Pilots Host Portland State, Oregon State at Chiles CenterComplete Release (PDF) I Live Video I Live Audio I Live StatsPORTLAND PILOTS (5-1) vs. PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (4-1)
Date: Dec. 3, 2014
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Radio: Sports 910 (KMTT)
Video/Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series Record: Pilots lead 34-17
PORTLAND PILOTS (5-1) vs. OREGON STATE BEAVERS (3-2)
Date: Dec. 6, 2014
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Radio: Sports 910 (KMTT)
Video/Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
THIS WEEK• The Pilots have a big home weekend against in-state rivals as Portland State visits on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and then Oregon State comes on Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Both games will have free HD video streams courtesy of PortlandPilots.com as well as free audio and live stats.
• All Portland basketball games will be aired live on Sports 910 (KMTT) with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes prior to tip-off. Bill Johnson will be on the call for Wednesday's game, while David Endres fills in on Saturday.
ABOUT THE PILOTS• Portland won 2-of-3 games at the Challenge in Music City last weekend. The Pilots beat Murray State (64-61) and Drake (71-59), before suffering the first loss of the season Sunday versus Valparaiso (70-55). Senior F Volodymyr Gerun was named to the All-Tournament Team.
• The Pilots pulled out a close one against Murray State as senior G Kevin Bailey scored a game-high 23 points including the go-ahead basket and clinching free throws in the final minute. Senior C Thomas van der Mars added his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds, while senior G Bobby Sharp added 13 points – including 11 in the second half.
• All 13 Pilots saw court action Saturday against Drake with 12 different players scoring. Van der Mars was the lone Pilot in double figures with 14 points as Portland never trailed.
• Freshman G D'Marques Tyson erupted for 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting off the bench in Sunday's loss.
• Portland's 5-1 start matches the best during the Coach Reveno era… The 2009-10 Pilots also started 5-1 and cracked the AP Top 25.
• Portland returns four starters and seven of the top eight scorers from last year's team that finished 15-16 overall.
• Bailey, a four-year starter, averaged 16.5 points per game a year ago before missing the final seven games with a leg injury. He is off to a fast start this season averaging a team-high 15.3 points.
• Van der Mars is also a four-year starter and approaching 1,000 career points. He was a Preseason All-WCC selection by the league's head coaches.
• Sophomore PG Alec Wintering started the first 27 games of last season as a true freshman before a leg injury sidelined him the last four outings. He topped all WCC freshmen in assists, assist/turnover ratio, and steals and was top five among all players in the league in each category.
• Portland added five newcomers to the roster this season with four freshmen and a junior college transfer. Four of the newcomers have Pacific Northwest ties, while the fifth is 7-footer Philipp Hartwich (Cologne, Germany).
• Head Coach Eric Reveno returns for his ninth year on The Bluff. Assistant Coach Eric Jackson and Special Assistant to the Head Coach Mike Wolf also return for their ninth years, while Colin Pfaff is back for his third year as an assistant coach after two years as Director of Basketball Operations.
• Reveno added experience to his staff in the offseason with the addition of veteran NBA head coach Herb Brown and former Portland Trail Blazers video coordinator Tim Grass.
• Portland looks to return to the form it had from 2008-2011, 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.
ABOUT PORTLAND STATE• The Vikings opened the season with a win at USC (76-68) and defeated SIU-Edwardsville in OT (90-87). PSU then went on the road to beat CSU-Northridge (63-55) before losing at Oregon on Sunday (81-59).
• Five Vikings are averaging double figures led by DaShaun Wiggins (15.8). Senior PG Tim Douglas, who played two seasons with the Pilots before transferring, is averaging 12.0 points.
• Tyler Geving is in his sixth season as head coach and 10th year overall on the Vikings bench.
• The Pilots lead the all-time series by a 34-17 margin and are 10-7 against the Vikings since the PSU program was re-instated in 1996-97.
