Pilots Take on LMU in WCC Tournament Opening Round
Complete Release (PDF) I Live Video I Live Audio I Live Stats I The Pilot Report (Video)
Portland Pilots (15-15, 7-11) vs. LMU Lions (12-18, 4-14)
Date: Thursday, March 6, 2014
Tip-off: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Las Vegas, Nev.
Arena: Orleans Arena
Television: BYUtv
Radio: Sports 910 AM
Overall Series: 44-47
At UP: 27-16
At LMU: 15-25
At Neutral: 2-6
Last: POR 71, LMU 64 (at POR – Feb. 13, 2014)
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
• Portland faces Loyola Marymount in the first round on Thursday at 6 p.m. The winner advances to face No. 2 seeded BYU on Saturday at approximately 2 p.m. in a quarterfinals matchup
• Thursday's and Saturday's games will be televised live on BYUtv, while all tournament games will be available to watch for free online at TheW.tv.
• Sports 910 AM (KMTT) is the home of University of Portland men's basketball. Veteran voice of the Pilots Bill Johnson provides the play-by-play with a 30-minute pregame show and postgame coverage for all tournament games.
WATCH PARTIES AT BUFFALO WILD WINGS LLOYD District
• For those Pilot fans unable to make the tournament in person, all games will have watch parties at Buffalo Wild Wings Lloyd District throughout the tournament.
• 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 tournament games. For more information about the watch parties contact Jon Brooks at (503) 943-7431 or brooksj@up.edu.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots finished tied for sixth in the league standings and are the No. 7 seed in the WCC Tournament after losing their final four games of the season on the road.
• Portland dropped a hard-fought 70-61 decision at Saint Mary's last Thursday and then let a 10-point second half lead slip away in a 68-65 loss at Pacific.
• Leading scorer Kevin Bailey (leg injury) has missed the last six games due to injury, while freshman PG Alec Wintering started the first 27 games of the season, but has missed the last three games (leg injury). Both Wintering and Bailey are doubtful for Thursday's game.
• Senior F Ryan Nicholas and junior C Thomas van der Mars were both named honorable mention All-WCC and were also WCC All-Academic Team selections.
• Nicholas is the WCC leader in rebounding (8.7) and adds 12.9 points per game. He is among Portland's all-time leaders in scoring (12th) and also ranks fifth on Portland's career rebounding and double-doubles lists.
• Van der Mars, who was recently named an Academic All-America, has had a breakout year averaging 13.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
• The Pilots are tied for 21st nationally in three-point percentage (.391).
• 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. SJSU.
• 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 WCC Preseason 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 LMU
• The Lions (12-18, 4-14 WCC) have lost 8-of-9 games, but picked up a win over Santa Clara (75-71) and played San Francisco (65-61) tough last week.
• LMU has been hit with many injuries and played just six players against San Francisco. They are expected to get Gabe Levin (concussion) back and have a rotation of seven players on Thursday.
• Senior PG Anthony Ireland is one of the top players in the WCC and ranked second in league scoring at 18.7 per game. He is also second in assists (5.4).
• LMU was picked to finish sixth in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Head coach Max Good is in his sixth season with the Lions.
• LMU owns a 47-44 overall series edge over Portland... The Pilots swept the regular season series with a 71-57 road win and 71-64 home victory... Last year UP also swept the regular season series, but the Lions bounced the Pilots from the opening round of the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas (65-54)... Coach Reveno is 12-7 all-time against the Lions.
PILOTS AT THE WCC TOURNAMENT
• Portland is 10-25 all-time at the WCC Championships and 3-5 in Las Vegas.
• Head coach Eric Reveno is 4-7, advancing to the semifinals in 2009 and 2010.
• Portland's lone WCC Tournament Championship came in 1996.
INJURY REPORT
• After staying healthy for most of the year, the injury bug bit the Pilots of late as leading scorer Kevin Bailey and starting freshman PG Alec Wintering both have leg injuries.
• Bailey has missed the last six games, while Wintering missed the last three. Both will be evaluated on a game-by-game basis and are doubtful for Thursday.
NICHOLAS, VAN DER MARS EARN ALL-WCC RECOGNITION
• Senior F Ryan Nicholas and junior C Thomas van der Mars were named All-WCC honorable mention, as voted by the league's head coaches.
• Nicholas was the league's leader in rebounding (8.7) and double-doubles (9) and earned honorable mention honors for the second straight year.
• Van der Mars earned his first league honor after topping the league in field goal percentage (.609) during WCC games.
IT'S ALL ACADEMIC
• Thomas van der Mars (3.95, Operations Technology Management) has been named to the Capital One Academic All-America Third Team, becoming the second UP men's basketball player in school history to earn the honor.
• Van der Mars joins Rick Raivio (1980) to earn third team honors and is the 30th student-athlete to earn Academic All-America honors across all sports.
• Ryan Nicholas (3.47 GPA, Psychology) and van der Mars were named to the 2014 WCC All-Academic Team, while Riley Barker (3.46, Marketing) was honorable mention.
• Nicholas picks up his third award in as many years, while van der Mars and Barker picked up their second straight awards.
• Coach Reveno has had a total of 16 WCC All-Academic selections in his eight 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.
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 12th in school history with 1,225 points.
• The Spokane, Wash. native also is No. 5 in school history with 821 career rebounds.
• 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.
AMONG THE WCC LEADERS...
• Portland is second in the WCC in assists (15.3) and 3-point pct. (.391), and third in scoring (75.4), assist-turnover ratio (1.3), FT pct. (.739) and blocked shots (4.2).
• Ryan Nicholas leads the league in rebounding (8.7), Thomas van der Mars is No. 2 in FG pct. (.609), and Bryce Pressley is second in three-point percentage (.463).
• Pressley (2.5) and Alec Wintering (2.2) and are second and third in assist-to-turnover ratio, respectively.
• Wintering is also sixth in assists (4.5) and steals (1.6) and 11th in free throw percentage (.833).
BAILEY AMONG ELITE WCC SCORERS
• Junior G Kevin Bailey has had a breakout season and 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 played, 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.
VAN DER MARS ERUPTS
• Junior C Thomas van der Mars has had a few monster games this season, while putting up career numbers. His eight double-doubles are tied for third most in the WCC.
• 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, the first Pilot to win the since 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.
• He ranks 4th in school history in FG percentage (.569) and 7th in blocks (70).
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 39.1 percent this year from beyond the arc, second in the WCC and tied for 21st nationally.
• Those numbers are even better in league play as UP is shooting a league-best 41.4 percent from downtown.
SHARP SHOOTER
• Junior G Bobby Sharp has made at least one three-pointer in every WCC game this season and has four or more three-pointers in five league contests.
• His 42 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.
• The Santa Rosa, Calif. product has 60 three-pointers made this year and are six shy of cracking the top 10 in single season UP history.
IM-PRESSLEY
• Sophomore G Bryce Pressley had some remarkably efficient games, including a 7-for-7 effort from the field and 19 points against Pacific on March 1.
• 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 second in the WCC in three-point percentage (.463).
SCORING PUNCH
• Scoring is up significantly this season for the Pilots as the team is averaging 75.4 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.
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.
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).
• His 5.3 assists per game in league play is No. 3 overall.
• The Concord, N.C. native started the first 27 games of the season before getting injured and missing the last three games.
• 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.
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.
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.
