In the Portland Pilots’ first meeting with the University of San Diego Toreros of the season, the Pilots lost 76-55.
The Toreros are ranked eighth in the West Coast Conference, and have a conference record of 1-2. The Pilots are ranked last in the WCC and have lost all conference games to date.
The first two minutes of the first half were scoreless and both teams came out sloppy to start. The Toreros were first on the board with a three-pointer, with the Pilots answering back with a three of their own.
San Diego was not afraid of shooting the three, making eight but missing 13. Portland’s offense struggled to make their shots from beyond the arc.
The Toreros always kept a comfortable lead of at least 10 points. By the end of the first half, the Pilots narrowed down the point gap to 10, ending the half with a score of 38-28 Toreros.
“Nothing went well with the team offensively, we got good looks we just didn’t knock them down tonight,” sophomore guard Marcus Shaver Jr. said. “We’re in a bit of a shooting rut.”
Shaver Jr. led the team in points, putting up 21 points. He also grabbed four rebounds, two offensive and two defensive, and four assists.
“We didn’t bring the type of energy and effort we needed at the defensive end,” head coach Terry Porter said. “I want to see us come back and respond at both ends of the floor.”
In the second half, the Toreros widened the point gap and kept the Pilots at bay. They limited Portland to scoring 27 points for the rest of the game to San Diego’s 38.
“We were struggling offensively at first by not taking shots or finishing off plays at the rim,” Porter said. “We got to the rim but didn’t finish.”
The team ended the game with a 21 point deficit, losing their fourth conference game in a row.
The Pilot’s next game is Saturday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. against No. 5 Gonzaga University.
Morgan Wahler is a sports reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at wahler20@up.edu.
