PORTLAND PILOTS (5-5) vs. SACRAMENTO STATE HORNETS (4-1)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018
Time: 7:00 p.m.
City: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Video: TheW.tv
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland
Live Links: Video I Audio I Stats
Overall Series: Portland leads 11-2 (H: 7-1, A: 3-1, N: 1-0)
Last Meeting: POR 80, CSUS 75 (12/21/17 at Sacramento)

GAME INFORMATION
Portland welcomes the Sacramento State Hornets to the Chiles Center on Saturday for a 7 p.m. tip-off. It is the first of four straight non-conference home games for the Pilots. Portland looks to snap a three-game losing streak, while the Hornets look to extend their best start to a season in program history.

GAME COVERAGE
The game will have video coverage on TheW.tv with Tom Kolker and Scott Hermo on the call. Radio coverage of all Pilot games is on 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT) with Jason Swygard providing the play-by-play. Pregame coverage begins 30 minutes prior to tip-off. Visit PortlandPilots.com for all live coverage links.

TICKET INFORMATION
Ticket packages, promotions and youth team experience opportunities at upcoming games are available now! Visit www.PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or call/text the Pilots Box Office at 503-943-GoUP (4687) for more information.

PORTLAND NOTES
• Portland enters Saturday's game having dropped a pair of road games at Colorado (93-69) and Portland State (87-78).
• The five Pilot losses have come to teams with a combined 32-10 record this season.
• Josh McSwiggan averages a team-best 15.6 points, ranking 11th in the WCC. His 90.9 FT percentage is second best in the league.
• Marcus Shaver Jr. was named to the Rainbow Classic All-Tournament Team earlier this year. Last season, he 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 ranks 15th in the WCC in scoring this year (14.4).
• JoJo Walker has led the team in scoring four times and is the Pilots leader in assists per game (4.0).
• Freshman C Theo Akwuba has started all nine games he has been available and ranks second in the WCC in blocked shots (2.0) and is averaging a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game.
• The Pilots return four starters and six of the team's seven leading scorers from a year ago. Portland also adds 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 Akwuba, athletic F Josh Phillips, G Miles Turner, and F Wyatt Watson.
• Injuries have sidelined G Crisshawn Clark all season, while F Jacob Tryon has missed all but one game. Both players were expected to play significant minutes and battle for starting spots.
• 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.
• Portland signed two players to NLI's last week. 6-2 G Donyae McCaskill (St. Louis, Mo./Vashon HS) and 7-1 F/C Cody Collinsworth (Lindale, Texas/Lindale HS).
• Former NBA All-Star Terry Porter is in his third year as the head coach of the Pilots.

ABOUT SACRAMENTO STATE
• The Hornets are off to their best start in program history with Division I wins over UC Davis, CSUN and Cal State Fullerton, while the team's lone loss came at UC Santa Barbara.
• The team ranks Top 20 nationally in three-point field goal percentage defense (10th), steals per game (12th) and turnovers forced per game (19th).
• Sacramento State was picked 10th in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches and Media Polls.
• Head coach Brian Katz is a Hornet alum and was named the 2015 Mid-Major Coach of the Year.
• The Pilots lead the all-time series by an 11-2 margin, including an 80-75 win last year at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.