PORTLAND, Ore. – Vukasin Masic matched a career high with 25 points in his Portland debut and freshman Tyler Harris added 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Pilots to a 78-73 win against Long Beach State Monday at the Chiles Center.
Masic – who transferred to Portland from Maine – sat out last season after the NCAA denied an immediate eligibility waiver. He made up for lost time by scoring 22 second half points to help the Pilots secure the tough victory. Masic added seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Harris also had quite the collegiate debut going 6-for-9 from the field in recording a double-double. Tyler Robertson helped out with 13 points and four assists.
Portland out-rebounded Long Beach State 41-39 and the Pilot defense forced 14 Long Beach State turnovers. Those takeaways turned into 13 points on the other end of the floor.
How It Happened
Portland started out the scoring by going on a 7-0 run, culminating in a bucket from Robertson, to take an early lead with 17:28 left in the first half. The Pilots led by as much as ten points twice in the opening minutes, but the Beach responded to retake the lead on a Messiah Thompson three-pointer late in the period. Portland still entered halftime with a 32-31 advantage, doing most of the damage inside with 16 points in the paint.
Long Beach State proceeded to take a 57-54 lead before Portland went on a 10-0 run, finished off by Masic's three, to seize a 64-57 lead with 6:26 to go in the contest. The Beach narrowed the margin to 66-64 on a Lassina Traore layup with 3:41 left, but the Pilots got a Harris layup and three free throws from Juanse Gorosito to regain the margin and held on for the 78-73 win.
Game Notes
» Tyler Harris notched a double-double for the Pilots with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
» The Pilots held the Beach to only 36.2 percent shooting from the field.
» Portland had a 41-39 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Portland defense forced 14 turnovers.
» Vukasin Masic led the Pilots with a game-high 25 points, matching his career high.
» Portland's two big men were effective as Vasilije Vucinic logged nine points and four rebounds, while Cal Poly grad transfer Alimamy Koromo added nine points and five rebounds.
Up Next
The Pilots host Lewis & Clark on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and then UC Riverside on Sunday at 2 p.m. All Portland home games will be aired on ESPN+ and have radio coverage on 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT). Sunday's game will also be televised locally on Portland's CW.
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