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Portland Pilots (10-19, 2-14 WCC) vs. BYU Cougars (19-10, 10-6 WCC)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
TV: ROOT Sports RM, CSN California
Video: TheW.tv
Radio: 910-ESPN Portland
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Tickets: PortlandPilots.com/Tickets

GAME INFORMATION
The Pilots will conclude a four-game homestand on Thursday night when the BYU Cougars visit for Senior Night. Portland will honor its three graduating seniors prior to the 7 p.m. tip-off. The game will be televised live on ROOT Sports Northwest with Tom Glasgow and Francis Williams on the call. All Pilot games will have radio coverage on 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT) with Jason Swygard calling the play-by-play. Coverage starts 30 minutes prior to tip-off and will have a complete post-game show.
 
TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
Tickets Thursday's final home game are available at PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or by calling the Pilot Box Office at (503) 943-7525. A halftime paper airplane toss promotion sponsored by Waste Management will net one lucky fan a $500 flight voucher.

LAST GAME
Pilots 96, Walla Walla 58: All eleven active players scored as the Pilots routed Walla Walla Monday night in non-conference action. Jazz Johnson and Gabe Taylor scored 13 apiece, while Xavier Hallinan and D'Marques Tyson added 12 each to lead the Pilots. The game against the NAIA Wolves was added to the schedule to make up for Portland's game at Boise State that was cancelled earlier this season. The Pilots shot 52 percent from the field and held the Wolves to 33 percent overall. Portland raced out to a 56-31 halftime lead and pushed the margin to as much as 41 in the second half. Philipp Hartwich scored eight points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Freshman Alec Monson played a season-high nine minutes off the bench and scored his first collegiate points. He drilled back-to-back three-pointers and made a driving layup on three straight possessions late to finish with eight points. The Pilots used their size to gain a 49-30 rebounding margin, 46-14 edge in points in the paint and 16-4 margin in second chance points. Portland also forced 15 turnovers while committing just eight.

PILOT QUICK HITS
• Portland snapped a 14-game losing streak with Monday's 96-58 win over Walla Walla. The game was added to the schedule to replace the Boise State game in December that was postponed due to inclement weather.
• Junior C Philipp Hartwich blocked three shots on Monday and now is second in the WCC in blocked shots per game (1.7) and fifth in UP's career record books (85).
• Portland has struggled offensively, but the team's defense has been solid of late. Over the last seven games, the Pilots are holding teams to just 37.7 percent shooting and 64.1 points per game.
• UP was dealt a major setback when an MRI confirmed that senior PG Alec Wintering suffered a torn ACL on Jan. 19 at San Francisco. He will miss the rest of the season.
• Wintering was among the conference and national leaders in a variety of statistical categories and litters Portland's all-time charts. He concludes his career as the all-time leader in FT's made, second in assists and steals, and fifth in scoring.
• Freshman C Joseph Smoyer suffered a knee injury in practice two weeks ago and is also expected to miss the remainder of the season.
• Sophomore G Jazz Johnson has reached double figures in all 29 games this season. He ranks third in the WCC in FT percentage and seventh in both scoring and three-point percentage.
• Wintering and Johnson had comprised the highest scoring teammates in the WCC (36.4), the No. 9 scoring backcourt in the nation and No. 15 scoring tandem overall at the time of Wintering's injury.
• Portland's 53-45 win over Oregon State on Dec. 18 was the first against a Pac-12 opponent since the 2009-10 season (Oregon and UCLA) and snapped a four-game losing streak to the Beavers.
• The Pilots are 2-2 in games decided in the final possession. Portland defeated UTRGV in triple OT on a layup by Jazz Johnson and beat South Dakota on a Gabe Taylor three-pointer. Portland lost to Portland State and then LMU on shots in the closing seconds.
• Portland's four-player 2017 recruiting class has been ranked No. 17 nationally by The Hoop Scoop, tops among all mid-majors.
• First-year head coach Terry Porter took over the program in April and hired an experienced collegiate staff to support his transition in long-time Pac-12 assistants Bob Cantu (USC) and Ben Johnson (WSU).
• The Pilots return five of their top six scorers from last year's team that finished 12-20 overall and 6-12 in the WCC. The Pilots were picked eighth in the WCC Preseason Poll.
• Porter welcomes five newcomers to the roster in true freshmen Andre Ferguson, Alec Monson, Malcolm Porter and Joseph Smoyer, as well as sophomore transfer Franklin Porter (Saint Mary's). Malcolm and Franklin Porter are redshirting the 2016-17 season.
 
ABOUT BYU
The Cougars (19-10, 10-6 WCC) sit alone in third place in the WCC standings after dropping a 70-57 home decision to No. 21 Saint Mary's on Saturday. BYU is led by sophomore C Eric Mika who leads the WCC rebounding (9.3) and is second overall in scoring (20.5). Guards T.J. Haws (14.2) and Nick Emery (13.0) also average double figures as the Cougars are the second highest scoring team in the WCC at 77.6 points per game. Head coach Dave Rose is in his 12th year at BYU and led the Cougars to the NIT last season. BYU was picked to finish third in the WCC Preseason Poll. In the previous meeting between the Pilots and BYU in Provo, Utah on Feb. 4, Portland led much of the game, but was outscored 18-1 over the final five minutes in a 73-62 loss.

SENIOR NIGHT
Portland seniors Ray Barreno, Jarrel Marshall and Alec Wintering will be recognized prior to tip-off on Thursday as part of Senior Night. Barreno and Marshall are both finishing their second seasons on The Bluff after transferring from junior colleges, while Wintering will go down as one of Portland's all-time greats after serving four years as the team's starting point guard.

TAYLOR EARNS ACADEMIC HONORS
Junior F Gabe Taylor was named WCC All-Academic honorable mention on Wednesday. It is the second year in a row that Taylor was an honoree. Taylor has a 3.24 cumulative grade-point average and is majoring in economics.

HARTWICH BLOCK PARTY
Junior C Philipp Hartwich has blocked three shots or more in each of the last four games and ranks second in the WCC in blocked shots per game (1.7). The Cologne, Germany native also moved into fifth place on Portland's career blocked shots charts on Monday with 85. He trails Luke Sikma (2007-11) by three, while Portland's career record of 121 is held by Thomas van der Mars (2011-15).

HALLINAN THRIVES IN RARE OPPORTUNITY
Sophomore walk-on Xavier Hallinan has started the last three games and scored a career-best 12 points in his starting debut last Thursday against Pacific. He scored Portland's first six points off of a three-pointer and three free throws. Hallinan made the most of his opportunity at LMU on Feb. 11 by playing a then-career high 21 minutes and making plays late. A former two-sport standout in football and basketball at Central Catholic HS, he had played a total of 32 total minutes in his career prior to that contest. With the Pilots struggling to handle LMU's pressure, head coach Terry Porter called on Hallinan late in the first half and he responded with great poise. Porter played Hallinan 18 second half minutes where he made a pair of layups late to pull the Pilots within one possession. He is averaging 10.7 points in three games since joining the rotation.

SMOYER OUT FOR THE SEASON WITH KNEE INJURY
The injury bug continues to bite the Pilots as promising freshman post Joseph Smoyer suffered a knee injury two weeks ago in practice and is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season.

JACKSON STEPS UP
Sophomore G Rashad Jackson has started the last 10 games and is averaging 9.0 points since moving into the rotation. He has scored double figures in four of those games, including a career high 15 points against both Gonzaga on Jan. 23 and at LMU on Feb. 11.

LINEUP ADJUSTMENTS
After using the same starting lineup for eight straight games heading into the Jan. 12 game against Saint Mary's, head coach Terry Porter has been forced to mix up the rotation due to various injuries. In addition to Wintering, Phillip Hartwich missed the Jan. 14 game versus LMU with a concussion. Jarrel Marshall has battled a high ankle sprain and missed 13 games. Porter has used nine different starting lineups over the last 16 games. Jazz Johnson and Gabe Taylor are the only players to start every game this year.

WINTERING SUFFERS SEASON-ENDING KNEE INJURY
Senior PG Alec Wintering suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Jan. 19 game at San Francisco. An MRI confirmed a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) that will end Wintering's collegiate career. He had successful surgery completed on Feb. 8 in Portland. The Charlotte, N.C. native was a four-year starter for the Pilots, among the school's career leaders in a variety of statistical categories and has been a team captain each of the last three seasons. Wintering finishes his career with 568 total assists, five shy of the school record held by Pilot Hall of Famer and former NBA standout Darwin Cook. He also ranks second all-time in steals (177), fifth in points (1,548) and games started (110), fifth in three-point percentage (.401) and is the school's career leader in free throws made (499). He holds the school single season records for assists (187, 2014-15) and minutes played (1,064, 2014-15). His scoring average increased every year on The Bluff as he averaged 14.1 points and 5.2 assists overall for his career. Wintering was among the national leaders in scoring, assists, steals and minutes per game this season. He ranked in the top three of each of those categories in the West Coast Conference.

JOHNSON THRIVING IN BREAKOUT ROLE
Sophomore G Jazz Johnson played primarily the backup point guard role last year, and will now take on a greater share of point guard minutes with Wintering out. Johnson thrived in starting alongside Wintering and is second on the team and seventh in the WCC in scoring (15.8) and shooting 45 percent from the field, 42 percent from three-point range and 80 percent at the foul line. He is third in the WCC in free throw percentage and seventh in three-point percentage. Johnson was an elite prep scorer at Lake Oswego High School, setting the prestigious Les Schwab Invitational scoring record after averaging 35.5 points per game at the tournament his senior season.

OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES
Portland entered its Jan. 5 game at Santa Clara ranked third in the WCC in scoring at 77.8 points per game. The Pilots then recorded back-to-back season lows in scoring with 42 points at Santa Clara and 33 against Saint Mary's. Portland has struggled to adjust to the loss of Wintering offensively. With Wintering in the lineup, the Pilots scored 65 or less points in just 5-of-18 games. Portland has been held to 65 or less in 10-of-11 games since his injury.

TAYLOR BLOSSOMING IN EXTENDED ROLE
Gabe Taylor was named the WCC Player of the Week on Dec. 19 after leading the Pilots to wins over South Dakota and Oregon State. Taylor buried the game-winning three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left against South Dakota for an 85-82 Pilot win. It was his second straight game-winner as he also tipped in a rebound to give the Pilots a 90-89 double overtime win with two seconds left on Dec. 5 against UTRGV. Taylor recorded his first double-double against South Dakota (22 points, 11 rebounds) and has thrived under new coach Terry Porter. He has reached double figures in scoring 18 times and has scored 20 or more points four times this year. Taylor also grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds on Feb. 11 at LMU.

RECRUITING CLASS RANKED NO. 17 NATIONALLY
The HOOP SCOOP ranked Portland's 2017 recruiting class No. 17 nationally after the fall signing period, tops among all mid-majors nationally. First-year head coach Terry Porter and his staff secured four commitments in the fall with three incoming freshmen and a junior college transfer. According to the HOOP SCOOP's rating system, all four Portland commits are rated among the Top 300 signed players in the nation, while freshmen-to-be Tahirou Diabate (6-10, F, Niigate, Japan) and Taki Fahrensohn (6-5, G, Auckland, N.Z.) crack the Top 100 individually. JoJo Walker (6-1, PG, Santa Maria, CA) and JC transfer Austin Stone (6-9, F, USC Salkehatchie) also received high marks. Portland will also welcome current redshirts Franklin and Malcolm Porter to the rotation next season. The HOOP SCOOP referenced Portland's ability to identify quality international recruits as one of the main reasons that the Pilots have secured an elite recruiting class. Diabate (Japan by way of Mali), Fahrensohn (New Zealand) and JoJo Walker (California by way of Puerto Rico) all will bring international experience to The Bluff.

EXPERIENCED STAFF
Terry Porter indicated his desire to find an experienced coaching staff to help support his transition to the college game and he loaded up with a pair of big name assistants. Bob Cantu, a former USC interim head coach, associate head coach and long-time assistant coach with the Trojans and UTEP, has more than 20 years collegiate coaching experience at various levels. He has coached under four NBA Coaches, coached 14 NBA players and five NBA First Round Draft picks, while helping five teams reach the NCAA Tournament. Considered one of the top recruiters in the nation, Cantu helped land the No. 1 overall class in 2007 at USC. Ben Johnson also has extensive Pac-12 coaching experience and 24 years working the sidelines during his coaching career. Johnson was with Dick and Tony Bennett at Washington State during the program's most winning years. He has coached and recruited four NBA players, including NBA Lottery Pick Klay Thompson. Johnson also brought a pair of Australian National Team players to Wazzu in Brock Motum and Aron Baynes. He helped WSU to the Sweet 16 in 2008 and was also a standout player for Dick Bennett at UW-Green Bay. He helped the Phoenix to the 1991 NCAA Tournament and a pair of NIT appearances. Porter rounded out his coaching staff with a familiar face to Pilot fans in Kramer Knutson. A four-year starter for Portland from 2007-11, Knutson led the Pilots to a top-25 ranking and a program-best 60 wins over his final three seasons. Knutson served as Director of Basketball Operations for Portland last year after a four-year professional playing career in Europe.

COACHES VS. CANCER 3-POINT CHALLENGE
The Portland coaching staff participated in the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers initiative earlier this year. The Pilots are also one of more than 200 schools nationwide participating in the Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge. Visit www.PortlandPilots.com/Challenge or www.3pointchallenge.org for more information on how to donate.

EARLE M. CHILES RECOGNITION
Earle M. Chiles, the lead donor in building the Chiles Center and a generous philanthropist to the University and various other causes, passed away in late-June. The University of Portland honored Earle and the Chiles Foundation with a pregame ceremony prior to its Feb. 2 home game against Santa Clara. All Pilot Athletics teams are wearing an 'EMC' patch on their uniforms this season in remembrance of Mr. Chiles.

TERRY PORTER ERA ARRIVES
Porter, a 17-year NBA veteran and two-time NBA All-Star, spent most of his pro career with the Trail Blazers where he helped lead Portland to a pair of NBA Finals and had his jersey retired. Porter also served as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns, in addition to various assistant coaching positions throughout the league. He was named head coach of the Pilots on April 1, 2016.

PORTER INKS FOUR DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
Portland signed four prospects during the early signing period, three incoming freshmen and a junior college transfer:
- JoJo Walker (Santa Maria, Calif./St. Joseph HS). The 6-1, 170-pound point guard was the CIF Southern Section Division 5A Most Valuable Player after leading St. Joseph High School to the 2016 CIF title. He earned All-Area MVP honors while averaging 18.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
- Taki Fahrensohn (Auckland, New Zealand/Auckland Grammar School). A 6-5, 180-pound combo guard, Fahrensohn averaged 33.6 points over seven games at the 2016 New Zealand Secondary Schools Basketball National Championships. He is a member of the New Zealand Junior Tall Blacks, the country's national youth team.
- Tahirou Diabate (Niigate, Japan/Teikyo Nagaoka HS). At 6-10, 215 pounds he averaged 31 points and 18 rebounds per game last season and helped lead his team to the Okinawa Cup, Japan's High School National Championships. He and was named the Most Valuable Player of the event after leading the tournament in points and rebounds.
- Austin Stone (Lake Wylie, S.C./Clover HS/USC Salkehatchie). The 6-9, 225-pound post was a late bloomer to the game and has become a force down low at the Junior College level. Stone will enroll as a junior next fall.