Portland, OR – The Portland Pilots took advantage of a frosty shooting Portland State team, taking a convincing 69-54 non-conference win at Viking Pavilion.
 
The Pilots had four players in double figures and shot 30-69 (.435) from the field, which was more than enough as PSU could never get started offensively. PSU made only 23-73 (.315) in the game and was 2-23 from three-point range.
 
Portland was led by 15 points and nine rebounds from Chris Austin. Tyler Robertson had 12 points and nine rebounds, and Moses Wood scored 10 points with 10 rebounds. The win was the fifth in a row for the Pilots who are now 5-1.
 
Portland State dropped to 2-2 on the season. James Jean-Marie led the way with a season-high 17 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double. Ezekiel Alley came off the bench for 11 points and three assists.
 
The Vikings got multiple looks inside early, but couldn't convert. In fact, PSU started the game 2-17 from the field. A six-minute scoring drought and an 11-0 Pilot run had Portland ahead 13-4 after eight minutes.
 
The Vikings got back within 18-16 before Austin sparked a 17-0 run. He hit four shots for nine points in the rally and UP led 35-16. Meanwhile, PSU went six minutes without scoring. Portland was up 37-20 at halftime.
 
PSU was only 10-32 from the field in the half, including 0-9 from three-point range.
 
A pair of baskets by Khalid Thomas out of halftime helped the Vikings get back within 11 quickly. But again the Pilots had an answer with an 11-2 run. Up 20 at 51-31 midway through the half, the Pilots cruised to the win. The closest the Vikings would get was the final score as Alley made a pair of baskets in the last minute of the game.
 
"It was one of those nights, I feel like it was self-inflicted for us," said Viking Coach Jase Coburn. "We missed a lot of shots and had a lot of offensive rebounds. We had a lot of looks we wanted and just couldn't convert them. We'll bounce back and we will be alright." 

GAME NOTES

• Portland leads the all-time series 15-10 since PSU joined the Big Sky Conference and Division I in 1996-97.
• Khalid Thomas had nine points, seven rebounds and two steals.
• Portland State had 14 offensive rebounds, but only scored nine points from them. Portland had 14 offensive rebounds and 18 second-chance points.
• Portland State goes on the road to play at Iowa this Friday. The game tips off at 4 p.m. PT. It will be live streamed on Big 10+ (subscription required). For links, go to the basketball schedule at GoViks.com.