Pilots Open Five-Game WCC Homestand vs. San Francisco
Complete Release (PDF) I Live Video I Live Audio I Live Stats I Tickets
Portland Pilots (8-4) vs. San Francisco Dons (7-5)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
TV: ROOT Sports NW
Radio: 910 AM
Overall Series: 26-51
At UP: 17-19
At USF: 8-29
At Neutral: 1-3
Last: POR 78, USF 76 (at USF – Feb. 14, 2013)
GAME INFORMATION
• Portland opens West Coast Conference play with five straight home games beginning on Saturday at 7 p.m. versus San Francisco. The game will be televised live on ROOT Sports NW with Tom Glasgow and Joe Cravens calling the action. For out of market viewers, the game will be streamed live on TheW.tv.
• The Pilots will then host Santa Clara on Monday at 3 p.m. That game will be videostreamed live on TheW.tv with Roxy Bernstein on the call.
• Sports 910 AM (KMTT) is the new home of University of Portland Basketball. Saturday's game will be aired live on 910 AM with a 30-minute pregame show and a complete postgame show with player and coach interviews. Monday's game has broadcast conflicts and will not be on Sports 910. A live audio feed will be provided at PilotsVideo.com.
TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
• Portland's next four home games will be free for kids 6th grade and younger, while adult general admission prices will be 2-for-1 over the Holiday break. Those games are versus San Francisco, Santa Clara, Pacific and Saint Mary's.
• Adult general admission prices start at $10.
• 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.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots (8-4) won the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas last weekend with wins over Bradley (74-53) and Princeton (93-79).
• Sophomore G Bryce Pressley was named the tournament MVP after dropping a career-high 25 points in the Princeton victory. He was named the WCC Player of the Week on Monday, the second Pilot to earn the honor in the last three weeks.
• Senior F Ryan Nicholas joined Portland's 1,000-point club in the second half against Princeton. He is the 35th player in school history to score 1,000 points.
• Junior G Kevin Bailey leads the Pilots and ranks fifth in the WCC in scoring (17.1). He has reached double figures in all but two games this year.
• Nicholas is the WCC leader in rebounding (9.7) and is second on the team in scoring (13.5). He also recently moved in the Top 10 on Portland's career rebounding list.
• Junior C Thomas van der Mars has had a breakout year averaging 12.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. His 19-point, 18-rebound effort vs. Portland State earned him league player of the week honors on Dec. 9.
• Portland returns all five starters and nine lettermen from last year's team that finished 11-21 overall.
• Head coach Eric Reveno returns for his eighth year on The Bluff and recorded his 100th career win on Nov. 27 vs. San Jose State.
• 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 its 2008-11 success, 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 FRANCISCO
• The Dons (7-5) have won four of their last six games, including a 77-69 victory over American on Dec. 22.
• Senior F Cole Dickerson leads the Dons in scoring (14.1) and rebounding (7.5).
• Four-year starter Cody Doolin left the team in early December for personal reasons.
• Head coach Rex Walters is in his sixth year at USF with a 84-87 overall record.
• USF was picked to finish fourth in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The Dons lead the all-time series by a 51-26 margin... The Pilots are 17-19 all-time at home vs. USF... the teams split last season with USF stealing a 75-72 win at the Chiles Center on a Dickerson three-pointer at the buzzer... The Pilots took a 78-76 win at San Francisco... Coach Reveno is 5-9 all-time vs. the Dons.
IM-PRESSLEY
• Sophomore G Bryce Pressley earned WCC Player of the Week honors on Monday, joining Thomas van der Mars as the second Pilot in three weeks to be recognized.
• Pressley was named the MVP of the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic after scoring a career-high 25 points in Saturday's win over Princeton. He was 8-for-10 from the field, 5-for-5 from three-point range and 4-for-4 at the foul line.
• His previous career high was 10 points.
• Pressley ranks third the WCC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.9) and is second on the Pilot roster with 40 assists.
• Pressley started the final seven games of the 2012-13 season and also took over backup point guard duties late in the year.
• The son of former NBA standout and NCAA Champion Harold Pressley (Villanova, '86), he has started every game on the wing this year and is also the backup point guard.
• An all-around versatile talent, Pressley has improved his shot this season and is tied for the WCC lead in three-point percentage (.500).
NICHOLAS SCORES 1,000TH POINT
• Senior F Ryan Nicholas scored his 1,000th career point in the second half against Princeton on Dec. 21 to become the 35th player in school history to reach the mark.
• The Spokane, Wash. native is leading the WCC in rebounding (9.7) and recently cracked the top 10 in school rebounding history after his 16-rebound effort against North Texas on Nov. 23.
• Nicholas has 675 career rebounds which ranks eighth on the UP career charts.
• Nicholas is a three-year starter and led the Pilots in scoring and rebounding each of the past two seasons.
• 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.
BAILEY BREAKING OUT
• Junior G Kevin Bailey has had a breakout season leading the team and ranking fifth in the WCC in scoring at 17.1 points per game.
• He has reached double figures in ten of the 12 games, scored 20 or more points five times, and logged a career-high 29 points in the season opener over UC Davis.
• Bailey is shooting 46 percent from the field, 38 percent from three-point range and 75 percent at the free throw line.
• A three-year starter, the Clovis, Calif. native averaged 11.4 points last season and 9.5 points per game as a freshman.
VAN DER MARS GARNERS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
• Junior C Thomas van der Mars has also stepped his game this season, including a 19-point, 18-rebound effort against Portland State on Dec. 7 that earned him WCC Player of the Week honors.
• He became the first Pilot to win the weekly honor since Jan. 31, 2011.
• Van der Mars had a remarkable second half against the Vikings, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds after the break. Overall, he was 6-for-8 from the field and made 7-of-9 free throw attempts in the victory.
• 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.
• Van der Mars has started 70 career games and his 59 career blocked shots are ninth in school history.
WINTERING GIVEN THE KEYS
• Freshman PG Alec Wintering has scored in double figures four of the last six games and ranks third in the WCC at 1.9 steals per game.
• He has 4.3 assists-to-turnover ratio in the last seven games, including a season-high 10 assists against Southern Utah on Dec. 1.
• The Concord, N.C. native has started all 12 games for the Pilots and recorded a season high 15 points versus Princeton on Dec. 21 including a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line. He is shooting a team-best 88 percent from the free throw line this year.
• 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.
AMONG THE WCC LEADERS...
• Portland ranks second in the WCC in free throw percentage (.769), blocked shots (4.5) and turnover margin (+2.2).
• Individually, Ryan Nicholas leads the league in rebounding (9.7) and Bryce Pressley is tied for first in three-point percentage (.500).
• Thomas van der Mars is third in FG percentage (.625) and Alec Wintering is third in steals (1.8).
BLOCK PARTY
• Portland is second in the WCC in blocked shots per game (4.9).
• Junior C Riley Barker ranks sixth in the WCC in blocked shots (1.2) and has moved into eighth place on the UP career blocked shots charts with 60.
• Barker is one block ahead of fellow junior Thomas van der Mars all-time.
• Tim Frost (2000-02) owns the all-time Pilots record with 103 blocked shots.
SCORING PUNCH
• Scoring is up significantly this season for the Pilots as the team is averaging 80.8 points per game, the highest for a UP squad the 1991-92 season when current Miami HEAT head coach Erik Spoelstra was a senior point guard for the Pilots and the team averaged 80.9 points per game.
• Portland ranks fourth in the WCC in team scoring, while Kevin Bailey (5th, 17.6 ppg), Ryan Nicholas (16th, 13.5 ppg) and Thomas van Der Mars (21st, 12.4) are among the league's top individual scorers.
• Last year the Pilots averaged 61.0 points and the team averaged 65.1 points during the 2011-12 season.
DOMINATING THE BOARDS
• After being outrebounded in the first three games of the season, Portland has been dominant on the boards and had a positive rebounding margin in eight of the last ten outings.
• For the season the Pilots have a +3.8 rebounding margin and rank third in the WCC in defensive rebound percentage (.723).
• During Coach Reveno's eight year tenure, the Pilots have had a positive rebounding margin in all but one season (2011-12, -0.4).
HOME SWEET HOME
• The Pilots have a 53-25 record at the Chiles Center since the 2008-09 season.
• Portland 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.
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.
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 (17 players) 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.
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) is the new home for University of Portland men's basketball this season.
• In addition to airing nearly 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.
TELEVISION SCHEDULE
• Portland will once again have a lot of regional and national television exposure as a total of 13 Pilot games will be televised this season.
• UP will host Gonzaga in a nationally televised game on ESPNU on Jan. 9
• ROOT Sports NW will broadcast a total of nine Pilot games, while BYUtv will pick up the game in Provo.
• Other televised games are at Oregon State (Pac-12 Network) and at Michigan State (Big 10 Network).
• All non-televised Portland home games will have a multi-camera live video production with replays and commentary available at www.PilotsVideo.com.
