Pilots Host WCC Newcomer Pacific Tonight, Saint Mary's on Saturday
Complete Release (PDF) I Live Video I Live Audio I Live Stats I Tickets I The Pilot Report (video)
Portland Pilots (8-6, 0-2) vs. Pacific Tigers (9-3, 0-1)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Television: ROOT Sports NW
Radio: Sports 910 AM
Overall Series: 8-20
At UP: 5-6
At PAC: 2-14
At Neutral: 1-0
Last: PAC 82, POR 76 (at PAC – Mar. 18, 2009, CIT)
GAME INFORMATION
• Portland continues its five-game West Coast Conference homestand against Pacific on Thursday and then versus Saint Mary's on Saturday. Both games tip-off at 7 p.m. and will be televised live on ROOT Sports NW with Tom Glasgow and Bill Krueger on the call.
• Entercom Portland/Sports 910 AM (KMTT) is the new home of Portland Basketball featuring a 30-minute pregame show and a complete postgame show with player and coach interviews. Upcoming games vs. Saint Mary's (Jan. 4) and Gonzaga (Jan. 9) will be aired live on 1080 The Fan (KFXX), but all other games will be on Sports 910.
TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
• Pregame Pasta Dinner returns to the Chiles Center! 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.
• If the Pilots make six or more three-pointers in the game, all fans will get a Buffalo Wild Wings scratch-it with prizes for free food!
• Portland's next two 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.
• 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 (8-6, 0-2 WCC) opened league play with a pair of home losses to San Francisco (87-81, ot) and Santa Clara (76-68).
• The USF loss featured 21 ties and 21 lead changes. Junior G Kevin Bailey broke a 66-66 tie with a three-pointer and eight seconds left in regulation, but Chris Adams hit a circus three-pointer with 0.2 seconds left to force overtime and the Dons took control.
• Bailey finished with a game-high 24 points, while freshman PG Alec Wintering dished out a season-high 13 assists with just one turnover.
• SCU made 12-of-23 three-pointers to come out on top Monday. Junior C Thomas van der Mars scored a game-high 23 points, Bailey added 19 and senior F Ryan Nicholas had 12 points and 13 rebounds.
• The losses come on the heels of the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic title for Portland who defeated 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.
• 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.
• Bailey leads the Pilots and ranks fourth in the WCC in scoring (17.7). 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 (9.5) and is third on the team in scoring (12.8). He also recently moved in the Top 10 on Portland's career rebounding list.
• Van der Mars has had a breakout year averaging 13.0 points and 6.4 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 PACIFIC
• The Tigers (9-3, 0-1), one of the five founding members of the California Basketball Association which later became the West Coast Conference, rejoined the WCC this season and opened league play with an 88-80 home loss to Saint Mary's on Monday.
• Pacific starts five seniors, all returners from last year's team that won 22 games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
• Andrew Bock leads four Tigers averaging double figures at 12.6 points per game.
• Head coach Ron Verlin is in his first year after being an assistant to long time coach Bob Thomason, who retired after last season.
• Pacific was picked to finish seventh in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The Tigers lead the all-time series by a 20-8 margin... The Pilots are 5-6 all-time at home vs. Pacific... the Tigers won the last meeting, a first round CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament matchup in Stockton (82-76, 3/18/09)... Coach Reveno is 8-7 all-time vs. the Broncos.
BAILEY BREAKING OUT
• Junior G Kevin Bailey has had a breakout season leading the team and ranking fourth in the WCC in scoring at 17.7 points per game.
• He has reached double figures in 12 of the 14 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 74 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.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING...
• The last two losses provided some head scratching statistics for the Pilots.
• Portland had a season high 25 assists along with a season low five turnovers which led to a 19-5 edge in points off of turnovers against USF. UP also shot 10-for-20 from three-point range. Portland was outrebounded by a 40-22 margin and allowed USF to shoot 60.4 percent from the field, an opponent season-high in both categories.
• The Pilots dominated the rebounding department on Monday vs. Santa Clara by a 43-27 margin, but allowed a 17-9 Broncos edge in points off of turnovers. Portland also struggled to 2-of-11 from three-point range on the night.
AMONG THE WCC LEADERS...
• Portland ranks second in the WCC in blocked shots (4.4), assists (15.9) and turnover margin (+2.0), and third in scoring (79.9), free throw percentage (.753) and assist-turnover ratio (1.4).
• Ryan Nicholas leads the league in rebounding (9.5) and Bryce Pressley is second in assist-turnover ratio (3.3).
• Alec Wintering is sixth in steals (1.6) and FT percentage (.847), tied for eighth in assists (4.2) and ninth in assist-turnover ratio (2.0).
IM-PRESSLEY
• Sophomore G Bryce Pressley 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.
• 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 (.433).
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 (9.5) and cracked the top 10 in school rebounding history after his 16-rebound effort against North Texas.
• Nicholas has 692 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 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 72 career games and his 59 career blocked shots are ninth in school history.
BLOCK PARTY
• Portland is second in the WCC in blocked shots per game (4.4).
• Junior C Riley Barker ranks sixth in the WCC in blocked shots (1.1) and has moved into eighth place on the UP career blocked shots charts with 61.
• Barker is two blocks ahead of fellow junior Thomas van der Mars all-time.
• 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 on Saturday vs. USF. 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 3.3 assist-to-turnover ratio in the last eight games and ranks ninth in the WCC this season in the category (2.0).
• The Concord, N.C. native has started all 14 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 85 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 79.9 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 (4th, 17.7 ppg), Thomas van Der Mars (18th, 13.0) and Ryan Nicholas (19th, 12.8 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 nine of the last 12 outings.
• For the season the Pilots have a +3.1 rebounding margin and rank third in the WCC in defensive rebound percentage (.722).
• 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 53-27 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.
