Pilots Open Final Homestand Versus San Diego Thursday
Live Audio I Live Stats I Complete Release I USD Hoops
Portland Pilots (10-18, 3-10) vs San Diego Toreros (13-14, 6-6)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Television: ROOT Sports
Radio: 800 AM
Overall Series: 29-45
At UP: 20-21
At USD: 7-32
At Neutral: 1-3
Last: USD 61, POR 50 (Jan. 3, 2013 at San Diego)
GAME INFORMATION
• Portland returns to the Chiles Center for its final two home games of the season.
• The Pilots host San Diego on Thursday at 7 p.m. The game will be televised live on ROOT Sports with Tom Glasgow, Bill Krueger and Jen Mueller on the call.
• Santa Clara visits on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the WCC Game of the Week. ROOT Sports, Comcast SportsNet California, and Time Warner Cable SportsNet will air the game with Ari Wolfe and Brad Holland providing the commentary.
• All Portland basketball games will be on the radio live on True Talk 800 AM with Bill Johnson calling the play-by-play and a 30-minute pregame show.
TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
• Thursday will feature a paper airplane toss at halftime and one lucky fan will win a trip for two to Hawaii, courtesy of All About Hawaii Travel.
• Saturday is Mascot Day and will feature a Kids Zone and a post-game autograph zone with the team. One lucky fan will take also get a chance to make a halfcourt shot to win $10,000, presented by OregonLive.com, Powered by The Oregonian.
• Derrick Rodgers will be honored before tip-off on Saturday as part of Senior Day.
• Tickets start at $10 for adults and $5 for kids through all Ticketmaster outlets, online at Ticketmaster.com or through the Pilot Box Office at (503) 943-7525.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland (10-18, 3-10 WCC) picked up a road split last week, defeating San Francisco (78-76) on Thursday before falling at BYU (86-72) on Saturday.
• Sophomore G Kevin Bailey led the way against USF with 18 points, while junior F Ryan Nicholas added 15 points, sophomore C Thomas van der Mars 14 and junior G Tanner Riley 11.
• The Pilots shot 50 percent from the field and outrebounded USF 40-33.
• Portland outscored BYU 47-40 in the second half, but couldn’t overcome a hot-shooting Cougars team.
• van der Mars matched his career-high with 19 pionts, Riley added 15 and freshman G Oskars Reinfelds chipped in 10 off the bench.
• Freshman F Jake Ehlers broke out with eight points and four rebounds, while freshman G Bryce Pressley dished out a season high eight assists with four steals.
• Portland’s defense has allowed the fewest points per game since the 1985-86 season, but has allowed four-of-the-last eight opponents to shoot 50 percent or better.
• Nicholas, who averaged team highs of 11.5 points and 7.6 rebounds last season, is again leading the Pilots in scoring (13.0), rebounding (8.9) and double-doubles (8).
• Bailey, who played with a protective face mask for the first time since Dec. 22 on Thursday, is the only other Pilot averaging double figures at 11.1 points per game.
• van der Mars is averaging 14.4 points and 7.8 rebounds over the last five games.
• Sophomore PG David Carr suffered a torn ACL in his right knee in the loss at Pepperdine on Jan. 5 and will be lost for the remainder of the season.
• Rodgers, the team’s lone senior, has moved into the starting role and is fifth in the WCC during league play at 4.8 assists per game.
• Head coach Eric Reveno returns for his seventh year on The Bluff.
• 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.
• 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 (13-14, 6-6 WCC) were picked to finish fifth in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll and currently are tied for fourth with Santa Clara.
• USD started league play 4-0, but have lost six of the last eight games.
• Last week the Toreros dropped a home game to Saint Mary’s (74-64) and then a road contest at Santa Clara (61-52).
• A 78-72 win over Tulane is a notable non-conference win, while USD has losses to San Diego State (72-56) and Oregon State (86-79).
• Sophomore G Johnny Dee is leading the Toreros is eighth in the WCC in scoring (15.0 ppg), while senior F Ken Rancifer adds 10.0 ppg.
• Sophomore PG Chris Anderson ranks third in the WCC in assists (5.5) and second in steals (2.2).
• Head coach Bill Grier is in his sixth season at San Diego and posts a 81-107 career record.
• Grier returns all five starters and nine lettermen from last year’s 13-18 squad that finished 7-9 in the WCC.
PORTLAND-SAN DIEGO SERIES NOTES
• The Toreros lead the all-time series by an 45-29 margin.
• USD is 21-20 against the Pilots in Portland.
• The Toreros have won three in a row over the Pilots, after dropping the previous five meetings.
• The team’s opened WCC play against each other on Jan. 3 in San Diego and the Toreros pulled away late for a 61-50 win.
• Portland was without Kevin Bailey (broken nose), but tied the game at 43-43 with 6:42 left. USD held UP without a field goal over a six minute stretch and closed the game with an 18-7 run to take the league opener.
• Thomas van der Mars scored a team-high 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Ryan Nicholas finished with 11 points and nine rebounds
• Anderson led USD with 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
VAN DER MARVELOUS
• Sophomore C Thomas van der Mars has scored in double figures five straight games and is averaging 14.4 points and 7.8 rebounds over that span.
• He picked up his first career double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds against Pepperdine on Feb. 9.
• He was one rebound shy of a second consecutive double-double on Thursday, finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds.
• van der Mars tied his career-high with 19 points at BYU on Saturday.
• The Gouda, Netherlands native, a two-year starter for the Pilots, was one rebound shy of a double-double twice as a freshman.
PRESSLEY IMPRESSES
• Freshman G Bryce Pressley has made the most of his opportunity during the league season.
• Pressley, the son of former NBA player and Villanova NCAA Champion Harold Pressley, dished out eight assists along with four steals at BYU on Saturday.
• He scored a season-high 10 points on Feb. 9 vs. Pepperdine.
• His six steals at Santa Clara on Jan. 31 are a team season high.
• In his first career start he grabbed a season-high seven rebounds on Feb. 2 at Saint Mary’s.
• The Sacramento, Calif. native has also moved into the backup PG role over the last five games. He has 28 assists and 16 turnovers in WCC action.
FRESHMEN ROLES INCREASE
• In addition to Pressley, fellow freshmen Oskars Reinfelds and Jake Ehlers have also seen increased minutes in league play.
• Reinfelds started four games early in the league season and has reached double figures in four games.
• Most recently, he had 10 points, three rebounds and three assists at BYU.
• A teammate of sophomore C Thomas van der Mars at the Canarias Basketball Academy, Reinfelds was a member of the Latvian Under-18 National Team.
• Ehlers has moved into the regular rotation as well, playing 10 or more minutes in five-of-the-last-seven outings.
• He recorded season highs of eight points, four rebounds and 18 minutes at BYU.
• Ehlers guided Corvallis HS to consecutive state championships and was named Oregon’s 5A Player of the Year as both a junior and senior.
RODGERS ROLLING
• Senior PG Derrick Rodgers is averaging 7.8 points and 7.8 assists over the last four games.
• Rodgers dished out eight assists with just one turnover in last Thursday’s win at USF.
• He recorded career-highs of 17 points and eight rebounds, and also dished out seven assists, in a Feb. 9 loss to Pepperdine, after handing out a career-high 11 assists in a win over LMU on Feb. 7.
• It marked the first time a Pilot had 10-or-more assists since T.J. Campbell had 10 against Northern Colorado on March 17, 2010.
• Rodgers broke his previous career-high of nine assists, which also came against LMU earlier this season.
• The team’s lone senior has had to log heavy minutes at the point guard position since starter David Carr went down with a season ending knee injury on Jan. 5 at Pepperdine.
• In WCC play, Rodgers ranks fifth in the league in assists per game (4.8).
CARR INJURY LEAVES PILOTS THIN AT PG
• Sophomore PG David Carr went down with a torn ACL in the second half of the Jan. 5 loss at Pepperdine and will be lost for the season.
• The Portland native from Central Catholic HS averaged 4.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists while starting all 17 games for the Pilots.
• Senior Derrick Rodgers stepped up with 10 points and nine assists in his first start of the season on Jan. 12 at LMU.
• Freshman Bryce Pressley has moved into the backup PG role, while walk-on freshman PG David Ahern has also played in eight games off the bench.
• Ahern, who was planning on redshirting the season until the injury to Carr, had four points and an assist in six minutes against Gonzaga on Jan. 17.
BAILEY LOSES MASK, BREAKS OUT
• Sophomore G Kevin Bailey played without a protective mask last week for the first time since breaking his nose against Colorado State on Dec. 22.
• He responded with a game-high 18 points and four rebounds Thursday at USF.
• Bailey averaged 13.2 points and was shooting 46.4 percent from the field without the mask before the injury, but those numbers dipped to 9.6 points and 37.4 percent with the mask.
• He entered the CSU game 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 against UTPA on Dec. 29 wearing the protective mask, but struggled to a 3-for-14 shooting day and missed the next two games following surgery.
RILEY BOUNCES BACK IN A BIG WAY
• Junior G Tanner Riley finished 6-for-10 from the field and drained 4-of-5 three-pointers against LMU on Feb. 7 for 17 points off the bench.
• It was an important bounce back effort for Riley, who missed the previous two games due to a suspension from an on-court incident against BYU on Jan. 26.
• He added 11 points in 16 minutes off the bench against USF on Thursday and 15 points, including 4-of-6 from three-point range, at BYU on Saturday.
• Earlier this season Riley scored a career-best 23 points on a perfect 8-for-8 from the field against Portland State.
NICHOLAS NEARLY PERFECT
• Ryan Nicholas was 6-for-8 from the field, 5-for-5 from three-point range and 4-for-4 from the foul line Feb. 7 vs. LMU for a game-high 21 points.
• He had a career night against then-No. 18 UNLV with 15 points, 19 rebounds and six assists on Dec. 4.
• 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.
• Nicknamed ‘Rhino’, he is averaging team-highs of 13.0 points and 8.9 rebounds, which is second in the WCC and 47th nationally.
• 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.
HOME SWEET HOME
• The Pilots have rattled off a 48-22 record at the Chiles Center 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.
PRU PATCH
• The Pilots are wearing a black patch with the word ‘PRU’ on their uniforms in remembrance of longtime supporter, Rev. Chester Prusynski, C.S.C., who passed away on April 22, 2012 at the age of 91.
• Fr. Prusynski, better known as Fr. Pru, served at the University for 46 years. He was part of the board of regents, taught in the school of business, served as a hall director, worked in student accounts, and served as on-site director of the Salzburg program..
• He was perhaps best known as a tireless advocate for the athletics programs, serving for decades as both a team chaplain and ardent fan. He is a member of the UP Hall of Fame, the Fr. Chester Prusynski Award is presented annually to the school’s top student-athletes, and the soccer practice field at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex was named Rev. Chester S. Prusynski Field (affectionately known as “Pru Pitch”) in his honor.
