STOCKTON, Calif. – Graduate guard Chris Austin scored an efficient 24 points and the Portland Pilots completed a season sweep of the Pacific Tigers with an 81-73 win in West Coast Conference men's basketball action Saturday night at the Spanos Center.
The Pilots (11-18, 6-10 WCC) moved into a tie for seventh place in the WCC standings with Washington State after winning for the fourth time in six games.
Austin finished 9-for-13 from the field and added seven rebounds and four steals. All five Pilot starters reached double figures as Vukasin Masic finished with 16 points, Max Mackinnon and Austin Rapp added 15 each and Bol Dengdit finished with 11.
The Pilots led nearly start-to-finish and were up by as much as 21 points midway through the second half before holding off a furious late rally from the Tigers (9-22, 4-13).
Portland shot 52 percent from the field and limited Pacific to 46 percent on the night.
How it Happened
Austin dominated the opening period as the Pilots raced to a 40-29 lead at intermission. The graduate guard was 7-for-8 from the field in the half and finished with 20 points, five rebounds and three steals to lead Portland. The Pilots shot 54 percent from the floor and held Pacific to 39 percent.
Portland poured it on to start the second half as Masic recorded all 16 of his points in the final period. A pair of layups from Austin and consecutive three-pointers from Masic pushed the margin to 50-31. Later in the half Dengdit buried a three and Mackinnon converted a layup to give the Pilots their largest lead at 66-45.
Pacific got hot late and pulled within five twice in the final minute but Masic and Mackinnon each made a pair of free throws to ice the game.
Game Notes
» Portland lit it up from three point land, knocking down eight treys in the game.
» Portland never trailed in the second half on its way to victory.
» Portland recorded 18 total assists in the game.
» Every Portland starter scored in double figures.
» Five Portland players scored 10 or more points.
» Portland turned the ball over three times while dishing out 18 assists.
» Chris Austin led the Pilots with a game-high 24 points.
» Chris Austin has now reached double figures nine of the last 10 games.
» Portland got a team-high seven rebounds from Chris Austin.
Up Next
The Pilots return home for Senior Night on Thursday, Feb. 27 against the Pepperdine Waves. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. with senior recognition beginning at approximately 6:50 p.m. The regular season concludes with a road game at San Diego on Saturday, March 1 at 7 p.m.
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