Pilots Open Second Half of WCC Play at San Francisco Wednesday

Live Video I Live Audio I Live Stats I Bobby Sharp Feature (Video)

Portland Pilots (12-9, 4-5) at San Francisco Dons (13-8, 6-3)
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: San Francisco, Calif.
Arena: War Memorial Gymnasium
Video: TheW.tv
Radio: Sports 910 AM

Overall Series: 26-52
At UP: 17-20
At USF: 8-29
At Neutral: 1-3
Last: USF 87, POR 81 (at Portland – Dec. 28, 2013)

GAME INFORMATION
• Portland begins a three-game West Coast Conference road trip against the San Francisco Dons on Wednesday night with a 7 p.m. tip-off. The road trip continues on Saturday at Santa Clara for another 7 p.m. tip.
• Both games will be broadcast on TheW.tv with Rich Cellini and John Stege calling the action.
• 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.
• 1080 The Fan (KFXX) has picked up Portland's upcoming road games at Gonzaga (Feb. 5) and BYU (Feb. 22). The games will still feature pre- and post-game coverage.

ROAD WATCH PARTIES AT BUFFALO WILD WINGS
• 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 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 (12-9, 4-5 WCC) earned a thrilling 114-110 triple overtime win against BYU on Thursday at the Chiles Center, before dropping a 65-63 heartbreaker to San Diego on Saturday.
• Junior G Bobby Sharp erupted with eight three-pointers and a career-high 27 points to ignite the Pilots vs. BYU, while junior C Thomas van der Mars also scored a career-best 27 points a matched a personal high with 18 rebounds.
• It marked the first win for Portland over BYU (9-1) and was the second straight big home win for the Pilots, who defeated No. 18/22 Gonzaga by an 82-73 margin Jan. 9.
• Junior G Kevin Bailey scored 21 points in the loss to USD.
• Portland's first five WCC games were at home and the team will play just two more home games. UP concludes the 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.
• Bailey, who leads the Pilots and ranks fourth in the WCC in scoring (17.2), is 13 points shy of joining the 1,000-point club. He has reached double figures in all but two games this year and scored 20-plus eight times.
• Nicholas is the WCC leader in rebounding (9.2) and is second on the team in scoring (12.6). He also ranks seventh on Portland's career rebounding list.
• Van der Mars has had a breakout year averaging 12.5 points and 7.0 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 SAN FRANCISCO
• The Dons (13-8, 6-3 WCC) sit alone in third place in the league standings through the first half of WCC action. USF defeated Santa Clara 75-66 last week at home.
• Senior F Cole Dickerson leads the Dons in scoring (14.6) 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 90-90 overall record.
• USF was picked to finish fourth in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The Dons lead the all-time series by a 52-26 margin... The Pilots are 8-29 all-time on the road at USF... the Dons won a thriller 87-81 in overtime on Dec. 28 in Portland earlier this season... Chris Adams hit a game-tying off-balance three-pointer just before the buzzer to push the game to OT ... 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 5-10 all-time vs. the Dons.

RECORD BREAKING GAME
• Thursday's win over BYU marked just the second triple overtime game in UP history. The other was an 82-81 win over San Jose State on November 27, 1984.
• BYU's Tyler Haws scored 48 points to break the Chiles Center individual scoring record, previously held by UP's Matt Houle (43) on Feb. 13, 1993 against San Francisco.
• The 114 points scored by the Pilots were the most against a Division I opponent in school history.
• Bobby Sharp, who hit seven three-pointers over the games final 22 minutes, was trending nationally on Twitter during the overtime periods.

BAILEY APPROACHES SCORING MILESTONE
• Junior G Kevin Bailey has had a breakout season and is now just 13 points of joining teammate Ryan Nicholas as the 36th member of the 1,000 point club.
• He has reached double figures in 19 of the 21 games, scored 20 or more points eight times, and logged a career-high 29 points in the season opener over UC Davis.
• Bailey is shooting 44 percent from the field, 41 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.

AMONG THE WCC LEADERS...
• Portland leads the WCC in blocked shots (4.6) and ranks second in assists (15.5), and third in scoring (78.5), assist-turnover ratio (1.3), 3-point pct. (.385) and FT pct. (.741).
• Ryan Nicholas leads the league in rebounding (9.2), Bryce Pressley is third in the conference in assist-turnover ratio (2.5), and Thomas van der Mars is third in FG percentage (.592).
• Alec Wintering is fifth in assist-turnover ratio (2.1), seventh in steals (1.4), eighth in assists (4.1) and 13th in free throw percentage (.821).
• Kevin Bailey is fourth in scoring (17.2), 12th in blocked shots (0.9) and tops among all guards in the league. Riley Barker is seventh in blocked shots (1.0).

BIG HOME WINS
• The BYU win was UP's first in 10 games and was the second straight big home win.
• The Pilots snapped a 20-game overall losing streak to Gonzaga and picked up the first win at the Chiles Center over the Bulldogs since 1996 with an 82-73 win on Jan. 9.

SHARP-SHOOTER
• Bobby Sharp not only hit eight three-pointers and broke his previous career-high of 18 points with his 27-point effort against BYU, many of the three-pointers were clutch and against defensive pressure.
• The two biggest threes came in the final 30 seconds of the second overtime period as the Pilots came back from an eight-point deficit with 2:39 remaining.
• His fade-away three tied it at 103 with 13 seconds left and UP cruised in the third OT.
• Sharp is shooting 48 percent from beyond the arc in league play which ranks seventh, while his 25 three-pointers made in conference play are tied for second.

VAN DER MARS ERUPTS
• Junior C Thomas van der Mars had another monster game with a career-high 27 points and 18 rebounds against BYU. 21 of his points came after halftime.
• He previously dropped 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 were his previous career-high.
• Van der Mars has started 79 career games and his 63 career blocked shots are ninth in school history.

NICHOLAS CLIMBING CAREER CHARTS
• 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. He currently ranks 21st in school history with 1,104 points.
• The Spokane, Wash. native is leading the WCC in rebounding (9.2) and cracked the top 10 in school rebounding history after his 16-rebound effort against North Texas. His 752 career rebounds are seventh all-time and 12 shy of Jesse Perry (1965-68) for sixth.
• 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.

BLOCK PARTY
• Portland leads the WCC in blocked shots per game (4.6).
• Junior centers Riley Barker and Thomas van der Mars rank eight and ninth in school history with 67 and 63 blocked shots, respectively.
• 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.

IM-PRESSLEY
• Sophomore G Bryce Pressley had a remarkably efficient game in the win over Gonzaga on Jan. 9. 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 (.444).

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 ranks fifth in the WCC this season in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1).
• The Concord, N.C. native has started all 21 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 82 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 (4th, 17.2 ppg), Ryan Nicholas (19th, 12.6 ppg), and Thomas van Der Mars (20th, 12.5) 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 13 of the last 18 outings.
• For the season the Pilots have a +2.2 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 55-29 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, BYU, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Saint Mary's three times.

PORTLAND VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
• The win over Gonzaga on Jan. 9 was the seventh all-time for Portland against an AP Top 25 program and the first since defeating 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.

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.

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.

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.
• Upcoming games at Gonzaga (Feb. 5) and BYU (Feb. 22) will move to 1080 The Fan (KFXX).