PROVO, Utah -- Kristian Sjolund scored a career-high 32 points, but the injury-riddled Portland men's basketball team fell to the BYU Cougars 71-58 on the road Saturday. Despite missing leading scorers Tyler Robertson (ankle) and Moses Wood (foot), the Pilots led late in the first half and were tied at halftime before BYU caught fire in the second half.
Sjolund led the Pilots (8-9, 0-2) with 32 points and six rebounds. Mike Meadows added eight points and two steals and Juanse Gorosito chipped in as well with nine points from the bench.
Gideon George scored 20 points to pace the Cougars (11-5-2-0).
How It Happened
After falling behind 17-9, Sjolund went on a personal 10-0 run capped by a thunderous dunk in traffic and Meadows made a pair of free throws to take a 21-17 lead. The Portland defense forced 12 first half turnovers and gained a 17-0 edge in first half points off of turnovers to turn an early eight-point deficit into a four-point lead. BYU took advantage of three first half technical foul calls and made 7-of-9 free throws and tie the score at 26-26 going into the break.
BYU broke the tie and made their first four field goal attempts of the second half, including a pair of threes from George, to push out to a double digit lead. The Pilots twice cut the deficit to seven points in the closing minutes, but couldn't get over the hump and fell, 71-58.
Game Notes
» Kristian Sjolund, Juanse Gorosito, and Mike Meadows combined to account for 84 percent of the Pilots points.
» The Portland defense forced 19 turnovers.
» Kristian Sjolund led the Pilots with a game-high 32 points.
» Portland got a team-high six rebounds from Kristian Sjolund.
Up Next
The Pilots continue WCC play on Saturday at Saint Mary's with a 6 p.m. tip-off.
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