on Tuesday afternoon at the Chiles Center. Junior forward Eddie Davis tallied his first double-double with the Pilots and finished with team-highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Ahmed Ali scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half.
The Pilots (6-2) made it a one-possession game midway through the second period following an Ali three-pointer and put back from Latrell Jones. Another triple from Ali and finger roll by Isiah Dasher gave Portland its first lead of the day at 51-50 with 6:15 remaining.
The Pilots pounded the offensive glass late and Ali benefitted with a runner in the lane, while Davis was fouled and made a pair of free throws to go ahead 55-52.
Ali drew a foul on a three-point attempt late in the shot clock and converted all three from the charity stripe, then worked a pick and roll to find Michael Henn for a layup giving UP a 60-56 edge with 1:21 left.
The Bobcats (2-3) cut the deficit to one on a dunk by Jubrile Belo and then forced a Pilot turnover with 33 seconds remaining. Montana State worked the clock down before Xavier Bishop missed a contested layup. Jones grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 2.7 seconds left. He hit both free throws and Bishop's 35-footer at the buzzer wasn't close as the Pilots completed the comeback.
The Pilots shot just 33 percent from the field, 3-of-18 from three-point range and committed 20 turnovers, but won with efficient free throw shooting and by dominating the boards with a 42-31 rebounding margin. Portland made a remarkable 25-of-26 free throws for the game, including all 17 attempts in the second half.
Jones was the third Pilot in double figures with 10 points and nine rebounds. Freshman big man Hayden Curtiss provided a huge lift off the bench with six rebounds and six blocked shots, one off the school single-game record. He collected five blocks in the first half as Portland battled foul trouble and a struggling offense.
The Pilots were coming off a season-low 41-point performance at Oregon on Saturday and could not get going early against the Bobcats. All five Pilot starters picked up two fouls midway through the period.
Portland trailed 32-22 at the half after going just 7-for-26 from the field and 0-for-9 from three-point range. Montana State was held to 32 percent shooting in the half to keep the margin close.
Bishop had 17 points to lead the Bobcats, while Abdul Mohamed added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Pilots will take a brief break for the Holidays before closing non-conference play on the road Wednesday, Dec. 30 at Seattle U. Portland's West Coast Conference opener against Pacific on Jan. 2 was postponed due to COVID-related issues for the Tigers.
The Pilots will now open league play against Loyola Marymount at the Chiles Center on Jan. 7. Complete television coverage and conference game times are expected to be finalized and announced soon.