PORTLAND, Ore. – It was a historic for the Portland Pilots (1-1, 0-0 WCC), as they set a program record for points in a game in a 122-78 victory over the Willamette Bearcats and Mike Meadows earned the first triple-double in program history. Meadows had 15 points, 11 assists and 10 boards on the night.
Several Pilots stuffed the stat sheet for Portland, with eight players scoring in double digits. Two Pilots recorded double-doubles: Moses Wood tied with Chris Austin for a team-high 16 points and 14 rebounds while Chika Nduka had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Among the other double-digit scorers, Austin had 16 points, Vasilije Vucinic had 15, Jack Perry had 12, Matheus Silveira had 11 and Yaru Harvey put up 10. Every Pilot who played tonight scored.
Willamette's Cedric Coward led all scorers on the night with 24. He also added seven rebounds and five assists.
It was a high-scoring first half for both teams, with the Pilots leading 57-48. Portland went 19-for-36 from the field and 5-for-12 from three, and we bolstered by 14-of-21 shooting at the free throw line. Willamette had 14 fouls in the first half.
Portland pulled away from the Bearcats after getting off to a 12-2 run to begin the second half. From that point on, the Pilots led by at least 10 for the rest of the half. They ended the game on a 22-1 run and outscored Willamette 65-30 as they eclipsed the 100-point mark and eventually broke the record for most points in a game. The previous high for the Pilots was 115 against St. Martin's in 1978.
Portland was efficient both inside and out, shooting 59.4 percent from the field overall and 55 percent from beyond the arc. They also had 29 made free throws on the night, the most by a Pilot squad since 2017, when Portland had 31 against BYU. Their 11 threes were the most they've had in a game since 2015 when they hit 15 against Alcorn State. The Pilots averaged an impressive 1.4 points per possession.
Portland's dominance inside played a significant role in their success. The Pilots outscored the Bearcats in the paint 52-28 and outrebounded them 54-24.
Next up, the Pilots will face off against the Alcorn State Braves this Saturday in a doubleheader with the women's team. Tip-off for the men's game is set for 5 p.m., with the women's team starting at 7:30 p.m. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats, video and ticket options.