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Portland Pilots (8-11, 2-4) vs BYU Cougars (13-5, 4-1)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016
Tip-off: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
TV: ROOT Sports, CSN CA
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT)
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com

Portland vs. BYU Series
Overall: 1-13
At POR: 1-5
At BYU: 0-7
Neutral: 0-1
Last 1: BYU 84, POR 70 (March 9, 2015 in Las Vegas)

COMING UP
• Portland looks for a home split when the BYU Cougars visit the Chiles Center on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Pilots dropped an 82-71 decision to San Diego on Thursday and have lost four straight, while BYU knocked off No. 25 Gonzaga, 69-68, Thursday on the road.
• Members of the 1995-96 UP men's basketball team will be at Saturday's game as part of a 20-year anniversary celebration of the Pilots last NCAA Tournament appearance. The group will be recognized in the first half of the game and a video tribute will be played at halftime. There will also be a post-game autograph zone with the Pilots.

GAME COVERAGE
• The game will be televised live on ROOT Sports and CSN California with Tom Glasgow and Francis Williams providing the commentary. The game will be streamed live on TheW.tv and ESPN3 for out of region viewers.
• All Pilot games are on the radio on the home of the Pilots, 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT) with a 30-minute pregame show and Jason Swygard calling the action. Online audio and live stats will be available at PortlandPilots.com.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots (8-11, 2-4 WCC) have lost four straight after Thursday's 82-71 loss to the San Diego Toreros at the Chiles Center.
• Junior PG Alec Wintering scored a team-high 23 points, but struggled to 5-of-15 shooting from the field. Senior G Bryce Pressley added 20 points in the loss.
• Wintering earlier became the first player in Portland history with consecutive 30-point games. He finished with 31 points at San Francisco, including 15-of-15 at the foul line. He was previously named the WCC Player of the Week after dropping a career-high 34 against Pepperdine on Dec. 23.
• Wintering, a three-year starter and Preseason All-WCC selection, is averaging a team-best 17.9 points and is second in the WCC in steals (1.7) and ranks fifth in assists (5.7). His 23.2 points per game in WCC play ranks second to Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer.
• Portland ranks 24th nationally in three-pointers made per game (9.4). The Pilots lead the WCC steals (7.8) and rank second in three-pointers made and turnover margin (+2.4)
• Portland is attempting 25.5 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.
• Pressley, also a three-year starter, is averaging a career-best 14.3 points per game, including 30 in the season opener versus Oregon Tech. Pressley is fifth in three-point percentage (.429) and sixth in the WCC in three-pointers made per game (2.5).
• 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.

ABOUT BYU
• The Cougars (13-5, 4-1 WCC) picked up a big 69-68 win at Gonzaga on Thursday behind 20 points from senior G Kyle Collinsworth.
• BYU and Portland had two common non-conference opponents as the Cougars defeated Weber State 73-68 and lost at Colorado, 92-83. BYU's other losses came at Long Beach State, Utah, Saint Mary's and in Hawaii against Harvard.
• Head coach Dave Rose is in his 11th year at BYU.
• BYU defeated the Pilots in all three meetings last season, including an 84-70 win in the WCC Tournament semifinals... Two years ago, the Pilots and Cougars played a triple overtime thriller at the Chiles Center with Portland winning by a 114-110 margin.

1996 NCAA TOURNEY TEAM RETURNS
• Portland's 1995-96 squad that won the WCC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament will be back on campus this weekend celebrating its 20-year anniversary.
• The team finished 19-11 and defeated Gonzaga in the WCC Finals, avenging a loss to the Bulldogs in the 1995 tourney title game.
• The Pilots were bounced in the NCAA first round by nationally-ranked Villanova with star guard and future NBA standout, Kerry Kittles.
• Members of the team and support staff will have a pregame luncheon and then be recognized during the first half on Saturday.

WINTERING IS COMING
• Earlier in WCC play Alec Wintering became the first Pilot with back-to-back 30-point games in school history.
• The Concord, N.C. native scored a career-high 34 points against Pepperdine on Dec. 23 to earn WCC Player of the Week honors. That was followed by erupting for 31 points, four rebounds, four assists and zero turnovers against San Francisco on Dec. 31.
• Wintering was a perfect 15-of-15 from the free throw line against USF, falling one short of the school record for free throws without a miss in a single game (Rick Raivio, 16-16, Jan. 5, 1980 vs. San Francisco).
• He is averaging 26.2 points over the last five games and has scored 20 or more points seven times this season.
• Wintering's 23.2 points per game in WCC play is second to only Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer.

FREE THROW STRUGGLES SUBSIDE
• Portland entered its Dec. 31 game at San Francisco shooting just 64.3 percent from the free throw line as a team.
• The Pilots made their first 17 attempts of the game and finished 25-of-28 overall. UP followed by making 22-of-28 against Santa Clara, 18-of-21 at Gonzaga, and 19-of-25 against San Diego.
• Alec Wintering, who was shooting a career-low 67 percent entering the USF game has now made all 43-of-his-last-45 attempts and now sits at 76.3 percent.

A HIGH-SCORING AFFAIR
• Portland's 62 first half points score against San Francisco is the highest scoring half against a Division I opponent in school history, matching the school record set against Southern Oregon on Dec. 9, 1995.
• The 107 points allowed against San Francisco are the most for Portland since giving up 110 in a 114-110 win over BYU in triple overtime on Jan. 13, 2014.
• It is the first 100-point game allowed in regulation since San Francisco beat the Pilots 104-70 on Jan. 12, 2012 and the most allowed in regulation since a 109-88 defeat by Pepperdine on Jan. 19, 2002.

JOHNSON BREAKS OUT
• Freshman PG Jazz Johnson scored a season high 22 points against San Francisco, eclipsing his previous high of 14 scored against Oregon Tech in the season opener.
• He was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 at the foul line for 14 first half points.
• Johnson was a high-scoring prep player out of Lake Oswego High School in Lake Oswego, Ore. He broke the prestigious Les Schwab Invitational tournament scoring record by averaging 35.0 points per game over four games.

TYSON PROVIDES INSTANT OFFENSE
• Sophomore G D'Marques Tyson has provided instant offense coming off the bench all season long. That continued when Tyson drilled all four of his first half three-point attempts at San Francisco and finished with 12 points.
• He also finished with 12 points, including 3-of-5 from downtown, at Santa Clara.
• Tyson scored 12 first half points against UC Davis and then drilled four first-half three-pointers for 12 more two days later at Colorado.
• He buried four more first half threes in a route of Alcorn State at home as well.
• Tyson's 20.5 points per 40 minutes are second on the Pilot roster to Wintering (23.7).

LATE GAME STRUGGLES
• Portland has lost a few games this season with late-game struggles with its Bay Area road losses two weeks ago adding to the tally. Portland led by 15 late at San Francisco, but went scoreless over the final 3:40 as the Dons were able to pull away.
• Portland led 61-60 with 8:06 left at Santa Clara, but went just 2-for-14 from the field the rest of the game in the loss.
• The Pilots had two shots to win before the buzzer in an 80-79 loss to Southern Illinois at the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic, 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.

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 ranks fifth this year.
• Pressley opened the season with a career-high 30 points and eight three-pointers against Oregon Tech. He also scorched LMU 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 Villanova NCAA Champion and NBA guard Harold Pressley, Bryce is closing in on 1,000 career points. He currently has 905 career points, but his value has been in his versatility.
• Pressley ranks fourth in UP history for three-point percentage (.417), tied for seventh in three-pointers made (140), 12th in assists (278), 17th in career steals (103) and 19th in blocked shots (42).

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.

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.
 
CLIMBING THE UP CHARTS
• Alec Wintering has moved into fifth place on UP's all-time assists chart (416), 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 (125) earlier this season and ranks eighth.
• Four current Pilots rank among the school's top 11 in career three-point percentage: Bryce Pressley (4th, .417), Alec Wintering (6th, .412), Jason Todd (7th, .406) and D'Marques Tyson (11th, .387).

PILOTS REMEMBER LONGTIME RADIO ANNOUNCER, 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 in Bill's honor took place on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at the Chapel of Christ the Teacher on the UP campus. The entire Pilots team, coaching staff, school administrators, family and friends paid their respects.
• 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.
• 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.