Pilots Host San Jose State and Southern Utah this Week

Complete Release (PDF) I Live Video I Live Audio I Live Stats I Tickets

Portland Pilots (3-3) vs. San Jose State Spartans (2-4)
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Live Audio/Video: PilotsVideo.com
Radio: 910 AM
Overall Series: 8-10
At UP: 5-4
At SJSU: 3-5
At Neutral: 0-1
Last: SJSU 82, POR 53 (at Lubbock, Texas – 2005-06)

Portland Pilots (3-3) vs. Southern Utah (1-3)
Date: Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013
Tip-off: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Live Audio/Video: PilotsVideo.com
Radio: 910 AM
Overall Series: 1-1
At UP: 1-0
At SUU: 0-1
At Neutral: 0-0
Last: SUU 76, POR 70 (at SUU – 1996-97)

TICKET INFORMATION
• Single game tickets are still available through all Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com, or at the Pilot Box Office in the Chiles Center for all upcoming games.
• Adult general admission prices start at $10, while youth GA prices are $5.
• Season tickets, mini packs and group packages are available as well. Contact the Pilot Box Office at (503) 943-7525 or visit PortlandPilots.com for more information.

PROMOTIONS
• Pregame Pasta Dinner returns to the Chiles Center on Wednesday! Open to all fans and opening at 6 p.m., $8 gets all-you-can-eat pasta, salad and a dessert item on the South Mezzanine Concourse (upstairs). Water is complementary, while other beverages will be available for purchase. There will be no pregame pasta for afternoon games, but a specialty item will be available in the same concession space upstairs.
• The Chipotle 3-Point Contest is back this year for both men's and women's basketball home games. If the Pilots make six or more three-pointers in the game, all fans will get a 2-for-1 burrito coupon to Chipotle!
 
GAME COVERAGE
• All non-televised Portland home games will have a free four-camera video production with graphics and instant replay available at www.PilotsVideo.com.
• Sports 910 AM (KMTT) is the new home of University of Portland Basketball. All Pilot games will be aired live on 910 AM with a 30-minute pregame show and a complete postgame show with player and coach interviews.
• Veteran play-by-play broadcaster Bill Johnson will return to the sidelines once again this season. The audio simulcast and live game statistics will also be available on PortlandPilots.com.
• Get in-game updates live on Twitter @PortlandPilots.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland (3-3) concluded last week's Coaches vs. Cancer Classic with a 2-2 record, falling at top-ranked Michigan State (82-67) to open the tournament.
• The Pilots returned to the Chiles Center for wins over Idaho (88-74) and Columbia (69-52), before a double overtime loss to North Texas (77-72).
• Junior C Thomas van der Mars had a big week, averaging 14.8 points and 7.8 rebounds. He recorded a pair of double-doubles against Columbia (15 pts, 12 rebs) and North Texas (21 pts, 11 rebs) and shot 72 percent from the field (23-32).
• Senior F Ryan Nicholas also recorded a double-double vs. North Texas with 15 points and a season-high 16 rebounds.
• Nicholas leads Portland in scoring (15.2) and rebounding (9.2) for the third straight season. He ranks third in the WCC in rebounding and recently moved in the Top 10 on Portland's career rebounding list.
• Offensive balance has been the key for the Pilots as four players are averaging double figures.
• Portland returns all five starters and nine lettermen from last year's team that finished 11-21 overall.
• Junior PG David Carr (concussion) returned to the court on Thursday vs. Idaho after missing the first three games of the season.
• Head coach Eric Reveno returns for his eighth year on The Bluff. Assistant coaches Eric Jackson and Mike Wolf also return for their eighth year, while Colin Pfaff returns for his second year as an assistant coach after two years as Director of Basketball Operations.
• Portland looks to return to the form it had from 2008-2011, a stretch that included back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in school history and 60 wins over three seasons.
• The Pilots were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) for three consecutive seasons from 2008-2011.
• The Pilots were picked to finish ninth in the 10-team West Coast Conference in the pre-season coaches poll.
• Coach Reveno posts a 100 percent graduation rate and the men's basketball program has one of the top APR scores in the nation (995), receiving a Public Recognition Award from the NCAA last spring.
 
ABOUT SAN JOSE STATE
• The Spartans (2-4) have posted back-to-back wins over Pepperdine (83-77) and Cal State Fullerton (81-59) to carry some momentum into the Chiles Center.
• Head coach Dave Wojcik is in his first year at the helm after serving the past three seasons as associate head coach at Boise State.
• SJSU is led by freshman G Rashad Muhammad (15.3 ppg) and junior F Jaleel Williams (13.3 ppg).
• The Spartans rank in the top 10 nationally in both three-pointers made (10.0) and attempted (28.3) per game.
• SJSU was picked to finish last in the Mountain West Conference Preseason Poll.
• The Spartans lead the all-time series with Portland by a 10-8 margin, with the last win coming in Lubbock, Texas during the 2005-06 season by an 82-53 margin.

ABOUT SOUTHERN UTAH
• The Thunderbirds (1-3) have lost three in a row to UC Riverside, California and Utah State, after opening with a win against Arizona Christian.
• Head coach Nick Robinson, a former player at Stanford when Portland Coach Eric Reveno was an assistant, is in his second year at Southern Utah.
• The Thunderbirds were picked to finish 10th in the Big Sky Conference.
• Portland and Southern Utah have split two meetings with the Pilots winning at home (88-83) during the 1995-96 season and SUU winning the following season (76-70) in Cedar City, Utah.
 
VAN DER MARS ON FIRE
• Junior C Thomas van der Mars had a big week, recording a pair of double-doubles as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.
• The Gouda, Netherlands native scored a career-high 21 points with 12 rebounds against North Texas. He also had 15 points and 12 rebounds against Idaho.
• In four games last week, van der Mars averaged 14.8 points and 7.8 rebounds while shooting 72 percent from the field (23-32).
• He ranks second in the WCC in field goal percentage (.675) and 10th in blocks (1.0).
• Van der Mars has started 64 career games and his 55 career blocked shots are ninth in school history.

NICHOLAS CLIMBING CHARTS
• Senior F Ryan Nicholas cracked the top 10 in school rebounding history after his 16-rebound effort against North Texas on Saturday.
• Nicholas has 614 career rebounds and moved past Portland Hall of Famer Quentin Braxton (612, 1973-76) into the top 10.
• The Spokane, Wash. native has 930 career points and is in line to become the 35th player in school history to score 1,000 points.
• Nicholas is a three-year starter and has led the Pilots in scoring and rebounding for the last three seasons.
• He is currently third in the WCC in rebounding (9.2) and 11th in scoring (15.2).
• Nicknamed 'Rhino', he sat behind All-WCC forward Luke Sikma and four-year starting center Kramer Knutson as a freshman but followed with a breakout sophomore year (11.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg). He averaged 13.0 points and 8.7 rebounds last season.
 
BLOCK PARTY
• Junior C Riley Barker blocked nine shots in the last three games and has moved into eighth place on the UP career blocked shots charts with 56.
• Barker is one block ahead of fellow junior Thomas van der Mars all-time.
• Bryan Beard (1980-84) owns the all-time Pilots record with 84 blocked shots.

IT'S ALL ACADEMIC
• Ryan Nicholas (3.47 GPA, Psychology) and Thomas van der Mars (3.94, Operations Technology Management) were named to the 2013 WCC All-Academic Team, while Riley Barker (3.46, Marketing) earned honorable mention honors.
• Nicholas picks up his second award in as many years.
• Coach Reveno has had a total of 13 WCC All-Academic selections in his seven years.
• Reveno also posts a 100 percent graduation rate and the men's basketball program has one of the top APR scores in the nation (995), recieving a Public Recognition Award from the NCAA last spring.
SHARP SHOOTER
• Junior transfer Bobby Sharp has jumped right into the rotation and is one of four Pilots averaging double figures.
• Sharp, the MVP of the Big 8 Conference at Santa Rosa JC last season, was recruited as a shooter and he has lived up to the hype thus far.
• He leads the team with 14 three-pointers made and is shooting 38 percent from three-point range.

CARR RETURNS
• Junior PG David Carr (concussion) missed the first three games of the season, but saw action in all three games last week.
• Carr, who suffered a season-ending knee injury with a torn ACL after 17 games last year, battled back and was cleared to play prior to the start of training camp.
• He is expected to compete for point guard minutes once he gets up to speed.


WINTERING GIVEN THE KEYS
• Carr's injury gave a starting opportunity for promising freshman PG Alec Wintering.
• Wintering scored 15 points in the exhibition win over Concordia-Irvine last month and had nine points, one rebound, one assist, two steals and zero turnovers in 18 minutes against UC Davis.
• Portland secured a commitment from Wintering out of United Faith Christian Acad. in North Carolina, where he was coached by former NBA point guard Muggsy Bogues.
• Wintering's ties to Portland go back to when he lived in Arizona and looked up to former Pilot PG T.J. Campbell, a two-time All-WCC selection for the Pilots in 2008-10.
 
SPAIN FOREIGN TOUR
• Portland benefitted from a 10-day Foreign Tour to Spain and the Canary Islands back in August.
• On the court, Portland went down to the final possession against both Angola (No. 15 ranked team in the world) and Venezuela (No. 24) while in Madrid.
• The Pilots then routed three select teams in the Canary Islands to finish the tour 3-2.
• Check out photos, video highlights and other information from the trip at www.PortlandPilots.com/Spain2013.

SPORTS 910 AM PORTLAND'S NEW HOME FOR RADIO & COACHES SHOW
• Sports 910 (KMTT) will be the new home for University of Portland men's basketball this season.
• In addition to airing every Pilot game live, the station will host a weekly show with Coach Eric Reveno every Monday night between 7-8 p.m.
• Game broadcasts will have a 30-minute pregame and 30-minute postgame show.
• Veteran Pilot play-by-play broadcaster Bill Johnson returns to call the action and host the Coaches Show for the Pilots.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
• The Pilots have a 51-24 record at the Chiles Center since 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.

IM-PRESSLEY
• Sophomore G Bryce Pressley started the final seven games of the 2012-13 season and also took over backup point guard duties late in the year.
• Pressley, the son of former NBA standout and NCAA Champion Harold Pressley (Villanova, '86), has started the first six games on the wing and also has been the backup point guard.
• He has a team high 21 assists and 3.0 assist/turnover ratio.

CENTURY CLUB!
• The 100 points scored in Portland's season opener marked the first time the Pilots hit the century mark since defeating Evergreen State College 101-77 on Dec. 31, 2009.
• It is the first time UP reached 100 against a Division I opponent since the opener of the 1993 season versus Hawaii at the Great Alaska Shootout.