Toreros Edge Pilots, 82-76

Junior Sherrard Watson scores a team-high 21 points in the loss.

Salem-News.com SPORTS

SAN DIEGO - The Portland Pilots led a majority of the game before dropping an 82-76 West Coast Conference game to the San Diego Toreros Saturday evening at Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Junior Sherrard Watson matched a career-high with 21 points to lead the Pilots, while senior Nir Cohen led all scorers with 23 points for the Toreros.

The Toreros (16-12, 6-7 WCC) took their first lead of the second half on a three-pointer by senior guard Ross DeRogatis with 7:21 remaining.

He followed with another three on the next possession to give USD a 67-61 lead, but the resilient Pilots (8-21, 4-9) pulled within two on a jumper by senior guard Darren Cooper with 56 seconds remaining.

Portland played solid defense and forced Torero sophomore guard Brandon Johnson to take an off-balance three-pointer at the shot clock buzzer with 19 ticks remaining, but Johnson managed to drill the shot and USD grabbed a 78-73 lead and the upperhand.

Both teams shot 50 percent from the field, while the Pilots gained a 36-25 rebounding advantage.

But USD came up with the biggest offensive rebound of the night, as Johnson gathered a carom to set up his clutch shot at the end.

“Give San Diego credit for making plays down the stretch,” Portland head coach Eric Reveno said. “They made some tough, contested shots late and grabbed some key offensive rebounds at the end.”

Watson led three Pilots in double figures.

Senior center Ben Sullivan had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists and sophomore forward Jamie Jones added 15 points, despite being limited to 25 minutes while in foul trouble.

DeRogatis had 18 for the Toreros, 15 in the second half. Sophomore forward Gyno Pomare added 17, while Johnson contributed 14.

The Pilots made their first 18 free throw attempts of the game after making all 11 attempts in their previous outing at Gonzaga.

Portland’s string of 29 consecutive makes at the foul line came to an end when Jones rimmed out his second attempt with 1:58 remaining.

Portland committed 17 turnovers to USD’s 11.

“Offensively we were able to attack and get high percentage opportunities,” Reveno said. “But we still continue to hurt ourselves with turnovers.”

Portland led 40-38 at the half behind 59 percent shooting in the period.

The 76 points scored by the Pilots marked the third highest total of the season.

“Although we didn’t win, I was proud of our guys’ effort,” Reveno added. “We challenged them before the game to make San Diego play a very good game to beat us and I thought we did that tonight.”

The Pilots conclude their regular season at San Francisco on Monday in a crucial game for conference tournament positioning.

The Pilots and Dons are scheduled for a 7:00 PM tipoff at War Memorial Gymnasium.

“The true measure of success of this road trip will be determined by how we respond and compete against San Francisco,” said Reveno. “We’ve been pleased with the commitment and effort of the guys so far and we need to bring that again on Monday.”

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