Portland Hosts Concordia, Travels to San Jose State to Open Regular Season

Preseason Prospectus (PDF) I vs. Concordia: Live Video Live Audio Live Stats I at SJSU: Live Video Live Audio Live Stats

Portland Pilots vs. Concordia Cavaliers
Date: Friday, Nov. 14, 2014
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Radio: 910 AM
Live Video: PortlandPilots.com
Live Audio: PortlandPilots.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com

Portland Pilots at San Jose State Spartans
Date: Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014
Tip-off: 1:00 p.m.
Location: San Jose, Calif.
Arena: The Event Center (5,000)
Radio: 910 AM
Live Video: SJSUSpartans.com
Live Audio: PortlandPilots.com
Live Stats: SJSUSpartans.com

THIS WEEK
• The Pilots open the regular season at the Chiles Center on Friday, Nov. 14 versus Concordia (Ore.). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
• Portland will then make a quick road trip to San Jose State to face the Spartans on Sunday at 1 p.m.

TICKET INFORMATION
• Single game tickets for Portland men's basketball games start at $10 for adults and $5 for kids.
• Season tickets, mini packs, and group packs are still available for the 2014-15 season. Click here ticket package options and pricing.
 
GAME COVERAGE
• All Portland games will be aired on Sports 910 (KMTT) beginning with a 30-minute pregame show and complete postgame coverage. Veteran voice of the Pilots Bill Johnson returns to call the action this season.
• All non-conference home games will have complete HD video coverage featuring multiple cameras, instant replay and graphics will be available at PortlandPilots.com. Sunday's game at San Jose State will also have a free video stream available.
• Radio simulcasts and live game statistics will also be available on PortlandPilots.com.

PROMOTIONS
• Pre-Game Pasta returns to the Chiles Center mezzanine for every home game this season. $8 provides all you can eat pasta, salad, desserts and snacks beginning one hour prior to tip-off.
• The Pilot Club space on the south mezzanine will remain open from one hour prior to tip-off through the 12-minute mark of the second half for all games this season. Pilot Club members will have open access to the space and will receive one free beverage of choice per game. A Pilot Club Gameday Pass is available for $5 for non-Pilot Club members. The pass will include one free drink token that can be used for beer or soda on that date. The space will be open to all ages and have beverage service start-to-finish. Re-entry will be allowed throughout the game and snacks will be provided after tip-off. For more information, click here.

ABOUT CONCORDIA
• The Cavaliers will be concluding their final season as an NAIA school before transitioning to Division II next season.
• Concordia is currently 5-0 on the season with wins over British Columbia (62-61), Multnomah (120-71), two on the road at Alaska-Anchorage (79-74, 75-73), and earlier this week against Montana State-Northern (81-73).
• Six players are averaging double figures in the early going for the Cavaliers.
• Head coach Brad Barbarick is in his 21st season with Concordia and posted a 22-10 overall record and 11-7 mark in CCC action last season. He lost leading scorer Adam Herman (24.5 ppg) to graduation.

ABOUT SAN JOSE STATE
• The Spartans are coming off of a 7-24 overall and 1-17 Mountain West Conference record last year.
• The program returns four starters, seven lettermen and will add a pair of redshirts and six other newcomers to the roster.
• Sophomore G Rashad Muhammad led the team in scoring last season (13.2), while Jaleel Williams (10.6 pts, 5.6 rebs) was also a key contributor.
• Portland fans will recognize a couple of the newcomers as former Pepperdine G Jordan Baker and former San Francisco F Frank Rogers are coming off redshirts and will be eligible on Sunday.
• Head coach Dave Wojcik is in his second season at SJSU.
• San Jose State leads the all-time series with Portland by a 10-9 margin, including a 5-3 record in San Jose… Portland won last year's meeting by an 86-69 margin with Kevin Bailey scoring a team-high 22 points… the teams have had three games go multiple overtimes in the series, including a triple OT 82-81 Pilot victory in San Jose during the 1983-84 season.

LAST WEEK
• Sophomore PG Alec Wintering made 15-of-17 free throws and scored a game-high 21 points as the Pilots defeated the Concordia-Irvine Eagles 90-81 in an exhibition game Saturday night at the Chiles Center.
• Wintering led four Pilots in double figures as Portland overcame a one-point halftime deficit to the NAIA power.
• Junior G Bryce Pressley filled the stat sheet with 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and five steals. Senior F Volodymyr Gerun finished with 13 points and four blocked shots, while senior G Kevin Bailey added 10 points.

PREVIEWING THE  PILOTS
The Pilots return a veteran core and add five talented newcomers to a squad that posted marquee wins over both Gonzaga and BYU a year ago.

Head coach Eric Reveno returns four starters and nine lettermen from a 2013-14 team that finished 15-16 overall and tied for sixth in the West Coast Conference standings. The injury bug bit late as leading scorer Kevin Bailey and starting point guard Alec Wintering missed a combined 12 games to close the season and Portland finished with five straight losses.

The team returns seven of its eight leading scorers, including Bailey who averaged a team-best 16.5 points per game and is a three-year starter. Senior center Thomas van der Mars, also a three-year starter, had a breakout junior year and earned All-WCC honorable mention honors after averaging 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.

Wintering was among the WCC leaders in both assists and steals as a true freshman point guard, while junior guard Bryce Pressley was second in the league in three-point percentage (.457). Senior Bobby Sharp was a resident three-point sniper, connecting on eight from beyond the arc in a triple overtime win against BYU. The Pilots finished top 20 nationally in three-point percentage (.393) and have added even more outside shooting this season.

Other key returners include a pair of senior big men in Riley Barker and Volodymyr Gerun. Barker has a chance to finish his career as Portland's all-time leader in blocked shots. Gerun, a West Virginia transfer, is in the best shape of his life and is expected to help fill the shoes left by the departed Ryan Nicholas (12.9 ppg, 8.9 rpg). Senior guard David Carr has been lost for the season with a knee injury over the summer.

Portland adds four incoming freshmen and a junior transfer to a veteran roster that will feature six seniors. Northwest products Gabe Taylor (Portland, Ore./Valley Catholic HS), Jason Todd (Mill Creek, Wash./Jackson HS), and D'Marques Tyson (Seattle, Wash.) all had highly successful prep careers.

Taylor was the two-time Oregon State Player of the Year, Todd was the back-to-back Gatorade Washington State Player of the Year, while Tyson was transferred to Quality Education Academy (N.C.) as a senior and was the League Player of the Year in a talented prep school conference.

Seven-foot freshman center Philipp Hartwich (Cologne, Germany) is a former junior national team standout in team handball and has a bright future.

Another local product, junior Max Livingston (Lake Oswego, Ore.), provides another versatile perimeter threat after shooting 48 percent from three-point range in his lone season at Clark College in Vancouver, Wash.

Reveno added two key additions to his staff in the offseason, each with deep NBA roots. Assistant Coach Herb Brown, who has 45 years of coaching experience including four NBA Championship rings, and former Portland Trail Blazers Video Coordinator, Tim Grass.