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Portland Pilots (14-11, 6-7) vs. Pepperdine Waves (14-12, 7-7)

Date: Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014
Tip-off: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
TV: ROOT, TWC, Comcast CA
Radio: Sports 910

Overall Series: 33-57
At UP: 18-24
At PEP: 13-28
At Neutral: 2-5
Last: PEP 76, POR 65 (at PEP – Jan. 18, 2014)

GAME INFORMATION
• Portland returns to the Chiles Center for its final of the regular season versus Pepperdine on Saturday at 1 p.m.
• Saturday is Senior Day for Portland's four seniors: Ryan Nicholas, Korey Thieleke, Tanner Riley, and John Bailey.
• The game will be televised live on ROOT Sports NW, TWC SportsNet, and Comcast California as WCC Game of the Week. Barry Tompkins and Jon Crispin are on the call.
• Sports 910 AM (KMTT) is the primary home of Portland Basketball. Veteran voice of the Pilots Bill Johnson provides the play-by-play with a 30-minute pregame show.

TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
• The game will feature 2-for-1 adult ticket prices, while kids receive free admission (6th grade and younger).
• Saturday is Senior Day and the four Pilot seniors will be recognized about 10 minutes prior to tip-off with a presentation.
• A halftime paper airplane toss will reward one lucky fan with a trip to Hawaii courtesy of All About Hawaii Travel.
• There will also be a post-game autograph zone for fans with the team.

ABOUT THE PILOTS

• The Pilots (14-11, 6-7 WCC) sit in sixth place in the WCC standings after a 71-64 win over LMU on Thursday. A win against Pepperdine on Saturday will vault Portland into sole possession of fifth place.
• Senior F Ryan Nicholas led the Pilots with 16 points and nine rebounds, while junior C Thomas van der Mars picked up his sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
• Portland played without leading scorer Kevin Bailey (calf), marking the first time this season the Pilots used a different starting lineup. Bobby Sharp filled in and finished with 11 points in his first career start.
• Bailey, who is questionable for Saturday's game, leads the Pilots and ranks sixth in the WCC in scoring (16.5).
• Portland's first five WCC games were at home, while the second half of UP's schedule features 7-of-9 games on the road.
• Nicholas joined Portland's 1,000-point club in the second half against Princeton on Dec. 21. He is the WCC leader in rebounding (9.2) and is tied for second on the team in scoring (12.6). He also ranks fifth on Portland's career rebounding and double-doubles lists.|
• Van der Mars has had a breakout year averaging 12.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. His 19-point, 18-rebound effort vs. Portland State earned him league player of the week honors on Dec. 9.
• The Pilots are No. 11 nationally in three-point percentage (.401).
• 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 PEPPERDINE

• The Waves (14-12, 7-7) lost at No. 24 Gonzaga by an 83-68 margin on Thursday after dropping an overtime decision to Saint Mary's last Saturday.
• Pepperdine, picked to finish last in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll, currently sits alone in fifth place in the league standings.|
• The frontcourt combination of Stacy Davis and Brendan Lane combine to average 18.8 points and 15.2 rebounds per game.
• Head coach Marty Wilson is in his third season and 17th overall with the Waves as a player, assistant and now head coach.|
• Pepperdine owns a 57-33 overall series edge over Portland and have won the last four meetings in the series... the Waves defeated Portland 76-65 on Jan. 18 in Malibu... the Pilots led at the half, but were outscored 46-31 in the second period... Coach Reveno is 10-7 all-time against the Lions.

 
BAILEY QUESTIONABLE WITH CALF INJURY
• Junior G Kevin Bailey has had a breakout season, but was sidelined for the first time this year on Thursday with a calf injury. He is questionable for Saturday.
• Earlier this year he joined teammate Ryan Nicholas as the 36th member of the 1,000 point club. His 10 points at Santa Clara on Feb. 1 pushed him over the mark and he now has 1,020 points for his career.
• He has reached double figures in 22 of the 24 games, scored 20 or more points eight times, and logged a career-high 29 points in the season opener over UC Davis.
• 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 is second in the WCC in blocked shots (4.4), assists (15.3) and 3-point pct. (.401), and third in scoring (77.3), assist-turnover ratio (1.3), and FT pct. (.742).
• Ryan Nicholas leads the league in rebounding (9.2), Bryce Pressley is tops in three-point percentage (.508), and Thomas van der Mars is No. 1 in FG pct. (.602).
• Alec Wintering (2.4) and Pressley (2.4) are second and third in assist-to-turnover ratio, respectively.
• Wintering is also fifth in assists (4.6), sixth in steals (1.5) and 12th in free throw percentage (.827).

NICHOLAS CLIMBING CAREER CHARTS
• 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 17th in school history with 1,155 points.
• The Spokane, Wash. native is leading the WCC in rebounding (9.2) and double-doubles (9) and cracked the top 10 in school rebounding history after his 16-rebound effort against North Texas. His 789 career rebounds are fifth all-time.
• 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 ERUPTS

• Junior C Thomas van der Mars has had a few monster games this season, while putting up career numbers. His seven double-doubles are tied for second most in the WCC with Brendan Lane, trailing only teammate Ryan Nicholas.
• He scored a career-high 28 points with 11 rebounds at Santa Clara on Feb. 1. He was 9-for-10 from the field and 10-for-10 from the free throw line.
• Van der Mars previously scored 27 points with 18 rebounds in the triple overtime win against BYU on Jan. 23. 21 of his points came after halftime.
• He also 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.
• Van der Mars has 66 career blocked shots are seventh in school history.

WINTERING GIVEN THE KEYS
• Freshman PG Alec Wintering has dished out 10 or more assists three times this year.
• His season-high 13 assists with just one turnover against San Francisco on Dec. 28 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 second in the WCC this season in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3) and fifth in assists (4.6), while his 5.5 assists per game in league play is No. 2 overall.
• The Concord, N.C. native has started all 25 games for the Pilots and matched his season high with 15 points against USF on Jan. 29
• He is shooting a team-best 83 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.

THREE-POINT THREATS
• Portland was one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation three years running from 2009-11 and the touch has returned to The Bluff this year.
• The Pilots are shooting 40.1 percent this year from beyond the arc, second in the WCC and tied for 11th nationally.
• Those numbers are even better in league play as UP is shooting a league-best 44.5 percent from downtown.

SHARP SHOOTER
• Junior G Bobby Sharp drilled three three-pointers in his first career start on Thursday and has been on fire during league play.
• He is shooting 45 percent from beyond the arc in league play which ranks ninth, while his 32 three-pointers made in conference play are third overall.

• Sharp not only hit eight three-pointers and broke his previous career-high of 18 points with his 27-point effort against BYU on Jan. 23, 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.

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 WCC in three-point percentage (.508).

RECORD BREAKING GAME
• The win over BYU on Jan. 23 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.

SCORING PUNCH
• Scoring is up significantly this season for the Pilots as the team is averaging 77.3 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.
• Last year the Pilots averaged 61.0 points and the team averaged 65.1 points during the 2011-12 season.

IT'S ALL ACADEMIC
• Thomas van der Mars (3.95, Operations Technology Management) was named to the Capital One Academic All-District 8 Team and is eligible for Acad. All-America Honors.
• Ryan Nicholas (3.47 GPA, Psychology) and van der Mars were named to the 2013 WCC All-Academic Team, while Riley Barker (3.46, Marketing) was honorable mention.
• 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.

PORTLAND VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
• The Jan. 9 win vs. Gonzaga 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 is 1-2 this year against ranked opponents, losing to then-No. 1 Michigan State on Nov. 18 and then dropping last Wednesday's game at No. 20 Gonzaga (71-66). The Pilots are now 7-55 all-time against AP Top 25 ranked opponents.
• The victory win over GU snapped an 11-game losing streak against ranked opponents.