Pilots Open WCC Play at San Diego Thursday
Game to be televised live on Comcast SportsNet Northwest at 8 p.m.
Live Audio I Live Stats I USD Hoops I Complete Release (PDF)
Portland Pilots (7-8) at San Diego Toreros (7-8)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013
Tip-off: 8:00 p.m. (PST)
Location: San Diego, Calif.
Arena: Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,100)
Television: CSN-NW
Radio: 800 AM
Overall Series: 29-44
At UP: 21-20
At USD: 7-31
At Neutral: 1-3
Last: USD 78, POR 75 (ot) (Feb. 16, 2012 at San Diego)
GAME INFORMATION
• Portland opens West Coast Conference play on the road against the San Diego Toreros on Thursday, Jan. 3 at 8 p.m.
• The Pilots will continue the WCC road trip with a Saturday meeting against Pepperdine at 7 p.m. in Malibu, Calif.
GAME COVERAGE
• Thursday’s game will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet Northwest and Fox Sports San Diego with Mike Pomeranz and Jud Buechler calling the action.
• Saturday’s game at Pepperdine will be videostreamed on WCCSports.com with Jeff Lampe and Jarron Collins calling the action on the WCC Digital Package.
• 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 will also be available on PortlandPilots.com.
COMING UP
• Portland will get a week break before returning to Southern California on Saturday, Jan. 12 to take on the Loyola Marymount Lions at 7 p.m.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland (7-8) closed out its non-conference schedule with a 56-52 home loss to UT-Pan American on Saturday.
• Junior F Ryan Nicholas recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
• Senior PG Derrick Rodgers added a career-high 13 points off the bench.
• The Pilots lost despite a 44-22 rebounding margin after shooting just 34 percent from the field.
• The Pilots played without freshman G Oskars Reinfelds (foot), but welcomed back sophomore G Kevin Bailey (broken noes).
• The home loss dropped Portland’s home record to 6-2 this season at Chiles Center.
• Nicholas, who averaged team highs of 11.5 points and 7.6 rebounds last season, is again leading the Pilots in scoring (13.7) and is second in the WCC in rebounding (9.7).
• Bailey is the only other Pilot averaging double figures (11.9).
• 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 SAN DIEGO
• The Toreros (7-8) were picked to finish fifth in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• USD has lost three of its last four games entering Thursday.
• The Toreros and Pilots faced no common opponents during the non-league schedule.
• A 78-72 win over Tulane is the team’s best win, while USD has notable losses to San Diego State (72-56) and Oregon State (86-79).
• Sophomore G Johnny Dee is the only Torero averaging double figures and is ninth in the WCC in scoring (15.2 ppg).
• Sophomore PG Chris Anderson ranks second in the WCC in both assists (6.2) and steals (2.6).
• Head coach Bill Grier is in his sixth season at San Diego and posts a 75-101 career record.
• Grier returns all five starters and nine lettermen from last year’s 13-18 squad that finished 7-9 in the WCC.
BARKER BREAKS OUT
• Sophomore C Riley Barker has come on strong of late, recording double figures in both scoring and rebounding in the three of the last six games.
• He scored a career-high 16 points versus North Florida and had double-doubles against Portland Bible College (10 pts, 10 rebs) and Colorado State (11 pts, 10 rebs).
• Barker received a medical redshirt after missing all but seven games last year with a knee injury.
• He is averaging 8.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks over the last six games.
HOME SWEET HOME
• The Pilots are 6-2 at the Chiles Center this season and have rattled off a 47-17 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 RETURNS, REINFELDS SITS
• Sophomore G Kevin Bailey entered the Colorado State game on Dec. 22 averaging 22.3 points in his three previous games.
• Those averages took a hit when he suffered a broken nose from an elbow 30 seconds into the game.
• Bailey missed the remainder of the CSU game and sat out the game versus Bradley the following day.
• He returned to the lineup on Saturday wearing a protective mask, but struggled to a 3-for-14 shooting day.
• Freshman G Oskars Reinfelds (foot) missed Saturday’s game due to injury.
NICHOLAS ERUPTS
• Junior F Ryan Nicholas had a career night against then-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 two games this year.
• Nicknamed ‘Rhino’, he is averaging team-highs of 13.7 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 12 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 18 steals and tied for the team lead with 14 blocked shots.
FRESHMEN GETTING SOME RUN
• Freshman G Bryce Pressley missed two games due to a concussion, but returned against Portland Bible College and has played solid minutes the last five games.
• Pressley, the son of former NBA player and Villanova NCAA Champion Harold Pressley, grabbed five rebounds against 15 productive minutes off the bench against Bradley.
• Freshman G Oskars Reinfelds provided a lift off the bench with 10 second half points in the win over Bradley.
• 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 37 assists and just 17 turnovers.
• Carr, recruited as a wing shooter, 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 6-2 at home this season, but 0-5 on the road.
• At the Chiles Center the Pilots are scoring 70.0 points and allowing 60.8, while on the road UP is averaging 55.2 and surrendering 75.8 points.
• The Pilots have a +12.1 rebounding margin at home and -5.8 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. 10 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.
13 of 16 WCC GAMES TELEVISED
• Portland announced its 2013 WCC television schedule and 13 of the 16 games will be televised live in the Portland market.
• ROOT Sports will air seven games, CSN-NW four, ESPNU one, and BYUtv one.
• The three non-televised game will be produced in broadcast-quality format and available online at WCCSports.com
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.
