In their last home game of the 2017-2018 season, the Portland Pilots took on the Brigham Young Cougars in a game that could only be described as frustrating. In a Chiles Center full of 3,003 fans cheering for both Portland and BYU, the Pilots trailed throughout the game, unable to gain the offensive momentum to overcome the Cougar’s defense, losing 72-60.
Despite the loss, Freshman Marcus Shaver Jr. led the game with 21 points, putting in basket after basket, giving a vibrant energy to the University of Portland crowd. Freshman Malcolm Porter also played well, filling up the scoreboard with 10 points of his own. After the game, Shaver said he saw that the team was “starting off slow and needed a spark.”
The game was also the last time the Pilots will play at home for the 2017-2018 season. Leaving the Bluff are seniors D'Marques Tyson and Philipp Hartwich, both of which are not leaving without leaving their mark on the program. Tyson is only five points shy of becoming the 40th pilot to have scored 1,000 points as well as having made 248 career three pointers, the second most in UP history.
Earlier this season, Hartwich, who has started all 30 games this season, now also holds the UP record for blocked shots (158). He also led the team with 11 rebounds. Hartwich says that he appreciates the support of the fans over the past four years.
“When I first got here I was a skinny German kid who weighed only 210 pounds and they took me under their wing and let me become the player I wanted to become and I appreciate that,” Hartwich said.
The team will play their next game at Pepperdine University, who is currently ranked at the bottom of the West Coast Conference, this Saturday at 5 p.m.
