San Diego State Defeats Portland, 78-64

Freshman forward Luke Sikma had a solid all-around game with eight points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Pilots.

Photo courtesy: UP Athletics

FRESNO, Calif. - The Portland Pilots struggled from the perimeter and fell to the San Diego State Aztecs 78-64 in the World Vision Classic Saturday night at the Save Mart Center.

Senior Sherrard Watson scored 19 points and sophomore Robin Smeulders added 16 in the loss for the Pilots.

Juniors Kyle Spain and Lorrenzo Wade led the Aztecs (2-0) with 22 and 18 points, respectively.

The Pilots (0-2) struggled from the perimeter making just 4-of-19 three-pointers, while the Aztecs made 8-of-16 from downtown.

Watson had 15 first-half points to keep the Pilots close, but Spain had 14 before intermission to give San Diego State a 40-36 lead.

“It always needs to be a team effort and we need different guys to step up on different nights,” Portland head coach Eric Reveno said. “Sherrard did a great job of being that guy tonight and keeping us in the game in the first half. We’ll need various guys to do the same thing in the future, while getting everyone to consistently improve.”

The margin was pushed to 11 points midway through the second period on a layup by Kelvin Davis and the Aztecs took their largest lead of the game at 66-52 on a basket by Billy White with 5:50 remaining.

The Pilots cut the lead to eight on their next two possessions as Smeulders drained a three and then converted a three-point play. A layup by Watson with 2:34 remaining made it a seven-point game, but the Aztecs got defensive stops and made seven free throws late to close out the game.

“San Diego State was very effective disrupting us offensively, which hurt our shooting percentage and caused some turnovers,” Eric Reveno said. “There is a ton of things that we can learn from this game, especially the need to take better care of the ball.”

For the second night in a row, the Pilots played step-for-step with a team that advanced to postseason play a year ago, but turnovers were a key in the outcome. San Diego State forced 17 turnovers while committing just 10 in the game. The Pilots again had a positive rebounding margin, gaining a 37-29 edge on the boards and 15-5 advantage in second chance points.

Freshman forward Luke Sikma had a solid all-around game with eight points, 10 rebounds and five assists, but turned the ball over five times. Sophomore guard Nik Raivio added 10 points and six boards.

The Pilots will conclude their trip at the World Vision Classic on Sunday with a 1 p.m. tipoff against Liberty.

The Flames also dropped their first two games to San Diego State and Fresno State. It will be the third game in three days for both schools.

“It’s almost easier to play that game (tomorrow) because you can’t over prepare,” Reveno noted. “It will be about us, what we do, and being mentally focused.”

Source: UP Athletics

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