PORTLAND, Ore. – Tyler Robertson finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to lead Portland to an 86-76 win over Loyola Marymount Saturday in West Coast Conference men's basketball action at the Chiles Center.
Portland had not had a triple double in program history until earlier this year when Mike Meadows recorded one against Willamette. The Pilots join Western Kentucky as the only two teams in the nation with triple doubles by two different players this year. Robertson is the 16th player at the NCAA Division I level with a triple double this season.
Robertson was extremely efficient all game long. He scored 18 points before missing his first shot of the game late in the first half and finished 8-of-13 from the field, 5-for-5 from three-point range and 10-of-10 at the foul line on the night. His 31 points and 11 assists also established new career highs.
He wasn't the only Pilot on fire as the team made 8-of-9 three-pointers to open up a 20-point lead midway through the first half and finished 14-of-20 overall from beyond the arc.
Kristian Sjolund backed up the his 23-point, 18-rebound effort in Tuesday's road win at San Francisco with another stellar outing on Saturday. He finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and a career-high five blocked shots in 30 minutes off the bench. Moses Wood added 15 points for the Pilots (13-12, 4-6 WCC).
Portland established season highs in both field goal percentage (.609) and three-point percentage (.700), but couldn't shake a pesky LMU squad until late in regulation.
The Lions (9-14, 2-9) used a late first half surge to cut the deficit to 47-39 at the half and then pulled within six at 71-65 on a Keli Leaupepe three-pointer. The Pilots quickly put the margin back to double digits as Robertson found Sjolund for a corner three and Robertson knocked down a free throw as LMU was called for a flopping technical. Portland would maintain its double-digit lead until the final buzzer.
Portland finished the game with 22 assists and just 12 turnovers and had a 22-5 edge in bench points on the night. The Pilots also outrebounded LMU by a 28-24 margin.
Eli Scott finished with 23 points to lead five Lions in double figures.
Portland was next scheduled to host the Santa Clara Broncos on Monday, but Santa Clara canceled the game on Thursday for non-COVID related reasons. The Pilots will continue the four-game homestand on Tuesday at 5 p.m. with a non-conference matchup with Bushnell University. The Pilots will then host San Diego on Thursday at 7 p.m. and Pepperdine on Saturday at 5 p.m. Tickets for all remaining home games are just $5 and available by visiting
PortlandPilots.com/Tickets.