Pilots Defeat Idaho State; Meet Oregon State Sunday

The Pilots next play the Oregon State Beavers at 4:00 p.m. at Gill Coliseum on Sunday.

Sherrard Watson Photo courtesy: UP Athletics

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Portland senior Sherrard Watson scored a game-high 18 points as the Pilots defeated the Idaho State Bengals 76-52 in a non-conference men’s basketball game played at Gill Coliseum on Saturday night. UP sophomore Nik Raivio added 15 points on six-for-nine shooting.

Portland improves to 2-3 overall on the season, while Idaho State drops to 1-5.

Coming out of the locker room with an 11-point lead, UP opened the second half on an 18-8 run covering the first seven minutes. After junior Walter Thompson went to the hole for a reverse lay-up and freshman Luke Sikma drained a three-pointer, Portland opened up a 54-35 advantage.

Idaho State then trimmed the lead to 15 a couple of times before Portland opened it up from the outside, getting three-pointers from Raivio and fellow sophomore Robin Smeulders. Sikma then converted on a lay-up off a nice feed from Smeulders to give Portland a 66-46 advantage with less than seven minutes remaining on the clock.

The lead grew to 21 with less than three minutes to play after Smeulders converted a lay-in on a fast break and Watson buried a three-pointer from deep in the corner. UP then emptied its bench en route to the 24-point win.

Watson was a perfect eight of eight from the free throw line and shot four of six from the field. As a team Portland shot 44.4 percent (24-for-54) for the game and connected on 19 of 23 from the charity stripe.

Portland also nailed nine three-pointers, led by Raivio with four. Sikma just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine boards. Despite being in foul trouble for most of the game, Smeulders finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.

The Pilots claimed a 45-26 edge in rebounds.

Chron Tatum was the only Bengal in double figures with 14 points. ISU shot 19-for-56 (33.9 percent) from the field and hit just three of 13 from behind the three-point arc.

Portland played without sophomore point guard Taishi Ito, who returned to his home in Japan on Friday. Ito’s father passed away on Thanksgiving Day after a long battle with a brain tumor. There is no timetable set for his return to the team.

After falling behind 7-3 early, the Pilots went on a 17-7 run, capped by back-to-back buckets from freshman Jared Stohl. Stohl, who replaced Ito in the starting line-up, hit two mid-range jumpers to give Portland a 20-14 lead with 8:38 left in the first half.

Moments later, the Portland’s lead to eight points, helped by a Thompson three-pointer and a couple of free throws from Smeulders. Thompson then drilled another three from the right wing, as Portland enjoyed a 34-25 lead with 1:30 remaining.

A lay-up by Watson then gave Portland its first double-digit lead, as the Pilots entered the locker room with a 36-25 advantage.

Portland was money from the free throw line in the first half, missing only one attempt out of 13 tries. Watson was a perfect six-for-six from the charity stripe in the first stanza and had a game-high 14 points.

The Pilots next play the Oregon State Beavers at 4:00 p.m. at Gill Coliseum on Sunday.

Source: UP Athletics

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