PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland's backcourt tandem of Joel Foxwell and Garrett Nuckolls combined for 44 points as the Pilots defeated the Cal State Fullerton Titans Friday on day one of the Portland Invitational presented by Courtyard Portland North Marriott at Chiles Center. St. Thomas defeated Northern Colorado in the tournament's opening game by a 73-72 margin on Nolan Minessale's half court buzzer beater.

Foxwell, a freshman from Melbourne, Australia, continued his stellar early season play with a season high 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists. He was 9 of 13 from the field, including 5 of 8 from three-point range and added two steals.

Nuckolls, a junior from Bullard, Texas, was an efficient 8 of 11 from the floor and added six rebounds and four assists.

Sophomore guard Mikah Ballew added 18 points off the bench, while sophomore forward James O'Donnell chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds. Freshman forward Timo George added 14 points and six boards on a perfect 6 of 6 shooting.

The Pilots shot a season high 64 percent from the field and 52 percent from three-point range (11-21), while the Titans (1-4) finished at 48 percent overall and 12 of 30 from beyond the arc.

Portland outrebounded Fullerton by a 34-29 margin and had a 52-36 advantage in points in the paint.

How It Happened
Portland wanted no part of a close game as they raced out to a 33-11 lead following an O'Donnell layup. The Pilots never trailed after a Foxwell three-pointer and Nuckolls layup gave the hosts a 7-5 lead. Foxwell scored eight points during an early 16-0 run that set the tone. The Pilots would take a 57-42 lead into halftime.

Fullerton cut the deficit to 12 multiple times early in the second half but the Pilots responded each time. Ballew scored six straight points and Foxwell made clutch plays time and again to keep the Titans at bay. Fullerton pulled withing 88-77 with less than seven minutes left before Portland answered and Foxwell beat the shot clock with an off balance, three-point dagger to make it 96-80 with 3:56 to go.

Game Notes
» The Pilots made over half of their attempts from three point range, knocking down 11 of 21 shots.
» Portland never trailed in the second half on its way to victory.
» Portland recorded 24 total assists in the game.
» The Portland bench made an impact by scoring 41 points to its scoring output.
» Five Portland players scored 10 or more points.
» Mikah Ballew and Timo George came off the bench to score 18 and 14 points, respectively.
» Portland shot 63 percent from the field to economically reach their 103 point total.
» Portland had a 34-29 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Portland defense forced 13 turnovers.
» Joel Foxwell had a game-high 24 points and Garrett Nuckolls added 20.
» Portland got a game-high eight rebounds from James O'Donnell.
» Senior G Riley Clark (foot) was unavailable after debuting last week against Wyoming.
 
Up Next
Day two of the Portland Invitational presented by Courtyard North Portland Marriott tips off Saturday with St. Thomas against Cal State Fullerton at 2:30 p.m. followed by the Pilots and Northern Colorado at 5 p.m. The tournament concludes Sunday with NCU versus CSUF at 11 a.m. followed by UP vs. UST at 1 p.m. Tickets for the tournament are available at PortlandPilots.com/Tickets.  

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