Portland (1-2) at Cal State Northridge (0-2)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018
Time: 6:00 p.m.
City: Northridge, Calif.
Arena: The Matadome (2,400)
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland
Live Links: Video I Audio I Stats
Series: POR leads 3-1 (Last meeting: POR 96, CSUN 78 (11/27/16)

GAME INFORMATION
Portland continues non-conference play with a road game against the CSUN Matadors on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the Matadome. The Matadors (0-2) have opened the season with a home loss to New Mexico and road defeat at Loyola Marymount. The Pilots will look to even their record after dropping games to Hawai'i and North Texas at the Rainbow Classic last weekend.

GAME COVERAGE
The game will have live video coverage courtesy of BigWest.tv. Radio coverage of all Pilot games is on 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT) with Jason Swygard calling the play-by-play. Live stats and online audio links are available for all games at PortlandPilots.com.

PORTLAND NOTES
• After a season-opening 111-103 shootout win against Multnomah, the Pilots dropped both games at the Rainbow Classic in Hawai'i last weekend. Portland fell to Hawai'i (82-64) on Friday and then North Texas on Saturday (78-73).
• Sophomore PG Marcus Shaver Jr. was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 18.5 points in the two games. Sophomore G JoJo Walker scored a career-high 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting against UNT.
• The Pilots return four starters and six of the team's seven leading scorers from a year ago, including Shaver Jr. who earned WCC All-Freshman Team and league honorable mention honors.
• Shaver Jr. became the first Pilot to earn All-WCC Freshman Team honors since Taishi Ito in 2007 and first UP freshman to garner honorable mention status since Donald Wilson in 2003. He averaged a team-best 12.3 points per game overall and raised that to 12.6 points in league games.
• RS-Jr. G/F Josh McSwiggan also averaged double figures (10.9) last year and led the team in three-pointers made (70), while shooting 43.5 percent from beyond the arc.
• Portland returns four redshirts to the lineup this season in Pittsburgh transfer G Crisshawn Clark, freshmen Hugh Hogland and Takiula Fahrensohn, and junior Xavier Hallinan.
• Five other newcomers join the roster highlighted by 7-foot sophomore Jacob Tryon (East Los Angeles College). The freshmen newcomers include C Theo Akwuba who averaged a triple double with blocked shots in Montgomery, Ala., athletic F Josh Phillips, G Miles Turner, and F Wyatt Watson.
• Injuries have sidelined Clark and Tryon, who were expected to play significant minutes and battle for spots in the starting lineup.
• Former Portland State head coach Tyler Geving has joined the Pilots as an interim assistant coach. Geving, who brings 20-plus years of coaching experience including eight at the helm of the Vikings, will fill in for Kramer Knutson who is on family leave.
• 2018 graduates Philipp Hartwich (Spain) and D'Marques Tyson (Portugal) signed professional contracts and join 10 other former Pilots playing professionally overseas this year.
• Portland signed two players to NLI's this week. 6-2 G Donyae McCaskill (St. Louis, Mo./Vashon HS) and 7-1 F/C Cody Collinsworth (Lindale, Texas/Lindale HS).

ABOUT CSUN
• The Matadors (0-2) lost their season-opener to New Mexico (87-84) at home and then fell by a 79-64 margin at Loyola Marymount.
• RS-Fr. G Lamine Diane has exploded out of the gates and is averaging 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Sophomore G Terell Gomez adds 17.5 points per game.
• The Matadors have forced opponents into 20 turnovers and have racked up 11 steals per game thus far.
• First-year head coach Mark Gottfried has won 401 career games and taken teams to 11 NCAA Tournaments in previous stops at Murray State, Alabama and NC State.
• Portland leads the all-time series against CSUN by a 3-1 margin. The Pilots earned a 96-78 win at the Wooden Legacy in Anaheim in the last meeting on Nov. 27, 2016. This is the first game in the series hosted by CSUN.

HAWAIIAN HOMECOMING
Two Pilots had a homecoming when Portland visited Hawai'i for the Rainbow Classic last weekend. Redshirt freshman C Hugh Hogland was born and raised in Oah'u and a two-sport standout in volleyball and basketball at Iolani School. Sophomore PG Marcus Shaver Jr. lived in Oah'u for a majority of his childhood and still has many family members and friends living in Hawai'i. Shaver earned All-Tournament honors after averaging 18.5 points in the two games, while Hogland scored a season-high eight points against North Texas.

SHAVER JR. CONTINUES WHERE HE LEFT OFF
Freshman PG Marcus Shaver Jr. is one of four players in the WCC averaging 20 or more points per game. Shaver became the first Pilot since Taishi Ito in 2007 to be named to the WCC All-Freshman Team and was the first UP freshman to earn All-WCC honorable mention honors since Donald Wilson in 2003. Shaver's 394 points last year were the third most by a freshman in Portland history.

STRONG START FOR AKWUBA
True freshman C Theo Akwuba earned the opening day start at center and finished with 13 points and seven rebounds against Multnomah. He contributed eight rebounds and three blocked shots Saturday versus North Texas. Akwuba averaged a triple double in Alabama High School basketball as a senior at 11.7 points, 14.1 rebounds and 10.4 blocked shots per game. He ranked No. 2 nationally in blocked shots. An outstanding student, Akwuba is pursuing a computer science degree from the Engineering School at Portland.

McSWIGGAN ERUPTS WITH CAREER-HIGHS
RS-Junior F Josh McSwiggan scored a career-high 37 points on 17-of-25 shooting against Multnomah in the season-opener. Perhaps most impressive about the line is that McSwiggan did all of his damage from inside the arc. Last year he was one of the top three-point shooters in the WCC, but he came into this year looking to be more aggressive going to the hoop. The Loughborough, England native also grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds for his first double-double at Portland.

BUILDING WITH REDSHIRTS
The Pilots have seven players on the active roster this season that have utilized redshirt seasons. Head coach Terry Porter wanted to emphasize player development in his vision of building the program and Portland is one of 10 schools in the nation that has seven or more active redshirt players this year.

WCC SCHEDULE ADJUSTMENTS
The West Coast Conference announced changes to the league schedule, conference tournament and scheduling guidelines for men's basketball this offseason. Moving from an 18-game to a 16-game league schedule is the result of changes adopted by the WCC Presidents' Council as part of the Conference's Men's Basketball Enhancement Plan. Portland will not play at Gonzaga and Saint Mary's will not visit the Chiles Center this year. The top two seeds at the WCC Championships will also receive byes into the semifinals to protect the high seeds late in the season.

FORMER PILOT COACH JACK AVINA, HALL OF FAMER DARWIN COOK HONORED
Portland honored former head coach Jack Avina prior to its first exhibition game of the season with a video tribute and moment of silence. Avina, who racked up a school-record 222 wins during his tenure from 1970-87, passed away on Oct. 4 at the age of 89. The tribute fittingly happened when the Pilots hosted Antelope Valley, coached by former Avina player and Pilot Hall of Famer, Darwin Cook. Cook, who still holds the school records for assists and steals and had an eight-year NBA Career, was also honored prior to tip-off.

HALL OF FAME CIRCUIT
Head coach Terry Porter, a two-time NBA All-Star with his jersey retired by the Portland Trail Blazers, earned some more recognition this offseason. He was inducted this fall into both the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame and the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Porter was a standout for Wisconsin Stevens-Point under legendary head coach Dick Bennett prior to his 17-year NBA career.

PILOTS ADD MORE EXPERIENCE TO COACHING STAFF
Former Portland State head coach Tyler Geving joined the Pilots as an interim assistant coach last month as Kramer Knutson is on family leave. Geving brings 20-plus years of Pacific Northwest coaching experience, including eight seasons as head coach at Portland State from 2009-17 where he won 112 games and led the Vikings to the 2014 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. He also spent four years as the Associate Head Coach of the Vikings from 2005-09, which included a pair of Big Sky Conference titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009.

IT'S ALL IN THE FAMILY
Junior G Franklin Porter and sophomore G Malcolm Porter are both sons of Portland head coach Terry Porter. Franklin began his career at Saint Mary's his freshman year before joining the Pilots, while Malcolm was a local standout at Jesuit High School.

PILOTS IN THE PROS
A total of 12 former Pilots are currently playing professionally overseas: Philipp Hartwich (Huesca, Spain), D'Marques Tyson (Vitoria SC, Portugal), Alec Wintering (Windmills, Holland), Ray Barreno (Soles, Mexico), Thomas van der Mars (Aalstar, Belgium), Volodymyr Gerun (Breogan, Spain), Bryce Pressley (Bondi Ferrara, Italy), Nik Raivio (Bayreuth, Germany), TJ Campbell (Turk Telekom, Turkey), Luke Sikma (ALBA Berlin, German), Taishi Ito (Shiga L-Stars, Japan) and Pooh Jeter (Fujian S., China).

DIVERSE ROSTER WITH INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR

Portland has a diverse roster featuring players from 12 different states or countries. There are three native Oregonians and three Californians, but no other state or territory has more than one player on the roster. Internationally, Portland has players from Mali, New Zealand and England. States represented include Hawaii, Alabama, Arizona, California, Ohio, Idaho, Washington and the US territory of Puerto Rico. Sophomore F Tahirou Diabate is from Mali, but has lived in France, the Canary Islands, and Japan and speaks five languages: Bambara (native), English, French, Spanish and Japanese.

PILOTS SIGN TWO EARLY
Portland signed G Donyae McCaskill (St. Louis, Mo./Vashon HS) and F/C Cody Collinsworth (Lindale, Texas, Lindale HS) to National Letters of Intent on the first day of the early signing period on Nov. 14. Both players will join the Pilots as a freshmen in the fall of 2019. McCaskill (6-3, 185) averaged 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists as a junior for Vashon HS. He helped the Wolverines to a 21-6 overall record, District 4 title, and a trip to the Missouri 4A State Basketball Championships. Vashon won the 4A state title during McCaskill's sophomore season. McCaskill received offers from Creighton, UMKC, Southern Illinois, Missouri State, Southeast Missouri State, and was receiving interest from high-majors before committing to Portland. Collinsworth (7-1, 225) averaged 18.3 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocked shots per game last season for Pilot Point HS. He earned District 9-3A Co-Offensive Player of the Year honors and was named to the All-Texomaland Second Team by the Herald Democrat. The Denton-Record Chronicle selected him as the Area's Defensive Player of the Year. Collinsworth transferred to Lindale High School for his senior season. Collinsworth had offers from TCU, Minnesota, Wright State, Northern Colorado and Northwestern State, while many other high majors showed interest.

PILOTS ON THE TV & RADIO
Portland will have an extensive TV package with a minimum of 10 games aired nationally or regionally. Games will primarily be seen on ROOT Sports NW, while Portland's home game against BYU on Feb. 7 will air on ESPN2 or ESPNU. Visit PortlandPilots.com for complete schedule details and full TV listings. Pilot games will once again have live radio coverage on 910 ESPN-Portland with Jason Swygard calling the action. Each broadcast will feature a 30-minute pregame show and complete post-game coverage. The Terry Porter Show will air also air each Monday night (barring travel/game conflicts) throughout the season from 7-8 PM.

LAST GAME RECAP
North Texas 78, Pilots 73 (Nov. 10): North Texas remained undefeated with a hard-fought victory over the Portland Pilots on Saturday night at the Rainbow Classic. Sophomore guard JoJo Walker scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Pilots (1-2). Walker converted 9-of-11 field goal attempts and 4-of-5 from three-point range. Sophomore guard Marcus Shaver Jr. added 17 points and was named to the Rainbow Classic All-Tournament Team. The Mean Green provided a tough test, coming off a CBI Postseason tournament title and 20-win season last year. Walker scored 17 second half points to carry Portland back from a double-digit deficit. He scored nine straight points and then Franklin Porter drilled a corner three-pointer to cut the margin to 60-57 with 7:00 remaining. Hugh Hogland's putback then made it a 61-59 deficit. Portland once again was within one possession after a Josh McSwiggan three-point play to make it 65-62 with 4:37 remaining, but UNT was able to keep it a two possession game the rest of the way. Zachary Simmons scored a game-high 23 points for the Mean Green, while Ryan Woolridge added 22 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. UNT gained a 40-24 edge in points in the paint and shot 53 percent from the field. Portland finished at 48 percent shooting and made 9-of-21 three-pointers. UNT jumped out to a 14-4 lead early in the game, but the Pilots (1-2) answered with an 11-2 run sparked by seven points from Shaver Jr. The Mean Green closed the half with another surge to lead 39-30 at the half.