Grambling pulls away early to beat Portland 70-58

Dec 16, 2018, 12:11 am

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Ivy Smith Jr. had 13 points and nine assists and Grambling pulled away early to beat Portland 70-58 on Saturday night.

Grambling (5-6) snapped a two-game skid while Portland (6-6) has lost four of its last five games.

Dallas Polk-Hilliard added 12 points, Lasani Johnson had 11 and Zavier Peart chipped in with 10 for Grambling. Johnson made three 3-pointers and Peart had a game-high nine rebounds.

Marcus Shaver Jr. scored 14 points, JoJo Walker had 12 points and Hugh Hogland 11 for Portland. The Pilots shot just 18 of 51 (35 percent) from the field that included 23 missed 3-pointers.

Grambling took the lead for good with about 17 minutes left and built a 60-50 advantage with 3:42 remaining. The Pilots pulled to 60-56 but Anthony Gaston hit a 3 with 1:15 left to spark a 10-2 surge.