Portland Pilots (10-15, 4-8 WCC) at San Francisco Dons (13-12, 5-7 WCC)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018
Time: 7:00 PM 
Place: San Francisco, Calif. (Sobrato Center/War Memorial Gymnasium
Video: TheW.tv
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland
Stats: USFDons.com
Series: POR trails 27-59 (H: 17-24, A: 9-32, N: 1-3)
Last Meeting: San Francisco 84, Pilots 61 (Jan. 30, 2017 at Portland)

GAME INFORMATION
University of Portland looks to continue its late season momentum with a West Coast Conference road trip to San Francisco and Pacific this week. The Pilots visit the San Francisco Dons on Thursday at 7 p.m. and then Pacific on Saturday at 7 p.m. Portland swept Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount at home last week and have now won four of the last six games. The two losses during the run have come against nationally ranked opponents in Gonzaga and Saint Mary's.

GAME COVERAGE
Both games this week will be aired on TheW.tv. Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli will provide the commentary on Thursday, while Dave Friedman and Ben Braun are on the call on Saturday. Live radio coverage of all Pilot games is on 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT) with play-by-play voice, Jason Swygard.

PORTLAND NOTES
• After a home sweep of Pepperdine and LMU last week, the Pilots have won four of their last six games, with the two losses coming to nationally ranked Gonzaga and Saint Mary's. The Pilots held on for an 85-76 overtime win against Pepperdine on Thursday night. Freshman F Tahirou Diabate had a career-high 19 points and seven rebounds, while senior G D'Marques Tyson and sophomore G/F Josh McSwiggan added 16 apiece. Tyson then erupted for 22 points, including six three-pointers, in Saturday's 68-66 win against the Lions. Sophomore G Franklin Porter added 12 points and freshman G Marcus Shaver Jr. won it with a pair of free throws with 2.3 seconds left in regulation.
• Tyson is second in UP history for career three-pointers made (236) and is 57 points shy of becoming Portland's 40th career 1,000-point scorer. He is now the WCC leader in three-point percentage (.468).
• McSwiggan is leading the Pilots in scoring at 11.6 points per game, has reached double figures 16 times thus far and is fourth in the WCC in three-point percentage (.441).
• Shaver Jr. is averaging a team-best 10.8 points per game in WCC play and has reached double figures in scoring 16 times this season.
• Portland has one of the youngest rotations in the nation and has started three freshmen, a sophomore and a senior the last five games. Freshman JoJo Walker, McSwiggan and senior C Philipp Hartwich are the only Pilots to have started all 25 games.
• Hartwich broke the school career record for blocked shots earlier this year and shattered the single-season record as well. His 63 blocked shots are eight more than the previous mark. Hartwich is second in the WCC in blocks per game (2.5) and is third in the league in rebounds (8.4).
• 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 SAN FRANCISCO
• The Dons (13-12, 5-7 WCC) split a road trip last week, falling to Saint Mary's (79-43) before bouncing back to defeat Santa Clara (70-59). San Francisco is now tied with SCU for sixth place in the league standings, one game ahead of the Pilots.
• San Francisco plays a deep roster as 12 different Dons have started a game this year, while ten players average 10 or more minutes per game. Freshman G Souley Boum (12.6) leads four players averaging double figures.
• San Francisco has struggled offensively and is ninth in the WCC in scoring (68.4) and last in field goal percentage (.419), but the Dons are allowing just 68.0 point per game.
• USF leads the all-time series against the Pilots by a 59-27 margin, including an 84-61 win at Portland on Dec. 30.
• Head coach Kyle Smith is in his second year at the helm of the Dons and led USF to a 20-13 record last season and appearance in the College Basketball Invitational.

TYSON CATCHING FIRE, CLIMBING CHARTS
Senior G D'Marques Tyson scored a season-high 22 points in Saturday's win versus LMU, going 6-for-8 from three-point range. That followed a 16-point effort off the bench on Thursday where he drilled 4-of-5 three-pointers to spark the Pilots. Tyson, a three-point specialist, is averaging 11.9 points over the last seven games and has made 18-of-31 threes during the run. He is now leading the WCC in three-point percentage (.468) and ranks second all-time in three-pointers made at Portland (236). 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 (.418).
 
SHAVER JR. COMES UP BIG LATE
Marcus Shaver Jr. provided clutch plays down the stretch in both Portland wins last week. He scored seven points in overtime and contributed five rebounds and five assists against Pepperdine. Shaver Jr. then 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 against LMU. He also added a season-high six assists. The Phoenix, Ariz. native has reached double figures in 12 of the last 16 games and is leading the team in scoring in WCC games (10.8).  He was named the January U.S. Bank UP Student-Athlete of the Month.

DIABATE HAVING A BREAKOUT RUN
Freshman F Tahirou Diabate scored a season-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds in Thursday's 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.

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 150 and counting. He blocked a career best six shots at Loyola Marymount and also owns the single-season school record (63). Hartwich averaged 1.4 points and 3.0 rebounds through his first three years on The Bluff, but is averaging 5.6 points, 8.4 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.
 
McSWIGGAN MAKING SHOTS
Josh McSwiggan has led the Pilots in scoring nine times this year, reached double figures in 16 of 25 games, and is averaging a team-high 11.2 points per game. 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.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The Pilots feature one of the youngest rosters in the nation. Portland has 10 underclassmen with eight freshmen and two sophomores. Freshman PG JoJo Walker has started all 25 games this year and freshman G Marcus Shaver Jr. has scored 15 or more points eight times this season.

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. San Diego point guard Isaiah Wright, who erupted for a career-high 30 points at Portland on Jan. 4, was held to a season low three points on Thursday. Portland held just two Division I opponents 70 points or less in non-league play, but the Pilots have held six WCC opponents to 70 or less through 12 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.

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 (.386) and is making 8.2 three-pointers per game. The Pilots have made nine or more triples in 12 games this year. Three Pilots rank in the Top 15 in the WCC for three-point percentage led by league-leader D'Marques Tyson (.468), Josh McSwiggan (4th, .441) and JoJo Walker (14th, .403).
 
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. "Josh impressed us with his ability to make multiple effort plays consistently as we evaluated him in the recruiting process," Porter said. "He has good size, length and athleticism, a great motor, and the tremendous desire to defend and rebound. His shot blocking ability will translate right away and he is always doing the little things that helps winning programs. He will bring a unique skillset to our frontline next year."
 
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.

RECRUITING CLASS RANKED NO. 10
Terry Porter put together a nine-player 2017 recruiting class that one publication has been ranked as the No. 10 in the nation. In his first full recruiting cycle, Porter and his staff were recognized by HoopScoop.com to have the top class in the WCC and No. 2 class nationally among mid-major schools. Three of those newcomers will redshirt the 2017-18 season - Crisshawn Clark due to NCAA transfer rules after coming to Portland from Pitt, Takiula Fahrensohn is coming off of knee surgery, and Hugh Hogland is redshirting to focus on development.