DENVER - University of Denver sophomore guard Chase Hallam (Mesquite, Texas) had a game-high 24 points and junior guard Andrew Hooper (Lakewood, Colo.) and redshirt sophomore center Trevor Noonan (Broomfield, Colo.) both added 11 points, but the Pioneers fell 71-63 to the University of Portland during a late Saturday afternoon matchup at Magness Arena.

The Pioneers (2-8) shot a season-best 50.0 percent (23-of-26) from the field, but were outpaced by Portland (8-3) who shot 51.3 percent (20-of-39) from the field and were 12-of-18 (66.7 percent) from beyond the arc. It was the second-most three-pointers by a Denver opponent under Scott and the most since Oklahoma hit 13 three-pointers on Nov. 9, 2007, in Scott's second game with the Pioneers.

"There are nights when the competition shoots like that, but we still have to work on defending against the three," head coach Joe Scott said. "We have to get better at closing out, and this was a tough one."

Denver found its groove early in the first half with a Hooper three-pointer to open up the contest. More long balls followed from Hooper, Chase Hallam, Noonan, and Tyler Thalken (Tulsa, Oklahoma), as the Pioneers shot 50.0 percent (7-of-14) from behind the arc in the first half and lead by as many as 11 with 5:15 to play before the break.

The Pilots, who shot 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) from three-point range in the half, went on a 13-3 run before the intermission to cut the Denver lead to 32-31.  

"We have to get better against the zone. Ball movement leads to better looks," Scott added. "You saw some of that in the first half, but we need to work on getting this going throughout the entire game."

The Pioneers shot a solid 37.5 percent (6-of-16) from beyond the arc in the second half, but the Pilots went a blistering 6-of-7 (85.7 percent) from three-point range.

The Pioneers were able to keep pace as a fade away jumper from Hooper cut Portland's lead to three points with 5:02 remaining, but a pair of three-pointers from Mitrovic - who was 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) from three-point range in the game - anchored a Pilots' 11-3 run that pushed the Portland lead to 11 points with 21 seconds to play.

The Pilots dominated the rebound battle 30-to-14 with freshman forward Chris Udofia (Irving, Texas) leading Denver with three boards. The Pioneers were 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) from the charity stripe compared to the Pilots 19-of-22 (86.4 percent).

Mitrovic led the Pilots with 18 points and Jared Stohl added 16. Luke Sikma had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Kramer Knutson added 10 rebounds, as well.

The Pioneers travel to Wyoming for their next game on Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. MT. The game can be heard on Mile High Sports Radio AM 1510 and FM 93.7, as well as www.DenverPioneers.com.