By Malika Andrews |
Coach Eric Reveno told his team to play defense in every way he knew how, going red in the face by the end of a frustrating night. Reveno yelled, occasionally clapping in time with his words to underscore the point.
“Show them your hands,” Reveno yelled.
“Get a stop.”
“Where are you going? Make a play.”
Nothing helped. The University of San Diego earned their first conference win on Thursday night, beating the Pilots 82-71. With the loss, Portland falls to 2-4 in conference, while the Toreros improve to 1-4. Portland has now lost four straight.
“That sense of urgency kicked in too late,” Reveno said. “It’s sort of like, this is going to happen, this is going happen, then all of a sudden it’s not happening. Oh shoot, I better do something.”
This “too little too late” is a familiar place for Portland, who found themselves with the same win-loss record through the first six games of the 2014-15 season. The Pilots finished the night just 4-of-20 from beyond the arc and 37.5 percent from the field.
San Diego guard Duda Sanadze led both teams with 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Alec Wintering led Portland with 23 points for the Pilots, 12 of them coming from free throws. Bryce Pressley added 20 points for Portland.
With just over 2:30 remaining, coach Eric Jackson joined Reveno in the yelling. Desperately attempting to motivate their players to get a stop.
“Ice, ice, ice,” Jackson and Reveno barked in unison. Portland needed a stop. If nothing else, to gain some momentum back.
They didn’t get one. Instead, Sanadze floated in a jumper.
It looked like Portland had finally been able to generate some momentum when Bryce Pressley was fouled on a made lay-up with 2:34 remaining, but he could not complete the 3-point play.
San Diego hadn’t slowed since they sunk back-to-back 3-pointers to open the second half and stretch their lead to 13. Portland came back within ten off a 3-pointer from Pressley with less than one minute left.
With 8:21 remaining in the first half, the Toreros took the lead off a layup from Sanadze, who was fouled on the way up. A made free throw gave USD a 21-17 advantage. The Pilots had gone cold from the field after missing a 3-pointer and committing a turnover, giving San Diego a six-point lead.
A pair of free throws by Alec Wintering ended a nearly five minute scoring drought for Portland. The Pilots trailed the Toreros 35-28 at the half.
Up next, Portland faces BYU in the Chiles Center for a 3 p.m. tipoff on Saturday. The Cougars are coming off a 69-68 win over No. 25 Gonzaga.
Malika Andrews is the sports editor for The Beacon. She can be reached at andrewsm17@up.edu or on Twitter @malika_andrews.
