Portland Pilots (4-4) vs. Boise State (4-4)Date: Saturday, December 5, 2015
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Video: TheW.tvRadio: 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT)Live Stats: PortlandPilots.comPortland vs. Boise State Series Overall: 7-7
At UP: 3-3
At BSU: BSU leads 4-3
Neutral: UP leads 1-0
Last 1: BSU 92, UP 70 (Dec. 7, 2012 at Boise)
THIS WEEK • The Pilots return to the Chiles Center to host Boise State on Saturday at 7 p.m.
• Portland will recognize longtime voice of the Pilots, Bill Johnson, prior to tip-off. Johnson unexpectedly passed away on Nov. 29 after serving as the voice of the Pilots for 23 years over three different stints.
TICKET INFORMATION• Single-game tickets for Saturday's game start at $12 for adults and $6 for kids. Tickets can be purchased through all Ticketmaster outlets or at the door.
• Season tickets, mini packs, and group packs are still available for the 2015-16 season.
Click here for ticket package options and pricing.
PROMOTIONS• Pre-Game Pasta will return to the Chiles Center mezzanine this season. $8 provides all you can eat pasta, salad, desserts and snacks beginning one hour prior to tip-off.
• The Pilot Club space on the south mezzanine will remain open from one hour prior to tip-off through the 12-minute mark of the second half for all regular season games this season. Pilot Club members will have open access to the space and will receive one free beverage of choice per game. A Pilot Club Gameday Pass is available for $5 for non-Pilot Club members. The pass will include one free drink token that can be used for beer or soda on that date. The space will be open to all ages and have beverage service start-to-finish. Re-entry will be allowed throughout the game and snacks will be provided after tip-off.
• For a complete list of promotional events for the upcoming season,
click here.
GAME COVERAGE• The game will be broadcast live on TheW.tv with Travis Demers and Bill Krueger calling the action.
• 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 play-by-play.
• Online audio simulcasts are available via 910 ESPN-Portland and live stats will be available at PortlandPilots.com.
ABOUT THE PILOTS • The Pilots (4-4) pulled out a 78-72 victory on the road against crosstown rival Portland State on Wednesday. Sophomore PG Alec Wintering scored a season-high 21 points, along with six rebounds, six assists and three steals.
• Portland previously split four games as part of the Corpus Christi Coastal Challenge, routing Abilene Christian (87-57) and Alcorn State (97-65) in hosted games, before dropping a pair in Corpus Christi to Colorado State (90-74) and Southern Illinois (80-79).
• Portland had two shots in the final five seconds against Southern Illinois, but both missed. Senior G Bryce Pressley had a team-high 18 points, while Wintering added 12 points and 10 assists for his first double-double of the season.
• Portland ranks fifth nationally in three-pointers made per game (11.3), 14th in steals per game (9.5) and 28th in three-point percentage (.405). The Pilots lead the WCC three-pointers made and steals.
• Portland is attempting 27.8 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.
• Wintering, a three-year starter and Preseason All-WCC selection, is averaging a team-best 13.0 points and leads the WCC in steals (2.5) and ranks second in assists (6.5).
• Pressley, also a three-year starter, is averaging a 12.6 points per game, including 30 in the season opener versus Oregon Tech.
• 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.
• 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 BOISE STATE• The Broncos (4-4) have played a loaded schedule to start the season with three losses to nationally-ranked teams. BSU lost a pair of games to Arizona as well as a hard-fought meeting with Michigan State. The other Bronco loss came on the road to Montana.
• Boise State wins have come against UC Irvine, Northern Arizona, Concordia and Willamette.
• Four Broncos are averaging double-figures led by James Webb III (14.0) and Anthony Drmic (13.9).
• Head coach Leon Rice is in his sixth year at the helm and has led the Broncos to NCAA Tournament appearances in two of the last three years.
• The Broncos went 25-9 last year to tie for the Mountain West Conference title and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
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.
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 straight games. Barreno has started all eight games and leads 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.
CLIMBING THE UP CHARTS• Alec Wintering ranks sixth on Portland's all-time assists chart (361) and is three shy of cracking the top 5. He also is 12th in steals (112) and needs three more to be top 10.
• Four current Pilots rank among the school's top 10 in career three-point percentage: Jason Todd (2nd, .452), Bryce Pressley (5th, .428), Alec Wintering (t7th, .408) and D'Marques Tyson (t7th, .408).
TODD MATCHES CAREER-HIGH IN BACK-TO-BACK GAMES• Sophomore G Jason Todd moved into the starting lineup over the last five games and he has scored a career-high 14 points in each of the last two games.
• Todd was clutch on Wednesday at Portland State, going a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range and making a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to ice the game.
• An elite high school athlete, Todd also pitched in the Little League World Series.
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 fifth nationally in three-pointers made per game (11.3) and 28th in three-point percentage (.405).
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.
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 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.
