LAS VEGAS - Bradley scored the first four points of the game, but Portland (7-4) answered with a 15-0 run and never looked back en route to a 74-53 win against the Braves (5-6) Friday in the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic at South Point Arena and Equestrian Center.
Bradley dropped its fourth straight and fell below .500 for the first time since the end of the 2011-12 campaign.
Portland shot just 29.0 percent (9-31) from the field in the first half, including 2-for-11 (.182) from 3-point range, but a combination of Portland's 10 offensive rebounds, 10 Bradley turnovers and foul trouble allowed the Pilots to take a 28-23 lead into halftime. Bradley attempted just 19 first-half field goal attempts (8-for-19) while season scoring leader Walt Lemon Jr. played only eight minutes without attempting a shot.
After Portland scored the first seven points of the second half, the Braves tried to rally and closed to within 47-41 on a Lemon steal and breakaway dunk with 11:21 left. Bradley had a shot in the air to slice the deficit even more, but Omari Grier missed a corner jumper off an in-bounds play and the Pilots answered with a transition putback basket to start a 9-2 run to reclaim their double-digit lead. Bradley got no closer than 11 points the rest of the night.
Portland, which shot 64.0 percent (16-25) from the field in the second half, was led by Ryan Nicholas' game-high 18 points. Tomas van der Mars and Alec Wintering both scored 15 for the Pilots. Grier made all four of his 3-point field goal attempts, Bradley's only four treys in 13 team attempts, on his way to a team-high 17 points. Auston Barnes was Bradley's only other double-digit scorer with 10 points, but the leading rebounder in the Missouri Valley Conference entering the game finished with only one board.
Bradley will try to snap its season-long losing streak Saturday when the Braves face Pacific in a 5:30 p.m. (PST) tip from the South Point Arena and Equestrian Center. Portland will close the event by facing Princeton, immediately following the Bradley-Pacific game.
