Pilots Open WCC Play with Tough Road Trip to San Diego and BYU

Complete Release (PDF)  |  Road Trip Feature: Sacramento, Las Vegas

at San Diego: Live Video I Live Audio I Live Stats
at BYU: Live Video I Live Audio I Live Stats

PORTLAND PILOTS (9-3) AT SAN DIEGO TOREROS (7-5)
Date: Dec. 27, 2014
Time: 6:00 PM (PT)
Location: San Diego, Calif. (Jenny Craig Pavilion)
Radio: Sports 910 (KMTT)
Video: TheW.tv
 
Portland vs. San Diego Series
Overall: 29-47
Home: 16-21
Road: 11-24
Neutral: 2-2
Last: USD 61, POR 59 (2/20/14 at USD)


PORTLAND PILOTS (9-3) AT BYU COUGARS (10-3)
Date: Dec. 29, 2014
Time: 6:00 PM (PT)
Location: Provo, Utah (Marriott Center)
TV: BYUtv
Radio: Sports 910 (KMTT)

Portland vs. BYU Series
Overall: 1-10
Home: 1-4
Road: 0-6
Last: BYU 89, POR 72 (2/22/14 at BYU)

THIS WEEK
• The Pilots open West Coast Conference play with road games at San Diego and BYU.
• Portland visits San Diego (7-5) on Saturday with a 6 p.m. tip-off with live video coverage on TheW.tv. The Pilots and BYU (10-3) meet on Monday at 6 p.m. (PT) will live television coverage on BYUtv. Pilot fan watch parties for all WCC road games will take place at Buffalo Wild Wings-Lloyd District.
• 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 call the play-by-play all season long.
• Live stats, audio and video links are available at PortlandPilots.com.

ABOUT THE  PILOTS
• Portland swept a two-game homestand last week with wins over Montana State (87-60) and Lewis & Clark (71-49) to conclude the non-conference schedule with a 9-3 record.
• Two of the Pilots three losses came in overtime: versus Oregon State (65-58) and at UNLV (75-73).
• Senior leading scorer Kevin Bailey has missed the last five games with a foot injury and he will be evaluated weekly in hopes of returning.
• Senior C Thomas van der Mars scored his 1,000th career point on Dec. 14 at Sacramento State. He then cracked the UP top 10 in rebounds a game later.
• Sophomore PG Alec Wintering ranks top five in the WCC in assists, free throw percentage, steals, three-point percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio.
• The Pilots rank 21st nationally in rebounding margin (+8.8), 28th in assists per game (16.1), 31st in free throw percentage (.731) and 45th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.30).
• 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 leads four Pilots averaging double figures this season at 13.1 points per game.
• Van der Mars is also a four-year starter and he's the 37th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. He was a Preseason All-WCC selection by the league's head coaches and Academic All-American last year.
• 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 SAN DIEGO
• The Toreros (7-5) played a difficult non-conference schedule that includes notable losses to San Diego State, UCLA, Xavier, and Boise State.
• USD enters conference play with three straight double-digit wins over UC Santa Barbara, New Orleans and San Diego Christian.
• Senior G Johnny Dee has led the team in scoring all four seasons and currently averages 19.5 points per game. Dee is the fourth active leading scorer in the NCAA with 1,738 career points.
• Head coach Bill Grier is in his eighth season with the Toreros after a long stint as an assistant coach at Gonzaga.


ABOUT BYU
• The Cougars (10-3) have also played a challenging schedule and enter the weekend with an RPI of No. 37 nationally. BYU hosts Gonzaga on Saturday before welcoming the Pilots on Monday
• BYU's three losses have come by a total of 11 points and two were in overtime (San Diego State, Purdue). The Cougars lost by four at home to Utah.
• Notable wins have come against UMass and Stanford.
• Senior G Tyler Haws leads the WCC and ranks fifth nationally in scoring (22.3).
• Head coach Dave Rose is in his ninth season and has a 232-78 record.

VAN DER MARS REACHES MILESTONES
• With 20 points during a win at Sacramento State on Dec. 14, Thomas van der Mars became the 37th player in school history to score 1,000 career points.
• He now has 1,030 career points and also ranks fourth in school history in field goal percentage (.562) and tied for third in blocked shots (84).
• A native of The Netherlands, van der Mars pulled down nine rebounds at UNLV to move into 10th place on the UP career rebounding charts (662).
• Van der mars had a dominating performance against Portland State on Dec. 3 with 19 points and 14 rebounds. He was 9-for-9 from the field.
• A third team Academic All-American and WCC honorable mention pick last year, van der Mars was named to the Preseason All-WCC Team this season.
 
PILOTS GO BIG
• Portland experimented with a big starting lineup and had much success to open the game at UNLV on Dec. 17.
• Portland started a frontline of three 6-11 players with regulars Thomas van der Mars and Volodymyr Gerun joined by Riley Barker. The Pilots got off to a good start with a 10-3 lead out of the gates.
• The Pilots, one of the top rebounding teams in the nation, exploited their size to gain a 38-30 rebounding margin and a 16-8 offensive rebounding edge.

BARKER NOT JUST BLOCKING SHOTS
• Riley Barker has stepped up big over the last few games, including a season-high 14 points and seven rebounds versus UNLV in his first start this year.
• Barker is one of the top shot blockers in school history and has a chance to break the all-time record. He is currently tied with fellow senior Thomas van der Mars with 84 overall, 19 shy of leader Tim Frost (2000-02).
• The Surrey, British Columbia native is averaging 7.8 points and 5.4 rebounds over the last five games.

CLOSE CALLS
• Portland has already played three overtime games this season and had two other games go down to the final possession. The Pilots are 3-1 in games decided by five points or less.
• Portland opened the season with an overtime win at San Jose State, lost in OT at home to Oregon State and then dropped another extended game at UNLV.
• Games at Sacramento State and versus Murray State in Nashville also came down to the closing seconds with the Pilots pulling out both wins.
• Last season, the team went 1-7 in games decided by five or less and was 1-1 in overtime games.


BAILEY BATTLING FOOT INJURY
• Senior G Kevin Bailey got off to a fast start averaging 13.1 points per game, but the Clovis, Calif. native injured his foot against Portland State and has missed the last five games. He is recovering and will be re-evaluated weekly.
• Bailey hit a big jumper and two free throws late against Murray State to clinch the win against the Racers. He also ignited Portland's second half rally against San Jose State with 13 points over the final 10:29, including the game-tying three-pointer with 3:14 remaining.
• Bailey has 1,112 career points which ranks 21st in school history.
 
WINTERING TAKES NEXT STEP
• Sophomore PG Alec Wintering, who dished a season-high 12 assists at Sacramento State, followed up with 24 points and five assists at UNLV.
• Wintering already has three 20-point games this season after entering the season with a career-high of 15 points as a freshman.
• He had a career-high 27 points with six assists against Portland State on Dec. 3 after going 7-of-12 from the field and 11-of-13 at the foul line.
• That effort bettered his career-high of 24 points, established earlier this year at San Jose State. Wintering went 7-of-11 from the field, 4-of-4 from three-point range, and 6-of-6 at the foul line in that game.
• The Charlotte, N.C. native is shooting the ball with much more confidence this season. He is tied for first in the WCC in three-point percentage (.500, 14-of-28) and fifth in free throw percentage (.844).
• Wintering also ranks third in the league in assists (5.7) and fourth in both assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4) and steals (1.5).
• He had a phenomenal freshman campaign in which he started the first 27 games before a leg injury sidelined him the final four games of the season – Portland went 0-4 without him.
• Wintering ranked third in the WCC in assist/turnover ratio (2.1) and FT percentage (.879), fourth in assists (5.4) and fifth in steals (1.7).
• His 13 assists against San Francisco were the most by a Pilot against a D-I school in program history, and one shy of the school record.
 
GERUN GETS GOING
• Senior F Volodymyr "Voldy" Gerun was named to the Challenge in Music City All-Tournament Team over Thanksgiving weekend. The Ukrainian native has been solid all season after moving into the starting rotation.
• He erupted for a career high 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting against SIU-Edwardsville. That came six days after recording his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds at San Jose State.
• Gerun joined the Pilots last season after a brief stop at West Virginia, but playing behind a pair of three-year starters in the post averaged just 11.2 minutes per game.
• He dropped 15 pounds over the last offseason and it showed as he logged 41 active minutes against SJSU.
• Gerun earned the starting nod in place of the graduated Ryan Nicholas and is averaging 10.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and ranks second in the WCC in field goal percentage (.598).
 
FRESHMEN BREAK OUT
• Freshman G Jason Todd has also played important and effective minutes since moving into the rotation over the last eight games.
• He is averaging 21.1 minutes over that span and shooting 54 percent from the field, including 6-of-10 from three-point range. More importantly, Todd has been one of the team's best perimeter defenders and can play multiple positions on the wing or as a stretch four.
• Todd, the two-time Washington Gatorade State Player of the Year at Mill Creek HS, grabbed a season-high eight rebounds versus Montana State and scored a season-best seven points versus Lewis & Clark.
• Freshman G D'Marques Tyson has also had a great impact already. He scored a season-high 25 points off the bench in Portland's loss to Valparaiso at the Challenge in Music City. Tyson finished the game 9-for-11 from the field and 6-for-8 from three-point range.
• He is second on the team with 20 three-pointers made this season and is shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc.
• The Bothell, Wash. native played last season at Quality Education Academy in North Carolina after helping lead Lakeside HS to the Washington 3A title game as a junior.

GETTING TO KNOW THE NEWCOMERS
• Portland welcomes four freshmen and a junior transfer to the 2014-15 roster.
• 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 and join the Pilots as freshmen.
• 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 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.
 
IT'S ALL-ACADEMIC
• Under Coach Reveno the Pilots have thrived academically.
• Last season Thomas van der Mars was named a third team CoSIDA Academic All-American, becoming just the second men's basketball player in program history to earn the honor (Rick Raivio, 1980).
• Senior F Ryan Nicholas was also the recipient of the Division I-AAA Athletic Director's Association Postgraduate Scholarship and joined van der Mars on the 10-player national all-academic team.
• The team boasts a 100% graduation rate, a near-perfect rating in the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate, and 14 WCC All-Academic selections since 2007.
 
STAFF ADDITIONS
• Head Coach Eric Reveno bolstered his staff with an infusion of NBA-level expertise in the offseason.
• Herb Brown, who has 45 years of coaching experience including four NBA Championship rings, joined the bench as an assistant coach.
• Former Portland Trail Blazers Video Coordinator, Tim Grass, was hired as Portland's Video Technology Coordinator.
 
FAST STARTS
• Portland opened the season 5-0 for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
• The 6-1 start was the best under Coach Reveno and matches the third best start in the program's Division I history.
• The 1978-79 Pilots started the season with a 13 straight wins, while the 1958-59 NCAA Tournament Pilots opened with a 10-1 start.
• Other Pilot teams to open with 6-1 records: 1960-61, 1964-65, and the 1995-96 NCAA Tournament squad.


DEFENSIVE ASSIGNMENTS
• Portland has been focused on defense throughout the preseason and early regular season.
• The coaching staff is tracking how many times per game the Pilots record three consecutive defensive stops... The goal? Seven is the target per game. 
 
EARLY NLI SIGNINGS
• Portland announced three NLI signings during November's early signing period.
• Jazz Johnson (Lake Oswego, Ore/Lake Oswego HS), Colin Russell (Folsom, Calif./Folsom HS) and Chiir Maker (Sydney, Australia/Newington College) will join the Pilots as freshmen next year.
• Johnson (6-0, 175) is a combo guard that earned Oregon 6A All-State honorable mention honors last season. He was a Three Rivers League First Team selection in his first year with the Lakers after leading the league in scoring.
• Russell (6-8, 220) is an active post presence and has raised his profile over the last two seasons while playing for highly competitive prep and club teams. He helped Folsom High School win the California Division 2 Northern Region Championship and led the team to a runner-up finish at the state championship.
• Maker (6-7, 190) is a versatile wing with good size and athleticism. Throughout his prep career at Newington College he put up big numbers while displaying a nice shooting stroke with good range.
 
TELEVISION SCHEDULE
• Ten Portland games will be featured on regional or national television.
• The Pilots host Gonzaga on ESPN2 on Saturday, Jan. 3.
• Portland will be featured on the Time Warner Cable SportsNet Game of the Week in matchups versus San Francisco (Jan. 10) and San Diego (Feb. 28). Those games will also air live on ROOT Sports Northwest.
• ROOT will also broadcast five other Pilot games, the contest at BYU will air on BYUtv, and the road matchup with Pepperdine is on Time Warner Cable SportsNet.
 
SPORTS 910 ONCE AGAIN IS THE HOME OF THE PILOTS
• The Pilots have returned to Sports 910 (KMTT) for all men's basketball games as well as the Monday night Portland Pilots Basketball Show.
• Coverage for all home and road games begins with a 30-minute pregame show and concludes with postgame highlights, stats and interviews.
• Veteran voice of the Pilots Bill Johnson is back to call the action and host the Portland Pilots Basketball Show, which airs each Monday 7-8 p.m. throughout the season and features head coach Eric Reveno in studio.
• Fans are encouraged to call in with questions and comments about the program to (503) 542-0910. The show will be streamed live via both Sports 910 and PortlandPilots.com. Fans can interact and ask questions via Twitter using the hashtag #AskCoachRev.
 
BUFFALO WILD WINGS WATCH PARTIES
• Watch parties for all televised Pilot road games will once again be hosted by Buffalo Wild Wings Lloyd District this season.
• The first gathering will be for the Dec. 1 Portland Pilots Basketball Show, which will be hosted at the restaurant from 7-8 p.m. Coach Reveno will be on site with Bill Johnson talking Pilot hoops.
• The first watch party will be on Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 7:30 p.m. when the Pilots play at UNLV. The complete list of scheduled watch parties are:
 
Dec. 17 vs. UNLV, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 27 vs. San Diego, 6 p.m.
Dec. 29 vs. Brigham Young, 6 p.m.
Jan. 15 vs. Loyola Marymount, 7 p.m.
Jan. 17 vs. Pepperdine, 5 p.m.
Jan. 29 vs. Gonzaga, 6 p.m.
Feb. 5 vs. San Francisco, 6 p.m.
Feb. 7 vs. Santa Clara, 5 p.m.
Feb. 19 vs. Saint Mary's, 8 p.m.
Feb. 21 vs. Pacific, 7 p.m.
Mar. 5-10, WCC Tournament