PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland got off to a fast start and cruised to a 69-54 win over Portland State in the River City Rivalry meeting Tuesday night at Viking Pavilion. The Pilots have now won five in a row and improve to 5-1 on the year, while the Vikings fall to 2-2 overall.
Chris Austin led four Pilots in double figures with 15 points and added nine rebounds. Center Matheus Silveira was huge off the bench and finished with season-highs of 13 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes of action.
Tyler Robertson impacted the game in many areas and finished the night with 12 points, nine rebounds five assists and two steals with zero turnovers. Moses Wood finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the year. Wood has now reached double figures in all six games this season.
Portland led by as much as 26 points late in regulation and led nearly start-to-finish. The Pilots used a pair of big runs to take control in the early going. Robertson opened an 11-0 run with a three and finished with his layup to make it 13-4 Pilots. Later in the half, Portland used a 17-0 surge to create separation. Robertson and Austin made key plays at both ends of the court as the Pilots carried a 37-20 lead into halftime.
The Vikings made an early 6-0 run out of halftime, but the Pilots responded and pushed the margin to 20 on a Jack Perry three-pointer midway through the period. Silveira was dominant at both ends throughout and his interior presence allowed Portland to push out to as much as a 67-41 margin at the under-4 media timeout.
Portland shot 44 percent from the field and held the Vikings to 32 percent overall. PSU struggled to 2-of-23 shooting from three-point range. The Pilots owned the boards with a 51-43 rebounding margin and gained a 42-36 edge in points in the paint.
Portland will now head to San Antonio, Texas for three games at the Incarnate Word Thanksgiving Tournament next weekend. The Pilots face Montana State on Friday, Southeast Missouri State on Saturday and host Incarnate Word on Sunday. All three games will tip at noon (PT). For live coverage links, visit PortlandPilots.com.