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August 2, 2013: Men's Hoops Prepares for Foreign Tour in Spain
August 11, 2013: A Busy First Day in Madrid
August 12, 2013: Angola 83, Pilots 78

Venezuela Holds off Late Pilot Rally, 75-72

UP-Venezuela Video Highlights I Assistant Coach Colin Pfaff Postgame Video

MADRID, Spain --- For the second straight day the Portland Pilots overcame an 18-point second half deficit to pull within two points in the final minute, but once again the rally came up just short as the Venezuela Senior National Team held on for a 75-72 Tuesday night. The Pilots trailed 52-37 after three quarters, but erupted for a 35-point fourth quarter to make it interesting in the closing minutes.

Portland is in the midst of a five-game foreign tour through Spain which began Monday with an 83-78 loss to Angola, the No. 15-ranked team in the world. Venezuela, ranked No. 24 in the FIBA World Rankings, is in its final training stages to host the FIBA Americas Championships next month in hopes of qualifying for the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

Portland jumped out to an early 14-11 lead after the first quarter, but the physical Venezuelan squad used a heavy rebounding margin and lock down defense to control the next two quarters.
Venezuela led 27-25 at the half and pushed the margin to as much as 18 points in the third quarter before the Pilots were able to cut the margin to 52-37 at the end of the third period.

Freshman point guard Alec Wintering sparked an 11-2 run early in the fourth quarter with back-to-back layups as Portland was able to pull within single digits at 54-45 with 7:15 remaining.

Venezuela responded and pushed the margin to 62-48 with 3:55 remaining and held a 10-point lead with 1:55 left in regulation, but the resilient Pilots wouldn't go away. Wintering found Kevin Bailey for an open three pointer and then junior guard Bobby Sharp drilled another three-pointer to make it 68-61 with 1:13 left.

Senior forward Ryan Nicholas buried an off-balance corner three pointer and after a Wintering steal, Nicholas drew a foul on a three-pointer and made all three free throws to make it a two-point game at xx-xx with 40 seconds remaining. Venezuela made a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession and was able to hold on after a back-and-forth free throw contest in the closing seconds.

Nicholas led the Pilots with 12 points, while senior guard Korey Thieleke finished with11 points and Wintering added 10 points and five assists.

The Pilots will fly to the Canary Islands on Wednesday and play the final three games of the tour against the Gran Canaria U-20 team, Canarias Basketball Academy All-Stars and then a Gran Canaria Select Team. All games will have a live audio broadcast at www.PilotsVideo.com as well as in-game twitter updates @PortlandPilots.

Here are some player-by-player stats from tonight's game…

Kevin Bailey (Jr., G): 9 points, 3 rebounds, 4 turnovers, 1 steal (3-9 FGs, 3-4 3-ptrs)
Bryce Pressley (So, G): 5 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 turnover (2-4 FGs)
Alec Wintering (Fr, G): 11 points, 5 assists, 2 steal, 3 turnovers (4-10 FGs)
Tanner Riley (Sr., G): 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 0 turnovers (2-4 FGs)
John Bailey (Sr., F): 1 point, 1 rebound
Bobby Sharp (Jr., G): 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover (3-8 FGs, 2-7 3-ptrs)
Thomas van der Mars (Jr., C): 5 points, 6 rebounds, 2 turnovers (1-6 FGs)
Riley Barker (Jr., C): 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocked shots (1-3 FGs)
Korey Thieleke (Sr., G): 11 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 3 turnovers (5-9 FGs)
Ryan Nicholas (Sr., F): 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 0 turnovers (3-6 FGs)
Volydymyr Gerun (Jr., F): 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal (2-6 FGs)