PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland men's basketball team could not overcome a slow start as the St. Thomas Tommies held on for a 76-66 win to close out the Portland Invitational presented by Courtyard Portland North Marriott.
The Tommies (5-3) raced out to a 18-2 start before Portland came all the way back to take the lead midway through the second half. St. Thomas finished strong to pull out the victory.
The Pilots (4-3) had four players score in double figures, led by Timo George, who had 17 points and two steals. Cameron Williams added 13 points, nine rebounds and four assists and Joel Foxwell helped out with 11 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Foxwell was named to the All-Tournament Team after a solid three-game performance.
Nolan Minessale finished with a game-high 24 points and five steals to lead the Tommies en route to Tournament MVP honors.
How It Happened
After falling behind 18-2, Portland went on a 10-0 run with 14:22 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Foxwell, to narrow its deficit to 18-12. George made consecutive buckets in the paint to pull Portland within three at 28-25. Kelson Gebbers drilled a clutch three just before halftime to make it a 36-34 deficit for Portland at the break.
Foxwell opened the second half with a three and Williams scored five straight points to tie the game at 42-42. Matus Hronsky buried a wing three and then George flew in for a putback dunk giving the Pilots their first and only lead of the game at 49-47 with 13:15 remaining. Minessale answered with a three-pointer on the next possession followed by a pair of triples from Ben Oosterbaan to create a cushion at 56-49.
Another Williams layup made it a 65-64 deficit with 4:14 to go but the Tommies responded again with a Carter Bjerke three triggering a 7-0 run. Portland would get no closer than six the rest of the way as a George dunk was all the Pilots could muster in the final minutes.
Game Notes
» Portland piled up 21 assists on 28 made field goals.
» The Portland bench made an impact by adding 29 points to its scoring output.
» Portland lost despite a 39-27 rebounding advantage.
» Portland cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 10 offensive boards in the game.
» Timo George led the Pilots with 17 points.
» Portland got a game-high nine rebounds from Cameron Williams.
» Portland committed 20 turnovers in the game and surrendered a 28-7 margin in points off of turnovers.
» The Pilots shot 48 percent overall and held St. Thomas to 41 percent.
» The Tommies made 14 of 18 free throws compared to just 4 of 7 for Portland.
» The game was chippy and ended with a combined four technical fouls and a flagrant 1.
Portland Invitational All-Tournament Team
Nolan Minessale, St. Thomas – Most Valuable Player
Nick Janowski, St. Thomas
Joel Foxwell, Portland
Joshua Ward, Cal State Fullerton
Quinn Denker, Northern Colorado
Up Next
The Pilots return to the Chiles Center to host Long Beach State on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
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