Game Notes (PDF) I Weber State Video I Cal State Fullerton Video I Audio I Stats I Tickets2015 FAR WEST CLASSIC • DECEMBER 18-19 • MODA CENTER
Friday, December 18Portland (5-6) vs. Weber State (5-5), 5:30 p.m.
Oregon State (6-2) vs. Cal State Fullerton (6-3), 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 19Portland (5-6) vs. Cal State Fullerton (6-3), 5:30 p.m.
Oregon State (6-2) vs. Tulsa (7-3), 8:00 p.m.
Portland Pilots (5-6) vs. Weber State Wildcats (5-5)Video: PortlandPilots.com
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT)
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Portland Pilots (5-6) vs. Cal State Fullerton (6-3)Video: PortlandPilots.com
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT)
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
COMING UP• Portland and Oregon State will co-host the Far West Classic on Friday and Saturday at the Moda Center. The Pilots play Weber State on Friday and Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, both at 5:30 p.m., while the Beavers play Cal State Fullerton Friday and Tulsa on Saturday with 8 p.m. tip-offs.
• Tickets are available for both days by visiting
RoseQuarter.com.
• The Pilots will then have a quick turnaround before starting West Coast Conference play by hosting LMU on Monday at 6 p.m. and Pepperdine on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
GAME COVERAGE• Both Pilot games will have video coverage available at PortlandPilots.com.
• Radio coverage will be on the home of the Pilots, 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT) with a 30-minute pregame show. Jason Swygard will call the action both days.
• Online audio simulcasts are available via 910 ESPN-Portland and live stats will be available at PortlandPilots.com.
ABOUT THE PILOTS • The Pilots (5-6) split a pair of home games last week dropping a tough one on Tuesday to Idaho State (66-65) in the closing seconds before rebounding for a quality win against Sacramento State (81-73) on Saturday.
• Junior PG Alec Wintering and sophomore F Gabe Taylor paced the Pilots with 17 points each in Saturday's victory.
• Wintering, a three-year starter and Preseason All-WCC selection, is averaging a team-best 14.2 points and leads the WCC in steals (2.0) and ranks fourth in assists (6.3).
• Portland ranks 23rd nationally in three-pointers made per game (10.2) and 26th in steals per game (8.6). The Pilots lead the WCC steals and are second in threes made, three-point percentage (.386), turnover margin (+2.1) and blocked shots (4.4).
• Portland is attempting 26.4 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.
• Coach Eric Reveno has a deep bench with 10 players averaging 10 or more minutes.
• Senior G Bryce Pressley, also a three-year starter, is averaging a 12.3 points per game, including 30 in the season opener versus Oregon Tech. Pressley is fourth in the WCC in three-point percentage (.491) and fifth in three-pointers made per game (2.5).
• 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.
• 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 and Wintering are co-captaining the Pilots this season.
ABOUT WEBER STATE• The Wildcats (5-5) have lost three straight games away from home by a combined nine total points. Weber State has notable wins over Drake and Murray State and close losses to BYU, Denver, Utah State and Utah Valley.
• Jeremy Senglin is averaging 20.0 points per game and shooting 51 percent from three-point range. Joel Bolomboy adds 17.0 points and 12.2 rebounds per game.
• Head coach Randy Rahe is in his 10th season and has guided Weber State to four Big Sky titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
ABOUT CAL STATE FULLERTON• The Titans (6-3) opened the season with a 6-1 record highlighted by wins over San Diego, Pacific and Nevada. Fullerton has lost twice to LMU and also dropped a game at Washington.
• Four Titans are averaging double figures led by Tre' Coggins (15.2) and former Pepperdine guard Malcom Brooks (13.8).
• Head coach Dedrique Taylor is in his third year at the helm and the Titans are picked to finish eighth in the Big West Preseason Poll.
FAR WEST CLASSIC HISTORY• The Far West Classic began in 1956 hosted by Oregon State at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis. When Memorial Coliseum opened in Portland in 1960, the Far West Classic moved there and quickly became one of the best holiday basketball tournaments in the country.
• The last eight-team tournament was held in 1989 and returned as a two-night, four-team tourney in 1991. The final Far West Classic was held in 1996.
• Portland competed in 10 of the Far West Classics dating back to the 1959-60 season. The Pilots overall record at the event is 9-20.
• Notable players and coaches who participated in the Far West Classic include: Danny Ainge (BYU), Mel Counts (Oregon State), Walter Davis (North Carolina), Dale Ellis (Tennessee), Slats Gill (Oregon State), A.C. Green (Oregon State), Jud Heathcote (Michigan State), Lionel Hollins (Arizona State), Kevin Johnson (California), Magic Johnson (Michigan State), Steve Johnson (Oregon State), Bobby Knight (Indiana), George McGinnis (Indiana), Ralph Miller (Oregon State), Cincy Powell (Portland), Charlie Scott (North Carolina), Charlie Sitton (Oregon State), Jose Slaughter (Portland), Dean Smith (North Carolina) and John Stockton (Gonzaga).
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 honored Johnson prior to tip-off against Boise State on Dec. 5 with a video tribute and moment of silence. Memorial service details will be announced soon.
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.
• Portland currently ranks 23rd nationally in three-pointers made per game (10.2) and is shooting 39 percent from three-point range.
CLIMBING THE UP CHARTS• Alec Wintering has moved into fifth place on UP's all-time assists chart (378), while his career average of 5.3 per game tops in school history. He trails Dionn Holton (1995-99, 462) in fourth place, while Darwin Cook (1977-81, 573) is the all-time leader.
• Wintering also is 12th in steals (114) and needs one more to crack the top 10.
• Four current Pilots rank among the school's top 11 in career three-point percentage: Jason Todd (3rd, .438), Bryce Pressley (5th, .427), Alec Wintering (7th, .412) and D'Marques Tyson (11th, .389).
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.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLUFF• Junior F Jarrel Marshall, along with junior C Ray Barreno, are incoming JC transfers that have contributed immediately. Marshall missed the UC Davis game with a sprained ankle, but has come back and reached double figures in four of the last seven games. Barreno has started all 11 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. He earned his first start Saturday vs. Sacramento State.
• 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.
TODD MISSED LAST GAME• Sophomore G Jason Todd had started eight consecutive games and recorded back-to-back career-highs of 14 points against Southern Illinois and Portland State earlier this year. Todd missed Saturday's game against Sacramento State due to injury and is questionable for this weekend's games.
• An elite high school athlete, Todd also pitched in the Little League World Series.
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.
PILOTS ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP WITH COMCAST SPORTSNET• Portland and Comcast SportsNet announced a partnership that will televise eight upcoming Pilot events, including the Jan. 28 men's basketball game versus San Francisco.
• Three women's basketball games and four baseball games will also be aired.
• This is in addition to the monthly 30-minute show, 'Portside with the Pilots' which 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 aired 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.
