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Portland Pilots (8-7, 2-0) at San Francisco Dons (7-5, 1-1)
Date: Thursday, December 31, 2015
Tip-off: 5:00 p.m.
Location: San Francisco, Calif.
Arena: War Memorial at Sobrato Center
Video: TheW.tv
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT)
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com

POR vs. USF Series 
Overall: 27-54
At POR: 17-21
At PEP: 9-30
Neutral: 1-3
Last 1: POR 69, USF 57 (Feb. 5, 2015 at San Francisco)

COMING UP
• Portland looks to remain unbeaten in league play with a pair of West Coast Conference games this week in the Bay Area.
• The Pilots visit San Francisco (7-5, 1-1 WCC) on New Year's Eve for a 5 p.m. tip-off, and then travel to Santa Clara (4-10, 0-2) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
GAME COVERAGE
• Thursday's game will have live video coverage online at TheW.tv
• Saturday is the WCC Game of the Week and will televised live on ROOT Sports NW, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, and Time Warner Cable SportsNet.
• All Pilot games are on the radio on the home of the Pilots, 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT) with a 30-minute pregame show. Jason Brough will call the action on Thursday, while regular play-by-play broadcaster Jason Swygard returns on Saturday.
• Online audio and live stats will be linked at PortlandPilots.com.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots (8-7, 2-0 WCC) has won three straight and four-of-the-last five games following a WCC home sweep of Loyola Marymount (87-60) and Pepperdine (87-79) last week.
• Portland used a 23-0 run late in the first half on Monday to run away from LMU for an 87-60 victory to open league play. Senior G Bryce Pressley drilled seven three-pointers and scored a game-high 25 points in the win.
• The Pilots then led start-to-finish against Pepperdine as junior PG Alec Wintering erupted for a career-high 34 points on just 15 shot attempts. Wintering earned WCC Player of the Week honors for his effort.
• Sophomore G Jason Todd returned to the lineup Monday after missing three games due to a broken nose. He re-joined the starting lineup in Wednesday's win.
• Wintering, a three-year starter and Preseason All-WCC selection, is averaging a team-best 16.2 points and is second in the WCC in steals (1.8) and ranks fourth in assists (5.9).
• Portland ranks 19th nationally in three-pointers made per game (10.0) and 44th in three-point percentage (.389). The Pilots rank second in the WCC in each of those categories as well as blocked shots (4.2), steals (7.8) and turnover margin (+1.7).
• Portland is attempting 25.7 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 11 players averaging 10 or more minutes.
• Pressley, also a three-year starter, is averaging a 13.4 points per game, including 30 in the season opener versus Oregon Tech. Pressley is fifth in the WCC in three-point percentage (.488) and fourth in three-pointers made per game (2.8).
• Reveno returns 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 SAN FRANCISCO
• The Dons (7-5, 1-1) overcame a 19-point first half deficit and pulled out an 89-76 win over Pacific on Wednesday following a 74-52 loss at Saint Mary's to open league play.
• Sophomore PG Devin Watson averages a team-high 19.1 points, while senior G Tim Derksen adds 14.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
• Head coach Rex Walters is in his eighth year at the helm and the Dons were picked to finish seventh in the WCC.
• The Pilots and Dons split last season with each time pulling out road wins. The Dons won by a 89-77 margin in Portland, while the Pilots earned a 69-57 win on the road.

WINTERING NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Alec Wintering earned WCC Player of the Week honors on Dec. 28 after leading the Pilots to a pair of home wins against Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine last week.
• Wintering averaged 21.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in the two victories, including a career-high 34 points against Pepperdine.
• He becomes the first Pilot to win the weekly honor since Bryce Pressley on Dec. 23, 2013.

BARRENO ON THE BOARDS
• Junior C Ray Barreno has matched a season high with nine rebounds in each of the last two games.
• Barreno, who has started all 15 games in his first year with the Pilots, is averaging a team-best 13.7 rebounds per 40 minutes.

LMU VICTORY LARGEST MARGIN SINCE 2010
• Portland's 87-60 win over LMU Monday night was the largest margin of victory for the Pilots against a WCC opponent since a 79-39 defeat of LMU on Jan. 21, 2010.
• The Pilots trailed 19-11 early, but used a 23-0 run to take the lead and held the Lions without a field goal for 9:02 late in the first half.

DEFENSE AND REBOUNDING PICKING UP
• After struggling in the defense and rebounding departments early in the season, the Pilots have improved drastically as the season has progressed.
• Portland has held 4-of-the-last-6 opponents below 40 percent shooting from the field and has a +5.7 rebounding margin over that same span.
• During Coach Reveno's tenure, the Pilots have had positive rebounding margins in 8-of-the-last-9 seasons, with the lone exception being in 2011-12 (-0.4).

BALANCED EFFORT
• The Pilots have 11 players averaging 10 minutes or more per game this season and that balance was on display Monday night.
• Sophomore G Jason Todd played a team-high 24 minutes in his return from injury. Despite leading scorer Alec Wintering getting in early foul trouble, Portland's bench ignited a 23-0 run late in the first half and racked up a 38-25 margin in bench points.

PRESSLEY IMPRESSES
• Senior G Bryce Pressley finished each of the last two seasons among the top five in the WCC in three-point field goal percentage and he is on pace for three straight.
• Pressley opened the season with a career-high 30 points and eight three-pointers against Oregon Tech.
• He scorched LMU on Monday with seven three-pointers and 25 points and followed with 15 points and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc against Pepperdine.
• The son of former NCAA Champion at Villanova and NBA guard Harold Pressley, Bryce is closing in on 1,000 career points. He currently has 835 career points, but his value has been in his versatility.
• Pressley ranks third in UP history for three-point percentage (.432), ninth in three-pointers made (134), 13th in assists (271), 19th in career steals (93) and 21st in blocked shots (40).

CLIMBING THE UP CHARTS
• Alec Wintering has moved into fifth place on UP's all-time assists chart (397), 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 cracked the top 10 in steals (119) earlier this season.
• Three current Pilots rank among the school's top six in career three-point percentage: Bryce Pressley (3rd, .432), Jason Todd (4th, .430) and Alec Wintering (6th, .416).

TODD RETURNS AND CONTRIBUTES
• Sophomore G Jason Todd missed three games due to injury before providing a spark off the bench and playing a team-high 24 minutes in the win over LMU.
• Todd had started eight consecutive games and recorded back-to-back career-highs of 14 points against Southern Illinois and Portland State prior to the injury.
• He returned to the starting lineup on Wednesday and finished with nine points and four rebounds.
• An elite high school athlete, Todd also pitched in the Little League World Series.

LATE GAME STRUGGLES
• Portland has lost a few games this season in the closing seconds. The Pilots had two shots to win before the buzzer in an 80-79 loss to Southern Illinois, but both missed.
• Idaho State got a tip-in in the closing seconds for a 66-65 win over the Pilots, while Weber State hit contested three-pointer with 0.8 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, which they would go on to win by a 92-82 margin.
• Portland also was tied with Boise State with 5:15 remaining, but suffered a nearly four-minute scoring drought in the 81-71 loss.

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 six games. Barreno has started all 15 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.

MEMORIAL SERVICE ANNOUNCED FOR BILL JOHNSON
• 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.
• A memorial service has been scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 4 p.m. at the Chapel of Christ the Teacher on the UP campus. A reception will be held following the service at the Bauccio Commons and both events are open to the public.
• 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.

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.
• 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.
• An elite student, Smoyer is currently the senior class President and a has been admitted to the University of Portland Shiley School of Engineering.

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.
• 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.