Pilots Face Colorado State Saturday in the Continental Tires Las Vegas Classic
Live Stats I Live Audio I Complete Release (PDF) I CSU Hoops
Portland Pilots (6-6) vs Colorado State (8-2)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012
Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. (PST)
Location: Las Vegas, Nev.
Arena: Orleans Arena
Live Audio: PilotsVideo.com
Radio: 800 AM
Overall Series: 1-1
At UP: 1-0
At CSU: 0-1
At Neutral: 0-0
Last: CSU 102, POR 62 (1953-54 season)
GAME INFORMATION
• Portland continues the Continental Tires Las Vegas Classic against the Colorado State Rams on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Orleans Arena.
• The winner will move on to play the winner of the Bradley-Virginia Tech game, which precedes Saturday’s game at 5 p.m.
• The championship game will tip-off Sunday at 8:30 p.m., while the consolation final tips at 6 p.m.
GAME COVERAGE
• Live statistics for all games of the Continental Tires Las Vegas Classic will be provided. Links will be available at PortlandPilots.com for Pilot games.
• Sunday’s games will be televised live on CBS Sports Network with Jason Knapp, Steve Lappas and Doug Gottlieb providing the call.
• All Portland basketball games will be broadcast live on True Talk 800 AM with Bill Johnson calling the play-by-play and a 30-minute pregame show. The audio simulcast and live game statistics will also be available on PortlandPilots.com.
COMING UP
• Following the Continental Tires Las Vegas Classic the Pilots will take a Holiday break before returning to the Chiles Center on Saturday, Dec. 29 for a doubleheader.
• The Pilot women’s basketball team will host Portland State at 5:15 p.m., followed by the Pilot men versus UT-Pan American at 7:30 p.m.
• Portland will then open WCC play on the road against San Diego on Thursday, Jan. 3.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland (6-6) improved to .500 after winning both of the Continental Tires Las Vegas Classic preliminary games at the Chiles Center earlier this week.
• The Pilots defeated CSU Bakersfield (66-51) on Monday and then North Florida (74-64) on Wednesday to extend their winning streak to a season-high three games.
• Junior F Ryan Nicholas scored 21 points and sophomore G Kevin Bailey added 18 in the victory over CSU Bakersfield.
• Bailey then erupted for a career-high 27 points against UNF, while sophomore C Riley Barker added a career-best 16 points off the bench.
• Portland improved to 6-1 at home this season with the wins.
• Nicholas has three double-doubles this season, including a career-high 19 rebounds versus UNLV.
• Nicholas, who averaged team highs of 11.5 points and 7.6 rebounds last season, is again leading the Pilots in scoring (13.6) and is second in the WCC in rebounding (9.7).
• Bailey is the only other Pilot averaging double figures (13.2).
• Junior G Korey Thieleke has started the last nine games and provided a big energy boost while establishing career highs in every statistical category.
• Head coach Eric Reveno returns for his seventh year on The Bluff. Assistant coaches Eric Jackson and Mike Wolf also return for their seventh year, while Colin Pfaff returns for his first year as an assistant coach after two years as Director of Basketball Operations. Marshall Cho (Director of Basketball Operations) and Kevin Bruinsma (Director of Basketball Technology) are new to the staff this year.
• Portland is coming off a 7-24 season after winning 60 games from 2008-2011, a stretch that included back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in school history.
• Portland returns three starters and 10 lettermen from last year’s team that finished eighth in the WCC with a 3-13 league record.
• PG Derrick Rodgers is the team’s lone senior.
• The Pilots were picked to finish eighth in the nine-team West Coast Conference in the pre-season coaches poll.
• The Pilots were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) for three consecutive seasons from 2008-2011.
• All 11 UP graduates in the last three years and have gone on to play pro ball.
• Portland announced the signing of PG Alec Wintering (Concord, N.C./United Faith Christian Academy) to a NLI on November 14.
ABOUT COLORADO STATE
• The Rams (8-2) defeated North Florida (83-55) and CSU Bakersfield (78-58) in home games earlier this week.
• CSU’s only two losses have come at Colorado (70-61) and at Illinois-Chicago (64-55).
• The Rams have notable wins over Washington (73-55), Montana (72-65) and Evansville (79-72).
• Senior C Colton Iverson leads the Rams with 14.8 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.
• Senior G Dorian Green adds 12.8 points, while senior F Pierce Hornung grabs 10.0 rebounds per game.
• CSU is one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with a plus-15.6 margin per game and the Rams are holding opponents to just 40 percent shooting from the field.
• Head coach Larry Eustachy is in his first year with the Rams and inherited an experienced and talented squad.
• CSU is coming off an NCAA Tournament at-large bid following a 20-12 record in 2011-12. The Rams return three starters and seven lettermen from that team.
BARKER BREAKS OUT DURING HOMESTAND
• Sophomore C Riley Barker scored a career-high 16 points Wednesday vs. UNF and recorded his first career double-double last Friday against Portland Bible (10 pts, 10 rebs).
• Barker received a medical redshirt after missing all but seven games last year with a knee injury.
• He is averaging 9.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks over the last three games.
HOME SWEET HOME
• The Pilots are 6-1 at the Chiles Center this season with the lone loss a narrow defeat a ranked UNLV squad.
• Portland has rattled off a 47-16 home record since the start of the 2008-09 season.
• The Pilots had a 19-game home winning streak snapped by Gonzaga in 2011.
• Signature home wins have come against Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Saint Mary’s three times.
• Portland finished the 2010-11 regular season with a 13-2 record at the Chiles Center for the second straight season.
BAILEY COMES UP BIG
• Sophomore G Kevin Bailey also had a big homestand, matching his previous career-high with 22 points vs. Portland Bible College, adding 18 points on Monday versus Bakersfield and then setting a new career mark with 27 against UNF on Wednesday.
• Bailey has reached double figures in scoring nine of 12 games this season and leads the team in free throws made (45) and attempted (58).
NICHOLAS ERUPTS
• Junior F Ryan Nicholas continues to put up big numbers for the Pilots as he finished with 21 points and nine rebounds on Monday.
• He had a career night against No. 18 UNLV with 15 points, 19 rebounds and six assists.
• The 19 rebounds are tied for the second most since Rick Raivio grabbed 20 on Jan. 18, 1979 at Air Force.
• He followed that with his third double-double of the year at No. 19 Kentucky with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
• Nicholas has led the Pilots in rebounds in all but one game this year.
• Nicknamed ‘Rhino’, he is averaging team-highs of 13.6 points and 9.7 rebounds, which is second in the WCC.
• After sitting behind All-WCC forward Luke Sikma and four-year starting center Kramer Knutson as a freshman, Nicholas had a breakout sophomore year (11.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg).
• He finished the year strong with a 19-point, 14-rebound effort in the regular season finale at BYU, followed by a 24-point, 11-rebound performance in the WCC Tournament opening round win over Santa Clara.
THIELEKE TAKES OVER
• Junior G Korey Thieleke has started the last nine games for the Pilots and established career highs in all statistical categories.
• He had totals of 64 minutes and 12 points in his first two full seasons on The Bluff, but has taken advantage of his opportunity this season.
• The Bakersfield, Calif. native made the most of his first start of the season against Portland State on Nov. 21 by finishing with nine points, four assists, three rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals in 23 minutes of action.
• He followed up with 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, four blocked shots and four steals in 37 minutes against New Mexico.
• Thieleke scored a career-high 12 points versus UNLV on Dec. 4
• He is leading the team will 15 steals and 12 blocked shots.
FRESHMEN GETTING SOME RUN
• Freshman G Bryce Pressley missed two games due to a concussion, but returned against Portland Bible and had a nice game off the bench Monday against Bakersfield.
• Pressley, the son of former NBA player and Villanova NCAA Champion Harold Pressley, grabbed five rebounds in 15 productive minutes off the bench.
• Freshman G Oskars Reinfelds provided a lift off the bench at Kentucky with four assists and two steals, while running the point for the first time this season.
• Reinfelds, a teammate of sophomore C Thomas van der Mars at the Canarias Basketball Academy, was a member of the Latvian Under-18 National Team.
CARR RUNNING THE SHOW
• Sophomore PG David Carr has started every game this season and has 31 assists and just 13 turnovers.
• Carr, who was recruited as a shooter, has found his three-point stroke of late by making 9-of-20 over the last six games.
• Carr moved into a starting point guard role for the final three games of the 2011-12 season as a freshman.
HOME VERSUS ROAD
• Portland is 6-1 at home this season, but 0-5 on the road.
• At the Chiles Center the Pilots are scoring 72.1 points and allowing 61.3, while on the road UP is averaging 55.2 and surrendering 75.8 points.
• The Pilots have a +10.3 rebounding margin at home and -7.6 on the road.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
• Portland once again has one of the youngest rosters in the nation.
• The Pilots have just one senior and three juniors.
• In addition to Pressley and Reinfelds, freshman F Jake Ehlers is the two-time Oregon 5A State Player of the Year after leading Corvallis HS to consecutive state championships.
• Freshman G David Ahern is redshirting.
RILEY PERFECT AGAINST PORTLAND STATE
• Junior G Tanner Riley erupted for a career-high 23 points and did not miss a shot in Portland’s win over Portland State on Nov. 21.
• The North Bend, Wash. native came off the bench against PSU and finished 8-for-8 from the field, 4-for-4 from three-point range, and 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
• Riley’s previous career-best was 16 points, although he did score 27 in an exhibition win this year over Concordia-Irvine.
SOPHOMORE SURGE?
• UP’s sophomore class proved to be the most productive freshman class in Coach Reveno’s six years on The Bluff.
• The group accounted for at least 40 percent of nearly all key statistical categories this season for the Pilots.
• By the end of last season David Carr, Kevin Bailey and Thomas van der Mars were starting.
• Among the nine WCC programs, the Pilots led the league in freshman rebounding and were second to only San Diego in minutes played and scoring.
TOUGH SCHEDULE...AGAIN
• For the second straight year, the Pilots will play one of the most challenging schedules in the nation.
• Ken Pomeroy listed Portland’s non-conference strength of schedule No. 8 nationally last year.
• The 2012-13 schedule features 15 regular season games against teams that reached postseason play last year, including 10 contests against NCAA Tournament squads.
• Road games include at Kentucky (NCAA Champions), Ohio (Sweet 16) and New Mexico (Third Round).
• Portland also hosted UNLV (NCAA First Round) on Dec. 4 and will play No. 14 Gonzaga (Third Round), BYU (Second Round) and Saint Mary’s (Second Round) twice each during league play.
• ESPN gave Portland a rank of 10-out-of-10 on non-conference schedule strength, highest in the WCC.
CHILES CENTER RENOVATIONS
• The men’s basketball locker room was renovated this summer as part of a $2.5 million investment.
• A new state-of-the-art ‘Pilot Teaching Board’ was installed in the locker room, as well as modern lockers and a more spacious wet area.
• The men’s basketball coaching staff moved into new offices as part of the build-out, while the Chiles Center training and weight rooms were also upgraded.
WCC PRESEASON POLL
• The Pilots were picked to finish eighth in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Gonzaga was the pick to win the league, while BYU and Saint Mary’s were second and third and received one first place vote apiece.
• No Pilots were named to the preseason all-conference team.
PILOTS SIGN POINT GUARD ALEC WINTERING
• Portland signed point guard Alec Wintering (Concord, N.C./United Faith Christian Academy) to a National Letter of Intent on Nov. 14.
• Wintering is beginning his senior season at United Faith and is coached by former NBA point guard, Muggsy Bogues.
• Bogues isn’t the only notable point guard with ties to Wintering. Former Pilot great T.J. Campbell attended Sunnyslope HS in Arizona, where Wintering began his prep career.
• Wintering opened the 2012-13 season with 34 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals in an 82-72 victory over Durham Mount Zion on Nov. 13.
• He is rated the No. 3 point guard in the state of North Carolina, according to BasketballElite.com and played AAU basketball for the Upward Stars and the Charlotte Royals.
