Portland Pilots (10-17, 4-10 WCC) vs. Santa Clara Broncos (9-17, 6-8 WCC)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center)
Video: TheW.tv
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland
Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: PortlandPilots.com/Tickets
Series: POR trails 33-63 (H: 21-24 A: 10-34 N: 2-4)
Last Meeting: SCU 70, Pilots 68 (Jan. 6, 2018 at SCU)

GAME INFORMATION
The Portland Pilots return to the Chiles Center for a three-game homestand starting Thursday night against Santa Clara. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will feature the annual Halftime Mile as members of Portland's nationally-recognized track team will compete on the Chiles Center track at halftime. Portland then hosts No. 15 Saint Mary's on Saturday at 7 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for the third annual Pilots BrewFest on the upper mezzanine. Senior Night is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 22 against BYU at 8 p.m. Visit PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or call (503) 943-GO-UP for more information.

GAME COVERAGE
Thursday's game will be aired live on TheW.tv. with Travis Demers and Darren Cooper on the call. Live radio coverage of all Pilot games is on 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT) with play-by-play voice, Jason Swygard.

PORTLAND NOTES
• The Pilots had shots to win at the buzzer in both games last week, but came up short with two-point road losses at San Francisco and Pacific.
• Senior G D'Marques Tyson continued his stellar play of late by drilling 7-of-12 three-pointers last week. He is second in UP history for career three-pointers made (243) and is 34 points shy of becoming Portland's 40th career 1,000-point scorer. He is now the WCC leader in three-point percentage (.481).
• Freshman G Marcus Shaver Jr. is averaging a team-best 11.6 points per game and has reached double figures in scoring 17 times this season. He averaged 15.5 points and 8.0 rebounds last week.
• Sophomore Josh McSwiggan (11.3) is also averaging double figures and is fifth in the WCC in three-point percentage (.437).
• Portland has one of the youngest rotations in the nation and has started three freshmen, a sophomore and a senior the last six games. McSwiggan and senior C Philipp Hartwich are the only Pilots to have started all 27 games.
• Hartwich broke the UP career record for blocked shots earlier this year and also shattered the single-season record (67). Hartwich is second in the WCC in blocks per game (2.5) and is third in the league in rebounds (8.6).
• Portland has a diverse roster featuring players from 13 different states or countries. There are four Oregonians, but no other state/territory with more than one player. Internationally, Portland has players from Mali, New Zealand, Germany and England.
• Terry Porter's 2017 recruiting class was ranked No. 10 nationally by HoopScoop. The class was the highest rated in the WCC and No. 2 nationally among mid-majors. Nine newcomers comprised the class with seven freshmen and two junior college transfers.
• The Pilots signed 6-8 post Josh Phillips (Huntington Beach, Calif.) to a NLI during the early signing period.
• Portland took an August foreign tour to England and went 3-1 on the trip. The Pilots defeated 2017 British Basketball League runner-up Newcastle on a buzzer-beater by Franklin Porter, dropped a buzzer beater to BBL Champions Leicester, and posted two comfortable wins against academy teams.
• Xavier Hallinan returned to the Portland roster over winter break. Hallinan was a walk-on for two years and played significant minutes down the stretch last season, starting the last six games. He will sit out this season, but can practice with the team.

ABOUT SANTA CLARA
• The Broncos defeated San Diego (70-64) on Saturday and are tied with San Francisco for sixth place in the WCC standings.
• Santa Clara had two common non-conference opponents with Portland and lost to both Portland State (87-84) and San Jose State (75-63).
• Junior G KJ Feagin (17.8) and Princeton graduate transfer Henry Caruso (12.0) lead the Broncos. Freshman F Josip Vrankic also averages double figures.
• Junior PG Matt Hauser (9.8 ppg) has missed the last five games due to injury.
• Hauser scored a game-high 22 points in Santa Clara's 70-68 win over Portland on Jan. 6 at the Leavey Center. The Broncos leads the all-time series against the Pilots by a 63-33 margin.
• Head coach Herb Sendek is in his second year at the helm of the Broncos and led SCU to a 17-16 overall record and 10-8 mark in WCC play last season.

SHAVER JR. CONTINUES IMPRESSIVE PLAY
Freshman G Marcus Shaver Jr. is the Pilots leading scorer, has made numerous clutch plays late in recent games, and has done work on the glass with season highs of seven and nine rebounds in the last two games. Shaver did not miss a shot and scored eight points in the final 2:15 of regulation to keep the Pilots within one possession down the stretch at San Francisco on Thursday. Against LMU on Feb. 3, he broke a late tie by penetrating, drawing a foul, and knocking down a pair of free throws with 2.3 seconds left to win the game. He also added a season-high six assists. In a Feb. 1 win against Pepperdine, he scored seven points in overtime and contributed five rebounds and five assists. The Phoenix, Ariz. native has reached double figures in 13 of the last 18 games and is leading the team in scoring (11.6). He was named the January U.S. Bank UP Student-Athlete of the Month.

TYSON CATCHING FIRE, CLIMBING CHARTS
Senior G D'Marques Tyson has been scorching hot from three-point range in recent weeks. He has buried 17-of-25 triples in the last four games and now leads the WCC in three-point percentage (.481). He recorded a season-high 22 points in a Feb. 3 win versus LMU, going 6-for-8 from three-point range. Tyson had a 16-point effort off the bench against Pepperdine on Feb. 1 where he drilled 4-of-5 three-pointers to spark the Pilots. He ranks second all-time in three-pointers made at Portland (243). He passed Casey Frandsen (211, 2000-04) after drilling five three-pointers against Sacramento State on Dec. 21 and now trails only Jared Stohl (336, 2007-11). Tyson is also No. 5 in career three-point percentage (.421).

HARTWICH SETS RECORD, CONTINUES BREAKOUT SEASON
Senior C Philipp Hartwich broke the school career record for blocked shots on Dec. 19 against Hartford and then set the single-season school record on Jan. 20 at LMU. The Cologne, Germany native swatted three attempts against Hartford to pass former teammate Thomas van der mars (121, 2011-15) for the top spot. He now has 154 and counting. He blocked a career best six shots at Loyola Marymount and also owns the single-season school record (67). Hartwich averaged 1.4 points and 3.0 rebounds through his first three years on The Bluff, but is averaging 5.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots this year. He has recorded his first three career double-doubles, is second in the WCC in blocked shots, and is third in rebounding.

DIABATE HAVING A BREAKOUT RUN
Freshman F Tahirou Diabate scored a season-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a Feb. 1 win over Pepperdine. He also had three blocked shots in just 24 minutes of action before fouling out. Diabate was re-inserted into the starting lineup when the Pilots hosted San Diego on Jan. 4 and scored the team's first six points and matched a season-high with 13 points. He scored a then-season high 15 points with 10 rebounds and four blocked shots at Santa Clara on Jan. 6. The Bamako, Mali native came up big in a win at San Diego on Jan. 18 with the go-ahead basket with less than two minutes remaining. He finished with 11 points and added 14 points and seven rebounds in a Jan. 20 game at Loyola Marymount.

McSWIGGAN MAKING SHOTS
Sophomore G/F Josh McSwiggan has led the Pilots in scoring nine times this year, reached double figures in 17 games, and is second on the team in scoring (11.3). The Loughborough, England native had a circuitous route to Portland. After committing to UTEP and sitting out his freshman season, he transferred to Casper College (Wyoming) and had a solid 2016-17 campaign. Portland assistant coach Bob Cantu, who recruited McSwiggan to UTEP, kept in touch and helped garner his commitment to the Pilots. McSwiggan was then able to return to his roots and play in his hometown in front of friends and family when Portland took a foreign tour to England in August.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Portland's stifling defense against San Diego on Jan. 18 limited the Toreros to 36 percent shooting and the 49 points allowed was the lowest for the Pilots since holding Oregon State to 45 points on Dec. 18, 2016. Portland held just two Division I opponents 70 points or less in non-league play, but the Pilots have held eight WCC opponents to 70 or less through 14 games.

DIVERSE ROSTER WITH INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
Portland has a diverse roster featuring players from 13 different states or countries. There are four native Oregonians, but no other state or territory with more than one player on the roster. Internationally, Portland has players from Mali, New Zealand, Germany and England. States represented include Hawaii, Arizona, California, South Carolina, Ohio, Idaho, Washington and the US territory of Puerto Rico. Freshman 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.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
The Pilots feature one of the youngest rosters in the nation with eight freshmen and two sophomores. Freshman PG JoJo Walker has started 26 games this year and freshman G Marcus Shaver Jr. has scored 15 or more points nine times this season.

WALKER RESILIENT
Freshman PG JoJo Walker is from Puerto Rico and still has many family and friends that were impacted by the hurricanes. Walker left Puerto Rico to gain greater basketball exposure and opportunities when he was a freshman in high school and settled in Santa Maria, Calif. Originally supposed to be a short stint, Walker developed such a connection with his host family and friends that he ended up staying all four years at St. Joseph HS. Despite only getting back to Puerto Rico a couple weeks per year, Walker's entire biological family still calls Carolina, Puerto Rico home. His mother, father, and grandfather were able to get off the island and visit JoJo in Portland in early October and were also at the PK80 Tournament. The Pilots were able to use the NCAA Natural Disaster Exemption to host an exhibition game against Eastern Washington on Oct. 29 that raised nearly $3,000 for Red Cross efforts benefitting Puerto Rico relief.

THREE-POINT THREATS
UP is second in the WCC in three-point percentage (.385) and is making 8.1 three-pointers per game. The Pilots have made nine or more triples in 12 games this year. Two Pilots rank in the top five in the WCC for three-point percentage led by league-leader D'Marques Tyson (.481) and Josh McSwiggan (5th, .437).

ENGLAND FOREIGN TOUR IN AUGUST
Portland went on a foreign tour to England in August and finished with a 3-1 record. The Pilots defeated 2017 British Basketball League runner-up Newcastle on a buzzer-beater by Franklin Porter, dropped a buzzer beater to BBL Champions Leicester, and comfortable defeated a pair of academy teams during the trip. In addition to the games and tours in London, the team was able to get 10 extra days of practice on campus. Visit PortlandPilots.com/LondonTour for complete details on the trip.

PILOTS INK ATHLETIC BIG DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
Portland signed Josh Phillips (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison HS) to a NLI on the first day of the early signing period, head coach Terry Porter announced. Phillips (6-8, 190) will join the Pilots as a freshman in the fall of 2018. Porter and the Portland coaching staff targeted a 2018 post this summer and Phillips caught the staff's attention immediately. He earned All-Sunset League First Team honors and helped Edison post a 23-5 overall record and 9-1 mark in the Sunset League. The team advanced to the second round of the CIF Southern Section 2017 Boys Basketball Division I-AA Championships.

PILOTS IN THE PROS
A total of 11 former Pilots are currently playing professionally overseas: Alec Wintering (Araberri, Spain), Ray Barreno (Panteras de Aguascalientes, Mexico), Thomas van der Mars (Kalev/Cramo Tallinn, Estonia), Volodymyr Gerun (FC Barcelona B, Spain), Bryce Pressley (Palencia, Spain), Nemanja Mitrovic (Araberri, Spain), Nik Raivio (Legnano, Italy), TJ Campbell (Turk Telekom, Turkey), Luke Sikma (ALBA Berlin, German), Taishi Ito (Toyota Alvark, Japan) and Pooh Jeter (Tianjin Gold Lions, China).

IT'S ALL IN THE FAMILY
Sophomore G Franklin Porter and freshman G Malcolm Porter are both coming off of redshirt seasons and in 2017. Franklin transferred to UP after playing one season at Saint Mary's, while Malcolm signed with the Pilots after graduating from Jesuit High School. Both players are also sons of Portland head coach Terry Porter. They are one of 30 brother tandems on the same team this year at the NCAA Division I level.

SUITS AND SNEAKERS
Portland joined others around the country last week to participate in the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits And Sneakers® Week. The nationwide event ran from Jan. 22-28 and unites coaches across the country to raise funds and awareness about the fight against cancer. Coaches will wear sneakers with their game attire as a visible reminder about the importance of nutrition and physical activity in reducing one's cancer risk. Portland is also participating in the Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge where fans can pledge a donation for every 3-Point shot the Pilots make in games from Jan. 25-Feb. 24. Visit the PortlandPilots.com/Challenge for more information.