Pilots Continue Homestand Against Santa Clara, San Francisco

Complete Release (pdf)  I  vs. SCU: Video  Audio Stats  I  vs. USF: Video  Audio Stats

PORTLAND PILOTS (10-5, 1-2 WCC) VS. SANTA CLARA BRONCOS (7-8, 2-2 WCC)
Date: Jan. 8, 2015
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Portland, Ore.
Venue: Chiles Center (4,852)
Radio: Sports 910 (KMTT)
Video: TheW.tv

Portland vs. Santa Clara Series
Overall Series: 31-58
Home: 20-22
Road: 9-32
Neutral: 2-4
Last 5: 2-3
Last 10: 6-4
Last: POR 76, SCU 64 (2/1/14 at SCU)

PORTLAND PILOTS (10-5, 1-2 WCC) VS. SAN FRANCISCO DONS (7-9, 1-3 WCC)
Date: Jan. 10, 2015
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: Portland, Ore.
Venue: Chiles Center (4,852)
TV: ROOT Sports NW, ROOT Sports RM, TWC SportsNet, CSN California
Radio: Sports 910 (KMTT)

Portland vs. San Francisco Series
Overall Series: 26-53
Home: 17-20
Road: 8-30
Neutral: 1-3
Last 5: 1-4
Last 10: 2-8
Last: USF 84, POR 71 (1/29/14 at USF)

THIS WEEK
• The Pilots host Santa Clara on Thursday at 7 p.m. and then welcome San Francisco on Saturday at 1 p.m. Kids sixth grade and younger will receive free admission to both games, while adult tickets start at $10.
• Thursday's game will have live video courtesy of TheW.tv with Roxy Bernstein and Bill Krueger calling the action. Saturday is the WCC Game of the Week and will televised locally on ROOT Sports with Barry Thompkins and Casey Jacobsen on the call.
• 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 (10-5, 1-2 WCC) cut a 21-point second half deficit to five late before falling to No. 7 Gonzaga 87-75 on Saturday at the Chiles Center.
• Sophomore PG Alec Wintering had 20 points and eight assists to lead the Pilots, who were missing senior G Kevin Bailey (foot) for the eighth straight game.
• Portland opened the WCC schedule with a 61-58 road win at San Diego as Wintering beat the buzzer with a three-pointer with less than a second left.
• Wintering then scored a career-high 30 points as Portland rallied from a 22-point second half deficit at BYU. The Pilots cut the deficit to seven with two minutes remaining, but BYU made free throws down the stretch to hold on.
• Bailey is probable to return to the lineup on Thursday, but junior G Bryce Pressley is questionable after suffering a concussion against Gonzaga.
• 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 and is tied for third all-time in blocked shots.
• Wintering ranks top six in the WCC in assists, free throw percentage, steals, three-point percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio. His 50.0 percent from three-point range is tied for the league lead.
• Freshmen Jason Todd and D'Marques Tyson have filled in nicely since Bailey went down. Todd scored a season-high nine points vs. Gonzaga, while Tyson had a season high 25 points in 17 minutes in the team's loss to Valparaiso.
• Senior G Bobby Sharp is finding his shooting stroke after struggling early. Sharp has made two or more three-pointers in eight of the last nine games and is 17-for-38 from beyond the arc the last seven games.
• Two of the Pilots five losses this season have come in overtime: versus Oregon State (65-58) and at UNLV (75-73).
• Portland is 4-1 this season in games decided by five points or less after finishing 1-7 last season.
• The Pilots lead the WCC in blocked shots (4.1) as senior C Riley Barker and van der Mars are both approaching the school record for blocked shots.
• The Pilots rank 22nd nationally in free throw percentage (.746), 38th in both rebounding margin (+6.7) and three-point percentage (.387), 43rd in assists per game (15.5), and 66th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.22).
• 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 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.

ABOUT SANTA CLARA
• The Broncos (7-8, 2-2 WCC) split a homestand last weekend as they were routed by BYU (81-46) before bouncing back to defeat San Diego (59-56).
• Santa Clara lost at Saint Mary's  and then defeated Pacific on the road to open league play.
• Senior G Brandon Clark averages a team-best 15.7 points, while sophomore G Jared Brownridge - the reigning WCC Newcomer of the Year - adds 14.3 points.
• Head coach Kerry Keating is in his eighth season at the helm of the Broncos and posts a 121-128 overall record. He guided Santa Clara to the 2011 CIT Championship and 2013 CBI title.
• Portland and Santa Clara split last year's series with each team picking up road wins... The Broncos took a 76-68 decision in Portland, while the Pilots won 76-64 at Santa Clara.

ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO
• The Dons (7-9, 1-3 WCC) were swept at home last week with losses to San Diego (57-56) and BYU (99-68).
• San Francisco, picked to finish fourth in the WCC Preseason Poll, opened the league with a road win at Pacific and loss at Saint Mary's.
• Forwards Mark Tollefson (15.1) and Kruize Pinkins (15.0) lead the Dons in scoring as the team averages 73.0 points per game.
• Head coach Rex Walters is in his seventh season with the Dons and posts a 105-103 overall record. He led USF to the NIT last season after finishing tied for second in the WCC.
• San Francisco swept the season series with the Pilots last year... USF stunned the Pilots to open league play after Chris Adams forced overtime with a buzzer-beating three-pointer... The Dons would win 87-81 and then complete the sweep with an 84-71 win in San Francisco.

INJURY UPDATES
• Senior G Kevin Bailey is probable to return on Thursday after missing the previous eight games with a foot injury suffered in the first half against Portland State on Dec. 3.
• Junior G Bryce Pressley suffered a concussion late in Saturday night's loss against Gonzaga and is questionable for Thursday.
• Senior G David Carr is out for the season with a torn ACL suffered in the offseason.

WINTERING CONTINUES BREAKOUT CAMPAIGN
• Sophomore PG Alec Wintering continues to break personal records and climb the Portland single-game and career charts.
• He recorded his fifth 20-point game against Gonzaga and finished with 20 points, eight assists and zero turnovers on Saturday.
•  Wintering opened WCC play by burying a step-back three-pointer to win the game at San Diego with 0.3 seconds left and then erupting for a career-high 30 points at BYU two nights later.
• It was the first 30-point game for a Pilot since Jared Stohl finished with 30 against Idaho on Dec. 22, 2009.
• He also finished 15-of-17 from the free throw line, marking the first 15 makes from the foul line since Darren Cooper versus Oregon on Dec. 22, 2005.
• Wintering dished out a season-high 12 assists at Sacramento State and followed up with 24 points and five assists at UNLV.
• He had 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 at San Jose State on 7-of-11 from the field, 4-of-4 from three-point range, and 6-of-6 at the foul line.
• The Charlotte, N.C. native is shooting the ball with much more confidence this season. He leads the WCC in three-point percentage (.500, 19-of-38) and is sixth in free throw percentage (.844).
• Wintering also ranks third in the league in assists (5.3), fourth assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1) and sixth in steals (1.4). 
• In WCC games he ranks second in scoring (20.0) behind LMU's Evan Payne (22.0).
• Wintering 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) last year.
• 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.
 
OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY
• The Pilots rank third in the WCC and 63rd nationally in points per game (73.4)
• Portland's 39 percent from three-point range ranks 38th nationally, while the team's 74.6 from the free throw line is 22nd in the nation.
• Portland has shot 71 percent or better from the free throw line in the last 11 of the last 12 games.

REBOUNDS AND BLOCKED SHOTS
• Portland has used its size and experience to become a good rebounding team and the top shot blocking squad in the WCC.
• The Pilots have outrebounded 12 of the 15 opponents this season and rank 38th nationally with a +6.7 rebounding margin.
• Portland averages 4.1 blocked shots per game, tops in the WCC.

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 1,075 career points and also ranks fourth in school history in field goal percentage (.563) and tied for third in blocked shots (88).
• A native of The Netherlands, van der Mars ranks ninth on the UP career rebounding charts (681).
• 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 has experimented with a big starting lineup with some success against both UNLV and BYU.
• Portland started a frontline of three 6-11 players with regulars Thomas van der Mars and Volodymyr Gerun joined by Riley Barker in both games.

GERUN GETS GOING
• Senior F Volodymyr "Voldy" Gerun recorded his third double-double of the season with 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds at San Diego on Dec. 27.
• He was named to the Challenge in Music City All-Tournament Team over Thanksgiving weekend and 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 10.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and ranks third in the WCC in field goal percentage (.563).
 
BARKER NOT JUST BLOCKING SHOTS
• Riley Barker has stepped up big this season, including a season-high 14 points and seven rebounds versus UNLV in his first start this year.
• He added 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots at BYU.
• Barker is one of the top shot blockers in school history and has a good chance to break the all-time record. He is currently second overall with 91 blocks, 12 shy of leader Tim Frost (2000-02).
• The Surrey, British Columbia native has blocked two or more shots in four of the last six 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 4-1 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.
• The latest thriller came at San Diego, with Alec Wintering winning the game with a three-pointer with less than one second remaining.
• Last season, the team went 1-7 in games decided by five or less and was 1-1 in overtime games.

BAILEY LOOKS TO GET BACK
• 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 eight games.
• 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.
 
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.

FRESHMEN BREAK OUT
• Freshman G Jason Todd has played effective minutes since moving into the rotation over the last 11 games.
• He is averaging 21.9 minutes over that span and shooting 54 percent from the field, including 9-of-15 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 nine points versus Gonzaga.
• 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 also had 13 first half points in the road win at San Diego.
• Tyson is second on the team with 23 three-pointers made this season and is shooting 40 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.

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.
 
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
• Jazz Johnson (Lake Oswego, Ore/Lake Oswego HS), Colin Russell (Folsom, Calif./Folsom HS) and Chiir Maker (Sydney, Australia/Newington College) signed NLI's in November and 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. Last week he broke the Les Schwab Invitational scoring record by averaging 35.0 points per game against elite national competition.
• 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.
• Watch parties for all Pilot road games will once again be hosted by Buffalo Wild Wings Lloyd District this season.
 
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.