PORTLAND, Ore. – Tyler Robertson hit a dagger 3-pointer with 1:02 left in the game to put Portland ahead 68-60, and the Pilots secured a 70-60 victory against the LMU Lions on Senior Night Saturday at Chiles Center. Robertson, who was honored pregame and played his final home game for the Pilots, finished with 12 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.
The Pilots (11-20, 5-11 WCC) earned the No. 6 seed and a first round bye at next week's Union 1 WCC Basketball Championships with the victory and will likely set up a rematch with the Lions on Friday.
Portland had four players score in double figures, led by Juanse Gorosito's career-high 26 points. Chris Austin added 16 points and redshirt freshman Bol Dengdit recorded his fourth double-double in the last nine games with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Portland's defense held LMU to only 39.3 percent shooting from the field. The Pilots also limited Will Johnston to 3-of-12 shooting and nine points in the game. The Lions did not have much luck cleaning up their misses on the offensive glass either, as they finished with nine offensive rebounds and managed 10 second chance points while Portland cleared 28 defensive rebounds.
How It Happened
After playing to an 8-8 tie, Portland went on an 8-0 run with 14:37 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Austin, to take a 16-8 lead. The Pilots extended the margin to 12 points late in the period, but LMU closed with a 6-0 run to cut the margin to 38-32 at the half. Portland relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down seven shots to account for 21 of its 38 points.
The Lions opened the second half with an 8-0 to retake the lead before Gorosito stopped the bleeding with a pull-up jumper. The teams exchanged leads two more times and then Austin scored five straight and Dengdit converted a putback dunk to give the Pilots a six point lead.
LMU tied things up at 56-56 before Portland went on a 6-0 run, finished off by Gorosito's jumper, to seize a 62-56 lead with 3:24 to go in the contest. Another Gorosito three was followed by Robertson's dagger to ignite the Chiles Center crowd and send the Pilots to victory.
Game Notes
» Portland got double-doubles from both Tyler Robertson and Bol Dengdit for the second straight game.
» Robertson played all but the final 16 seconds of regulation after playing all 45 minutes of an overtime win versus Santa Clara on Thursday.
» Portland found success from beyond the arc, knocking down 11 treys in the game.
» The Pilots held the Lions to only 39.3 percent shooting from the field.
» Portland recorded 18 total assists in the game.
» Juanse Gorosito, Chris Austin, and Tyler Robertson combined to account for 77 percent of the Pilots points.
» Tyler Robertson collected a season-high 11 assists for Portland.
» Portland had a 34-30 edge on the boards in the win.
» Portland turned the ball over five times while dishing out 18 assists.
» Juanse Gorosito led the Pilots with a game-high 26 points.
» Portland got a game-high 12 rebounds from Bol Dengdit.
» Justice Hill paced the Lions with 16 points.
Up Next
The Pilots now prepare for a Friday night second round game at the 2024 Credit Union 1 WCC Basketball Championships against the No. 7 seed (likely LMU) in Las Vegas at Orleans Arena.
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