Pilots Host San Francisco in WCC Game of the Week

Complete Release (pdf) I Video I Audio I Stats

PORTLAND PILOTS (11-5, 2-2 WCC) VS. SAN FRANCISCO DONS (7-10, 1-4 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 defeated Santa Clara on Thursday and now welcome San Francisco on Saturday at 1 p.m. Kids sixth grade and younger will receive free admission, while adult tickets start at $10.
• Saturday is the WCC Game of the Week and will be televised locally on ROOT Sports with Barry Tompkins 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 (11-5, 2-2 WCC) cruised to a 78-61 win over Santa Clara on Thursday, but suffered more bad news on the injury front. Senior C Riley Barker went down early with a knee injury and will miss the remainder of the season.
• The Pilots were also without junior G Bryce Pressley (concussion) and he is doubtful for Saturday.
• Sophomore PG Alec Wintering scored 26 points in the win and now is the WCC leading scorer in league games at 21.5 per game.
• Freshmen Jason Todd and Gabe Taylor each recorded season-highs of 12 points, while sophomore G Aitor Zubizarreta earned his first career start for the shorthanded Pilots.
• The Pilots did get senior G Kevin Bailey (foot) back on the court after missing the previous eight games. Bailey finished with four points in 11 minutes.
• 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 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. He is the WCC leader in three-point percentage (.513).
• Senior G Bobby Sharp is finding his shooting stroke after struggling early. Sharp has made two or more three-pointers in nine of the last ten games and is 20-for-42 from beyond the arc the last eight 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 rank 17th nationally in free throw percentage (.752), 25th in three-point percentage (.394), 26th in rebounding margin (+7.6) and 46th in assists per game (15.3) and 67th in field goal percentage (.459).
• 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 SAN FRANCISCO
• The Dons (7-10, 1-4 WCC) have lost four straight after losing to No. 6 Gonzaga 88-57 in Spokane on Thursday. After opening the league with a road win at Pacific, the Dons have lost four straight.
• San Francisco, picked to finish fourth in the WCC Preseason Poll, opened the league followed the Pacific win with losses at Saint Mary's and at home to San Diego and BYU.
• Forwards Kruize Pinkins (15.3) and Mark Tollefson (14.5) lead the Dons in scoring as the team averages 70.8 points per game.
• Head coach Rex Walters is in his seventh season with the Dons and posts a 105-104 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 C Riley Barker suffered a season-ending knee injury early Thursday's win against Santa Clara.
• Senior G Kevin Bailey returned to the lineup on Thursday after missing the previous eight games with a foot injury suffered in the first half against Portland State on Dec. 3. He played 11 minutes off the bench.
• Junior G Bryce Pressley suffered a concussion late in Saturday night's loss against Gonzaga. He sat out on Thursday and is doubtful for Saturday.
• 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. His 21.5 points per game in WCC play is tops in the league.
• He recorded his sixth 20-point game with 26 points, four rebounds and four assists against Santa Clara. He now has three straight games with 20 or more points. Previously he finished with 20 points and eight assists versus Gonzaga  and dropped a career-high 30 points at BYU.
• Wintering opened WCC play by burying a step-back three-pointer to win the game at San Diego with 0.3 seconds left.
• His effort at BYU was the first 30-point game for a Pilot since Jared Stohl tallied 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 (.513, 20-of-39) and is fifth in free throw percentage (.860).
• Wintering also ranks third in the league in assists (5.3), fifth assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0) and sixth in steals (1.4). 
• 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 53rd nationally in points per game (73.7)
• Portland's 39.4 percent from three-point range ranks 25th nationally, while the team's 75.2 from the free throw line is 17th in the nation.
• Portland has shot 71 percent or better from the free throw line in the last 12 of the last 13 games.

REBOUNDS AND BLOCKED SHOTS
• Portland has used its size and experience to become a good rebounding team and the No. 2 shot blocking squad in the WCC.
• The Pilots have outrebounded 13 of the 16 opponents this season and rank 26th nationally with a +7.4 rebounding margin.
• Portland averages 4.1 blocked shots per game, second 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 1,083 career points and also ranks third in school history in blocked shots (88) and fourth in field goal percentage (.562).
• A native of The Netherlands, van der Mars ranks ninth on the UP career rebounding charts (693).
• 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 10.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and ranks fourth in the WCC in field goal percentage (.557).
 
BARKER'S BREAKOUT SEASON OVER
• Riley Barker 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.
• One of the top shot blockers in school history, he was on pace to break the school record before a season-ending knee injury versus Santa Clara on Jan. 8.
• The Surrey, British Columbia native concludes his career with 91 blocked shots, 12 shy of the Pilot all-time leader, Tim Frost (2000-02).

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 IS 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 missed the next eight games.
• He returned to the lineup off the bench Thursday versus Santa Clara and finished with four points in 11 minutes of action.
• Prior to the injury, Bailey made some big plays early in the season. He hit a clutch jumper and two free throws late against Murray State to clinch the win against the Racers and 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 1,116 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).
• Ryan Nicholas was also the recipient of the 2014 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 dozen games.
• He is averaging 22.1 minutes over that span and shooting 55 percent from the field, including 12-of-19 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 has scored season highs of nine and 12 points in each of the last two games.
• Freshman F Gabe Taylor was pressed into more court time on Thursday following Barker's injury and Gerun's foul trouble. The Portland native responded with a season-high 12 points in 26 minutes of action.
• Taylor led Valley Catholic School to consecutive Oregon 3A State Titles playing under former Pilot assistant coach, Joel Sobotka.
• 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 24 three-pointers made this season and is shooting 41 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.