Live Audio I Complete Release (PDF)

    The Portland Pilots continue West Coast Conference play with a difficult road trip to California. The Pilots will face San Diego on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and then take on Saint Mary’s on Saturday at 7 p.m. Both games will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet Northwest. Radio broadcasts for both contests will begin 30 minutes prior to tip-off with Thursday’s game on 970 AM (KCMD) and Saturday’s game on 95.5 The Game FM (KXTG) with a free audio simulcast at www.portlandpilots.com.

Pilots Briefly

*UP dropped an 81-78 decision to Gonzaga at Chiles Center on Saturday to open WCC play 0-1

*Junior G Jared Stohl’s turnaround three-pointer at the buzzer missed off the front rim
*Stohl finished 6-for-9 from three-point range in the game for 18 points

*Senior F Robin Smeulders matched a season high with 24 points for the Pilots
*Portland made just 11-of-20 free throws in the game

*The Pilots are 6-2 at the Chiles Center after going 12-2 at home last season

*Stohl was named the Dec. 28 WCC Player of the Week after breaking his own school record with 10 three-pointers in an 82-52 win over Idaho on Dec. 22

*Stohl finished the Idaho game with 30 points, becoming the first college basketball player in a decade to do so without making a free throw or two-point field goal

*UP also set a team and Chiles Center record for total three-pointers (16) in the win vs. Idaho

*UP cracked the AP Top 25 for the first time in 50 years on Nov. 30

*Portland defeated UCLA (74-47) and No. 16 Minnesota (61-56), before falling to No. 8 West Virginia (84-66) at the 76 Classic in Anaheim over Thanksgiving weekend

*Senior PG T.J. Campbell earned 76 Classic All-Tournament Honors and his second consecutive WCC Co-Player of the Week award after averaging 16.7 points in the three games

*Campbell also was named the November WCC Co-Player of the Month

* Raivio recorded his 1,000th career point on Dec. 2 vs. Portland State

*Portland was picked second in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll behind Gonzaga

*Campbell and Raivio were named to the 10-player WCC Preseason All-Conference Team

*Raivio was also named an honorable mention mid-major All-America by CollegeInsider.com

*Portland appeared in the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) last year, the program’s first postseason appearance since 1996

*The Pilots tied for second in school history last year in total wins (19) and WCC wins (9)

*Portland returns 12 players and all five starters

*2009 WCC Coach of the Year Eric Reveno and his staff remain together and enter their fourth year at the helm of the Pilots (assistants Joel Sobotka, Eric Jackson and Michael Wolf)

*Four high school seniors singed NLI’s with Portland on Nov. 11, 2009: Riley Barker, John Bailey, Ryan Nicholas and Tanner Riley

About San Diego

     The Toreros (8-10, 1-1 WCC) split a pair of road games to open WCC play last week, knocking off Santa Clara (55-46) before falling at San Francisco (87-71). In the win over the Broncos, De’Jon Jackson scored a game-high 19 points. Jackson and fellow backcourt senior Brandon Johnson came off the bench Saturday vs. San Francisco. Johnson scored a game-high 25 points and Jackson contributed 20 in the loss to the Dons. USD was outrebounded 38-21 in the losing effort. Johnson (15.7 ppg) and Jackson (12.9 ppg) are the only Toreros averaging double figures this season. USD has impressive wins over Stanford (77-64), Oklahoma (76-64) and Houston (72-65). Key losses came to Washington State (93-56), San Diego State (69-62, ot), New Mexico (82-78) and Mississippi State (77-68). Former Gonzaga assistant Bill Grier is in his third year as head coach of San Diego. Grier led USD to the NCAA second round in his first season. Last year the Toreros finished 16-16 overall, 6-8 in the WCC. Grier returns two starters and six lettermen from that squad.