Portland State Defeats Willamette in Men's Basketball Exhibition Game

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland State University received 22 points apiece from Holland Woods and Michael Nuga, as the Vikings downed Willamette University, 125-61, in an exhibition game for the Bearcats on Saturday, Nov. 17 in the Viking Pavilion at Peter W. Stott Center. Justus Eaglesmith (So., G, Sparks NV/Spanish Springs HS) scored 17 points for Willamette and led all players on both teams with five 3-point baskets.

The game was a regular season match-up for Portland State, which competes in NCAA Division I and the Big Sky Conference. It was an exhibition game for Willamette, which plays in NCAA Division III and is a member of the Northwest Conference. Portland State improved to 2-1 on the season.

Portland State placed six players in double figures for scoring. In addition to Woods and Nuga, other double-digit scorers for the Vikings were Jamie Orme with 19 points, Juwan Williams with 13 points, Filip Fullerton with 12 points and Robert McCoy with 11 points. Woods was 7 for 12 from the floor and hit 6 of 6 free throws. Nuga connected on 9 of 11 field goals, including 2 of 3 three-point shots. Orme grabbed 13 rebounds, while McCoy hauled down 12 boards. Woods registered seven steals.

Eaglesmith was in double digits by Jordan Jenkins (Sr., F, Placentia, CA/Valencia HS), who scored 15 points and was 5 of 8 from the field. He also earned four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one blocked shot. Trent Callan (Jr., G, Portland, OR/Lincoln HS) contributed four assists.

The Vikings took control early in the game by scoring the first 23 points. Willamette cut the margin to 27-10 on a 3-pointer by Eaglesmith with 12:23 left in the half. A 12-4 run extended PSU's advantage to 39-14. The Vikings held a 70-26 lead at halftime.

Willamette shot 34.6% for the game (18 of 52), including 10 of 27 (37.0%) from 3-point range. Portland State shot 54.8% (46 of 84) from the field, while making 13 of 33 shots (39.4%) from behind the 3-point line. The Vikings forced Willamette into 29 turnovers, while PSU lost the ball 14 times.

The Bearcats will return to action on Friday, Nov. 23 against Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.) at the David Wells Clasic in Claremont, California. The Bearcats and the Sagehens will compete at the gymnasium on the campus of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.). On Saturday, Nov. 24, the Bearcats will take on CMS in the Pomona-Pitzer gymnasium. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. (PST) each day.

Big Moment of the Game for Willamette

It was a tough night for the Bearcats, but it was still a solid
performance in an NCAA Division I venue by sophomore
guard Justus Eaglesmith, who scored 17 points and made
five 3-point baskets. He also had two assists and one steal.
PSU kept WU off the scoreboard for more than five minutes
to open the game, but it was Eaglesmith who provided the
first Bearcat points on a 3-pointer to start a 10-4 run. He
completed the run with a jumper and another 3-pointer.