Complete Game Notes (PDF)
The University of Portland men’s basketball team returns from the Holidays to take part in the Golden Bear Classic, hosted by the California Golden Bears. Cal (9-2) and Dartmouth (2-6) will open the tournament on Saturday at 1 p.m. followed by the Pilots (6-5) and Air Force (8-2) at 3:30 p.m. The event concludes on Sunday with a 2:30 p.m. consolation game followed by the championship game at 5 p.m.
Both Portland games will be aired live on AM 970 (KCMD) with a live simulcast on the web at portlandpilots.com.
Air Force enters Saturday’s game having won five straight games, including a 71-64 victory over Northern Colorado. The Falcons’ only two losses came to Wofford (74-61) and at Standford (76-57).
Sunday could feature a meeting of former colleagues as Portland head coach Eric Reveno was an assistant coach under current Cal head coach Mike Montgomery for eight seasons at Stanford. Montgomery is in his first season at Cal, while Reveno is in his third year on the Pilots’ bench.
Portland shook off a pair of three-point road losses at Northern Colorado and Oregon to defeat the Howard Bison 98-73 on Monday at the Chiles Center. It was the highest point total for Portland since opening the 1998-99 season by scoring 102 against Patten. Junior guard Nik Raivio led five Pilots in double figures with 19 points and nine rebounds, marking the third time this year that Raivio has been one rebound shy of a double-double. Sophomore forward Luke Sikma collected Portland’s first double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Junior forward Ethan Niedermeyer returned to the lineup on Monday after missing five games with a high ankle sprain. Portland is 5-1 in games with Niedermeyer and 1-5 without him.
Raivio leads four Pilots averaging double figures and is fourth in the West Coast Conference in scoring at 16.9 points per game. He also averages 6.6 rebounds per game, good for fifth in the league. Junior forward Robin Smeulders is ninth in the conference in scoring (13.5) and 12th in rebounding (5.4). Sophomore center Kramer Knutson is shooting 70 percent from the field (35-50) to lead the league, while sophomore guard Jared Stohl paces the conference in three-pointers made per game (2.64).
Junior point guard T.J. Campbell has been a strong addition to the roster and averages 10.5 points and 4.7 assists. A Glendale (Ariz.) Junior College transfer, Campbell is among the conference leaders in six statistical categories.
Portland leads the WCC in field goal percentage (.492) and three-point field goal percentage (.380). The Pilots are also second in assists (15.9), turnover margin (+1.3) and steals (7.3). The team’s 74.5 points per game average is third in the league and 11 points higher than last year’s average.
Coach Reveno returns 80 percent of the team’s scoring and 87 percent of its rebounding from last year’s squad. Picked to finish sixth in the WCC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the Pilots are off to their best start since the 2004-05 team opened with an 8-3 mark. Reveno’s roster features eighth underclassmen and no seniors.
Complete game notes for the Golden Bear Classic will be posted late this evening…
