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Portland Pilots (3-4) at Portland State Vikings (3-2)Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Stott Center (1,500)
Video: GoViks.comRadio: 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT)Live Stats: GoViks.com Series Information
Overall: UP leads 35-17
At UP: 23-9
At PSU: 10-7
Neutral: 2-1
Last: UP 83, PSU 71 (Dec. 3, 2015 at the Chiles Center)
THIS WEEK • The Pilots visit crosstown rival Portland State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Stott Center and then return to the Chiles Center to host Boise State on Saturday at 7 p.m.
GAME COVERAGE• Radio coverage for both games will be on the home of the Pilots, 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT) with a 30-minute pregame show. Jason Swygard will call both games this week.
• Online audio simulcasts are available via 910 ESPN-Portland.
• Wednesday's gave will have live video coverage on GoViks.com, while Saturday's game will have full broadcast courtesy of TheW.tv with Travis Demers and Bill Krueger calling the action.
• Live stats for both games will have links available at PortlandPilots.com.
ABOUT THE PILOTS • The Pilots (3-4) won both of their hosted matches last week as part of the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic defeating Abilene Christian (87-57) and Alcorn State (97-65) at the Chiles Center. The trip to Corpus Christi wasn't as nice as Colorado State dealt the Pilots a 90-74 loss and then Southern Illinois held on for an 80-79 victory.
• Portland had two shots in the final five seconds on Saturday against Southern Illinois, but both missed. Senior G Bryce Pressley had a team-high 18 points, while junior PG Alec Wintering added 12 points and 10 assists for his first double-double of the season.
• In Friday's loss to Colorado State, the Pilots struggled to 36 percent shooting including 12-of-40 from three-point range.
• Portland ranks third nationally in three-pointers made per game (11.9), ninth in steals per game (9.9) and 25th in three-point percentage (.415). The Pilots lead the WCC three-pointers made and steals.
• Portland is attempting 28.6 three-pointers per game, including 40 against Colorado State. That broke the previous Pilot single-game record of 34 attempts.
• Portland has played up-tempo with a lot of new faces on the roster. The team attempted 80 field goals against UC Davis, the most since the team hoisted 84 on Nov. 25, 2001 against Duke.
• Pressley is averaging a team-high 13.6 points per game, including 30 in the season opener versus Oregon Tech.
• Wintering, a two-year starter and Preseason All-WCC selection, is averaging 11.9 points and leads the WCC in steals (2.4) and ranks second in assists (6.6).
• Head coach Eric Reveno returns an experienced backcourt and seven lettermen from a 2014-15 squad that finished 17-16 overall and earned an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
• The Pilots were picked fifth in the West Coast Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, while Wintering was named to the 10-player Preseason All-WCC Team.
• Wintering earned All-WCC second team honors last year after averaging 12.3 points and 5.7 assists per game. He ranked third in the league in both assists and three-point percentage (.449), fifth in steals (1.5), and ninth in free throw percentage (.794).
• Pressley, a two-year starter like Wintering, ranks fourth in Portland career three-point field goal percentage (.426). He and Wintering are co-captaining the Pilots this season.
ABOUT PORTLAND STATE• The Vikings (3-2) have lost a pair of road games to Grand Canyon and Nevada, while posting wins over Texas Rio Grande Valley, Pacific Lutheran and Multnomah.
• A pair of high-major transfers in Cameron Forte (Georgia) and Calaen Robinson (Arizona State) have been immediate contributors this season. Forte leads the Viks in scoring at 22.4 points per game, while Robinson chips in 11.0 per game.
• Benson HS native Bryce White adds 12.0 points, while JC transfer Isaiah Pineiro chips in 9.4 points and 7.6 rebounds.
• Head coach Tyler Geving is in his seventh year at the helm and has led PSU to back-to-back winning seasons. The Viks finished last year 15-14 overall.
• The Vikings are a member of the Big Sky Conference and were picked to finish sixth in the preseason coaches poll.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLUFF• Junior F Jarrel Marshall, along with junior C Ray Barreno, are incoming JC transfers that have contributed immediately. Marshall has upped his scoring output every successive game after missing the UC Davis game with an ankle sprain, while Barreno has started all seven games and is second on the team in rebounds.
• The Pilots added five true freshmen to the roster, including local standout Jazz Johnson (Lake Oswego HS). Johnson broke the prestigious Les Schwab Invitational scoring record last winter by averaging 35.0 points over four games.
• Rashad Jackson (Bakersfield, Calif./Garces Memorial HS/IMPACT Academy) scored more than 2,100 points as a four-year prep standout and then spent last year training at the IMPACT Academy in Las Vegas.
• Colin Russell (Folsom, Calif./Folsom HS) led his high school to the 2014 Nor Cal State Title and consecutive Section Division titles.
• Xavier Hallinan (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic HS) was a two-sport prep standout in basketball and football and joins the Pilots as a walk-on.
• Chier Maker (Sydney, Australia/Newington College) is redshirting the 2015-16 season and will have four years of eligibility remaining beginning next season.
TRAGIC LOSS: LONGTIME VOICE OF THE PILOTS PASSES AWAY• William "Bill" Johnson, the radio play-by-play voice of the University of Portland's men's basketball program for 23 years, died of heart failure on Sunday, Nov. 29 at the age of 71.
• His distinguished broadcasting career spanned six decades and included various radio and TV positions in the Portland market. He served as the basketball play-by-play voice at various times throughout his career with the Oregon, Linfield, Lewis & Clark and Sonoma State. He also was with the Portland Trail Blazers from 1974-76. Johnson's football play-by-play experience included time with Oregon, Portland State and Lewis & Clark College and most recently with Linfield College.
• Johnson had three stints with the Pilots, first with the 1977-78 team and then a 16-year run from 1986-01 which included Portland's run to the 1996 NCAA Tournament. He re-joined the Pilots for the last six seasons.
• Portland will have a special pre-game recognition honoring Johnson prior to Saturday night's tip-off against Boise State. Memorial service details have not yet been announced.
BACK AMONG THE NATIONAL THREE-POINT LEADERS• Portland was the best three-point shooting teams in the nation over a three-year period from 2009-11. That stretch included 2010 NCAA Three-Point Champion Jared Stohl and Pilot career three-point percentage leader T.J. Campbell.
• Many single-game records from that span are in danger as Portland has a plethora of three-point shooters this season.
• Portland currently ranks third nationally in three-pointers made per game (11.2) and 25th in three-point percentage (.415).
• Four current Pilots rank among the school's top 10 in career three-point percentage: Jason Todd (3rd, .431), Bryce Pressley (5th, .426), Alec Wintering (6th, .423) and D'Marques Tyson (9th, .402).
FAMILIAR FACES ON THE BENCH• Head Coach Eric Reveno picked up a pair of his former players to join the coaching staff this offseason. Mitch Johnson, a former Stanford point guard, comes on as an assistant coach, while former Pilot center Kramer Knutson also joined the staff as director of basketball operations.
• The duo joins assistants Eric Jackson (10th year) and Colin Pfaff (4th year) on the sidelines, while director of technology Tim Grass returns for his second season.
PILOTS SIGN LOCAL CENTER TO NLI • Portland announced that 6-10 center Joseph Smoyer (Portland, Ore./Franklin HS) signed a National Letter of Intent and will join the Pilots next season.
• Smoyer has started for the Quakers each of the last three seasons earning All-Portland Interscholastic League First Team honors last season. He was honorable mention all-league in both his freshman and sophomore seasons.
• An elite student, Smoyer is currently the senior class President and a has been admitted to the University of Portland Shiley School of Engineering.
• Smoyer joins previous signee Alec Monson to comprise the Class of 2016. Monson signed in 2014 and will return from a two-year church mission next season.
PORTSIDE WITH THE PILOTS ON COMCAST SPORTSNET• Portside with the Pilots is a half-hour monthly show featuring exclusive University of Portland Athletics content on Comcast SportsNet
• The series is hosted by Jamie Hudson and showcases student-athlete profiles, alumni spotlights, top plays, and behind-the-scenes access to Pilot Athletics.
• The show launched last January and the 12th episode is scheduled to air on Tuesday, December 15 at 7:30 p.m.
• All episodes are archived at YouTube.com/PortlandPilots.
PILOTS INK MULTI-YEAR DEAL WITH 910 ESPN-PORTLAND• Portland and Entercom Portland, LLC will continue their men's basketball partnership for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons on 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT). In addition to live coverage of all exhibition, regular season, and postseason games, a weekly one-hour Portland Pilots Basketball Show featuring head coach Eric Reveno will be produced every Monday night at 7 p.m. throughout the basketball season.
