PORTLAND, Ore. – A new look University of Portland men's basketball team took the court for the first time this season and posted an 83-70 victory over the Lewis & Clark Pioneers Wednesday night at the Chiles Center.

The Pilots (1-0) had five players score in double figures, led by Elon transfer Max Mackinnon, who had 20 points, six rebounds and five assists. Freshman forward Austin Rapp added 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists and redshirt freshman guard Vincent Delano chipped in as well with 12 points and three steals off the bench.

Freshman forward Todd Jones also had a stellar debut with nine points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five blocked shots in 27 minutes of action. Graduate guard Chris Austin added 11 points and six rebounds in a team-high 33 minutes, while redshirt junior center Mezziah Oakman also finished with 11 points.

Portland utilized fantastic ball movement in Wednesday's game, piling up 19 assists on 32 made field goals. The Pilots also drilled 10-of-20 three-pointers and gained a 42-34 rebounding advantage.

How It Happened

The Pilots committed 13 turnovers in the first half and trailed by as much as nine points at 33-24 before Austin scored eight points in the closing minutes to narrow the deficit to 38-35 by the end of the first half.

Lewis & Clark led 44-40 early in the second half before Portland went on a 12-0 run, finished off by Austin's three, to seize a 52-44 lead with 13:40 to go in the contest. The Pilots expanded the margin to as much as 16 points late in the regulation. Portland shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting nine shots from deep to score 27 of its 48 points.

Game Notes
 
» The Pilots made half of their attempts from three point range, knocking down 10 of 20 shots.
» The Pilots held the Pioneers to only 35.8 percent shooting from the field.
» Portland tallied 19 total assists in the game.
» Five Portland players scored 10 or more points.
» Portland had a 42-34 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Pilots were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, recording seven blocks as a team.
» Max Mackinnon led the Pilots with 20 points.
» Portland got a game-high 10 rebounds from Todd Jones.
» A total of nine different players made their Pilot debuts.
» Austin Rapp and Todd Jones earned their first career starts as true freshmen, while UC Santa Barbara transfer Mezziah Oakman started and played 18 minutes.
» Vincent Delano redshirted last season and was effective in 23 minutes off the bench in his college debut with 12 points and three steals.
» Freshmen Jinup Dobuol (5 mins, 1 reb), Mikah Ballew (16 mins, 5 pts, 3 rebs) and redshirt freshman Jude Harris also made their collegiate debuts, while American University transfer center Jermaine Ballisager Webb ( 2 mins) appeared for the first time in a Portland uniform.
» Chris Austin now has 985 career points and is closing in on the 1,000-point mark.
» Leading returning scorer Vukasin Masic (ankle) and redshirt freshman guard Kelson Gebbers (back) were unavailable.

Up Next

The Pilots will host the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (1-0) on Saturday at 3 p.m. The game will be aired live on ESPN+ and 910 ESPN Portland (KMTT). Live links are available at PortlandPilots.com.

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