Men's Hoops Opens WCC Road Schedule at LMU Thursday Night

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

Portland Pilots (10-7, 2-3) at LMU Lions (10-8, 2-4)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Arena: Gersten Pavilion (4,156)
Live Video: TheW.tv
Radio: Sports 910 AM

Overall Series: 42-47
At UP: 26-16
At LMU: 14-25
At Neutral: 2-6
Last: LMU 65, POR 54 (in Las Vegas – Mar. 6, 2013)

GAME INFORMATION
• Portland looks to build off of an impressive 82-73 win over then-No. 18 Gonzaga last week with a pair of West Coast Conference road games in Southern California. The Pilots visit Loyola Marymount (10-8, 2-4) on Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by Pepperdine (11-7, 4-2) on Saturday at 5 p.m.
• Thursday's game will be aired live on TheW.tv with Justin Alderson and Kris Johnson calling the action. Saturday will have live video at PepperdineSports.com.
• Sports 910 AM (KMTT) is the home of Portland Basketball featuring a 30-minute pregame show and a complete postgame show with player and coach interviews for all games. Veteran voice of the Pilots Bill Johnson provides the commentary.

PILOT WATCH PARTIES FOR ROAD GAMES
• Pilot fans are encouraged to gather at Buffalo Wild Wings Lloyd District for Portland watch parties of all WCC road games this season.
• Located at 1200 NE Broadway Street, Suite 20 Portland, OR 97232, Buffalo Wild Wings will provide televisions and space for Pilot fans to gather for all nine road games. For more information about the watch parties contact Jon Brooks at (503) 943-7431 or brooksj@up.edu.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots (10-7, 2-3 WCC) knocked of No. 18/22 Gonzaga last Thursday by an 82-73 margin at the Chiles Center behind 16 points and nine assists from sophomore G Bryce Pressley.
• Portland never trailed and had five players score in double figures. It marked the first win over Gonzaga since 2003 and the first win over the Bulldogs in Portland since 1996.
• The 82 points scored were second most against Gonzaga this season.
• Portland's first five WCC games here at home and will now conclude league schedule with seven-of-nine games on the road.
• Senior F Ryan Nicholas joined Portland's 1,000-point club in the second half against Princeton on Dec. 21. He is the 35th player in school history to score 1,000 points.
• Junior G Kevin Bailey leads the Pilots and ranks sixth in the WCC in scoring (16.8). He has reached double figures in all but two games this year and scored 20-plus six times.
• Nicholas is the WCC leader in rebounding (9.3) and is third on the team in scoring (12.7). 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 12.8 points and 6.8 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.
• 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 LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
• The Lions (10-8, 2-4) have lost four straight games, but are 5-0 at home this season, including a big win over BYU to open conference play.
• Senior PG Anthony Ireland is one of the top players in the WCC and ranks second in league scoring at 18.9 per game. He is also third in assists (5.4).
• LMU was picked to finish sixth in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Head coach Max Good is in his sixth season with the Lions and posts a 74-106 overall record.
• LMU owns a 47-42 overall series edge over Portland, including a 25-14 margin at home... Last year the Portland swept the regular season series, but the Lions bounced the Pilots from the opening round of the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas (65-54)... Coach Reveno is 10-7 all-time against the Lions.

PORTLAND VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
• The win over Gonzaga on Thursday was the seventh all-time for Portland against an AP Top 25 program and the first since defeated No. 22 Minnesota at the 2009 Anaheim 76 Classic.
• Portland earlier lost to then-No. 1 Michigan State on Nov. 18 and is now 7-54 all-time against AP Top 25 ranked opponents.
• The victory snapped an 11-game losing streak against ranked opponents.

AMONG THE WCC LEADERS...
• Portland leads the WCC in blocked shots (4.9) and ranks second in assists (15.6) and third in both scoring (78.5) and assist-turnover ratio (1.4).
• Ryan Nicholas leads the league in rebounding (9.3) and Bryce Pressley tops the conference in assist-turnover ratio (3.4).
• Alec Wintering is seventh in steals (1.4) and assist-turnover ratio (2.2) and eighth in assists (4.2) and FT percentage (.833).
• Thomas van der Mars is fourth in FG percentage (.594) and 10th in rebounding (6.8).
• Kevin Bailey is fifth in blocked shots (1.1) and tops among all guards in the league. Riley Barker is ninth in blocked shots (0.9).

IM-PRESSLEY
• Sophomore G Bryce Pressley had a remarkably efficient game in the win over Gonzaga. He finished with 16 points on 5-of-6 from the field, 2-of-2 from three-point range and 4-of-4 at the foul line.
• He added nine assists with zero turnovers, and also had two rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals.
• Pressley previously earned WCC Player of the Week honors on Dec. 23, joining Thomas van der Mars as the second Pilot in three weeks to be recognized.
• He was named the MVP of the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic after scoring a career-high 25 points in the 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.
• The Sacramento native picked up his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Pacific on Jan. 2.
• 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 is leading the Pilots in three-point percentage (.447).

BAILEY BREAKING OUT
• Junior G Kevin Bailey has had a breakout season leading the team and ranking sixth in the WCC in scoring at 16.8 points per game.
• He has reached double figures in 15 of the 17 games, scored 20 or more points six times, and logged a career-high 29 points in the season opener over UC Davis.
• Bailey is shooting 45 percent from the field, 40 percent from three-point range and 73 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.

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 (9.3) and cracked the top 10 in school rebounding history after his 16-rebound effort against North Texas.
• Nicholas has 717 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.

VAN DER MARS GARNERS 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 21 points with 12 rebounds against North Texas. He also had 15 points and 12 rebounds against Idaho.
• His 23 points against Santa Clara on Dec. 30 established a career-high.
• Van der Mars has started 75 career games and his 62 career blocked shots are tied for eighth in school history.

BLOCK PARTY
• Portland leads the WCC in blocked shots per game (4.9).
• Junior centers Riley Barker and Thomas van der Mars are tied for eighth on the UP career blocked shots charts with 62.
• Junior G Kevin Bailey (51) is five shy of cracking the school's Top 10 list.
• Tim Frost (2000-02) owns the all-time Pilots record with 103 blocked shots.

WINTERING GIVEN THE KEYS
• Freshman PG Alec Wintering dished out a season-high 13 assists with just one turnover against San Francisco on Dec. 28. It was the most assists by a Pilot against a Division I school in program history, and one shy of the school record set by Dionn Holton (14 vs. Southern Oregon — Dec. 9, 1995).
• He has a 3.1 assist-to-turnover ratio in the last 11 games and ranks seventh in the WCC this season in the category (2.2).
• The Concord, N.C. native has started all 17 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 83 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.

SCORING PUNCH
• Scoring is up significantly this season for the Pilots as the team is averaging 78.5 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 third in the WCC in team scoring, while Kevin Bailey (6th, 16.8 ppg), Thomas van Der Mars (17th, 12.8) and Ryan Nicholas (20th, 12.7 ppg) 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 had a positive rebounding margin in 10 of the last 15 outings.
• For the season the Pilots have a +2.7 rebounding margin.
• 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 55-28 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 Gonzaga, 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.