PORTLAND, Ore. – Vukasin Masic led five Portland men's basketball players in double figures with 27 pints as the Pilots knocked off the Denver Pioneers 101-90 in double overtime at home Sunday.
Masic added five rebounds and four assists. Austin Rapp tacked on 20 points, six rebounds and two blocks, while Vincent Delano chipped in as well with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists off the bench. Junior center Jermaine Ballisager Webb was also a difference maker off the bench with 14 points and five rebounds.
Portland took advantage of fantastic ball movement in Sunday's game, piling up 21 assists on 31 made field goals. Delano's five assists were the most for the Pilots and Chris Austin also added five assists of his own.
How It Happened
After jumping out to a 12-7 advantage, Portland went on a 9-0 run with 13:57 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Austin, to increase its lead to 21-7. The Pilots then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 39-30 advantage. Portland relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down six shots to account for 18 of its 39 points.
Denver (3-6) turned the tables in the second stanza and proceeded to take a 66-56 lead before Portland went on an 8-0 run, finished off by Masic's jumper, to shrink the deficit to 66-64 with 3:10 to go in the contest. The Pilots rally continued as they outscored Denver 6-4 the rest of the way to tie it at 70-70 and send the game to overtime. Masic made a free throw with 1.9 seconds left to send the contest to an extra period.
A Masic three put the Pilots up 78-74 with 2:48 left in overtime, but the Pioneers answered again. Portland led 82-80 when DeAndre Craig went coast-to-coast to tie the game with 0.8 ticks remaining and force a second OT.
Denver then snagged an 87-86 advantage with 3:30 left in the second overtime before Portland responded by going on a 9-0 run, finished off by Rapp's three, to seize a 95-87 lead with 1:43 to go in the period. The Pilots kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 101-90 win.
Game Notes
» Portland lit it up from beyond the arc, knocking down 10 treys in the game.
» Portland recorded 21 total assists in the game.
» The Portland bench came alive by scoring 32 points to its scoring output.
» Five Portland players scored 10 or more points.
» Vincent Delano and Jermaine Ballisager Webb came off the bench to score 18 and 14 points, respectively.
» Portland had a 46-32 edge on the boards in the win.
» Vukasin Masic had a game-high 27 points and Austin Rapp added 20.
» Portland got a team-high seven rebounds from Chris Austin.
» Denver forced 16 turnovers which led to a 15-9 margin in points off turnovers.
» Nicholas Shogbonyo scored a team-high 20 points for the Pioneers.
Up Next
Portland travels to Kent State for a meeting on Friday at 4 p.m. (PT) on ESPN+.
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