Portland Pilot fans said goodbye to their three beloved seniors— Alec Wintering, Ray Barreno, and Jarrel Marshall— on Thursday night at the Chiles Center. But the stands weren’t packed with devoted Pilot fans; Rather, BYU supporters outnumbered the home crowd. Chants of ‘B-Y-U’ echoed in the air in the final minutes as the Cougars closed out a 97-78 win over the University of Portland men’s basketball team on senior night.
The Pilots drop to 10-20 on the year and 2-15 in West Coast Conference play.
BYU’s Elijah Bryant led all scorers with 39 points, the most by any WCC player this season. Bryant and three other Cougars in double figures— Eric Mika, Nick Emery and Steven Beo— combined to score 86 of their team’s 97 points.
“It wasn’t even that we just lost. There was no fight,” said sophomore guard Xavier Hallinan. “We got down early, and we were just deflated.”
The Pilots were the first on the scoreboard, with Barreno nailing a jumper in the post. The home squad didn’t get another lead after those first few seconds, however, as the Cougars jumped out to a double-digit lead in less than five minutes.
BYU maintained a double-digit lead through the rest of the game, leading as many as 27 points. They also outrebounded Portland 45 to 23.
Despite the loss, the Pilots celebrated the contributions of their three seniors prior to the tip.
“They’ve been great. They always come to practice and games ready to go every day, working hard,” said junior Gabe Taylor. “It’s just disappointing for them to be sent out that way.”
Taylor and Hallinan led the Pilots in scoring with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Sophomore guard Jazz Johnson’s double-digit scoring streak ended at 29 games. He had just six points Thursday night.
The Pilots will play their last regular season game against the San Diego Toreros on Saturday, Feb. 25.
