Moses Wood scored 16 points and threw down a huge dunk, Tyler Robertson did a little of everything and the Portland Pilots beat Villanova 83-71 Friday in a Phil Knight Invitational consolation game at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.
The Pilots (5-3) played a strong game for the second day in a row after giving top-ranked North Carolina a tough challenge in an opening-round game Thursday before falling 89-81. Villanova is also perennial men’s basketball powerhouse, but the Wildcats have struggled so far this season under new coach Kyle Neptune.
Robertson finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for Portland, which used a 9-2 run at the end of the first half to take a 35-27 lead into the break.
The Pilots then opened the second half with a 10-0 spurt to build their largest lead of the game at 45-27. Wood’s fast-break dunk with 15:17 left made it 47-30, and the Pilots kept it up with other big plays throughout the second half.
The Wildcats (2-4) rallied, cutting Portland’s lead to 65-58 with 5:28 to play and getting as close as 77-71 with 1:09 left. But the Pilots held on.
Wood pulled down six rebounds and had three blocks for Portland, while Kristian Sjolund added 14 points and six boards.
Caleb Daniels led Villanova with 18 points and seven rebounds.
Portland shot 56.3% from the field and 45.8% from three-point range. The Pilots held Villanova to 33.3% shooting, including 22% from beyond the arc.
Next up: The Pilots will face the winner of Friday’s later game between Oregon and No. 12 Michigan State in Sunday’s fifth-place game at the Chiles Center. Villanova falls to the seventh-place game against the Oregon-Michigan State loser, also Sunday at the Chiles Center.
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