PORTLAND PILOTS (7-11, 0-3 WCC) vs. SAN DIEGO TOREROS (12-6, 1-2 WCC)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019
Time: 7:00 p.m. (PT)
City: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Video: TheW.tv
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland
Live Links: Video I Audio I Stats
Tickets: PortlandPilots.com/Tickets
Overall Series: USD leads 53-31 (H: 16-25, A: 12-26, N: 3-2)
Last Meeting: Portland 55, San Diego 49 (1/18/18 at USD)

PORTLAND PILOTS (7-11, 0-3 WCC) vs. #5 GONZAGA BULLDOGS (16-2, 3-0 WCC)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 17, 2019
Time: 7:00 p.m. (PT)
City: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
TV: ROOT Sports NW
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland
Live Links: Video I Audio I Stats
Tickets: Sold Out
Overall Series: GON leads 102-66 (H: 35-41, A: 22-48, N: 9-13)
Last Meeting: Gonzaga 95, Portland 79 (1/25/18 at POR)

GAME INFORMATION
Portland continues its three-game homestand this week by hosting the San Diego Toreros on Thursday and then the No. 5 Gonzaga Bulldogs on Saturday. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. tip-offs, while the Gonzaga game is sold out.

TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
Tickets are still available for Thursday night's game starting at $10 for adults and $5 for kids. Saturday's game against Gonzaga is sold out. It will feature Mascot Night with a number of local mascots in attendance. It's also a 'Purple Out' game, so fans are encouraged to wear purple. For more ticket information, visit PortlandPilots.com/Tickets.

GAME COVERAGE
Thursday's game will be aired on TheW.tv with Tom Kolker and Darren Cooper providing the call, while Saturday's game is televised on ROOT Sports Northwest. Radio coverage of all Pilot games is on 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT) with Jason Swygard providing the play-by-play. Pre-game coverage begins 30 minutes prior to tip-off. Visit PortlandPilots.com for all live coverage links.

PORTLAND NOTES
• Sophomore G Marcus Shaver Jr. scored a career-high 25 points, but the Pilots dropped a 65-57 decision at home to Pacific on Saturday.
• RS-Junior G Crisshawn Clark has returned to the lineup in the last two games after having not played in an official game since the end of his freshman season at Cañada College in 2015 due to various injuries. He scored five points at BYU and grabbed five rebounds off the bench against Pacific.
• Sophomore G JoJo Walker has scored 20 or more points four times this year. He leads the team and ranks eighth in the WCC in assists per game (3.5).
• 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 13th in the WCC in scoring (14.8) and steals per game (1.3).
• Josh McSwiggan leads the WCC in free throw percentage (.902) and is 20th in scoring (12.2).
• Freshman C Theo Akwuba has started 14 games, ranks second in the WCC in blocked shots (1.6) and is averaging a team-high 5.4 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.
• Six other newcomers join the roster highlighted by sophomore F Jacob Tryon. The freshmen newcomers include Akwuba, F Josh Phillips, G Miles Turner, and F Wyatt Watson, while sophomore F Dillon Scarboro joined the roster in December.
• 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 in November. 6-2 G Donyae McCaskill (St. Louis, Mo./Vashon HS) and 7-1 F/C Cody Collinsworth (Lindale, Texas/Lindale HS).
• Hugh Hogland has dual citizenship in Japan and went to training camp with the Japanese National Team last year.
• A total of 12 former Pilots are currently playing professionally overseas, while alum Erik Spoelstra ('92) is the head coach of the Miami HEAT.
• Former NBA All-Star Terry Porter is in his third year as the head coach of the Pilots.

ABOUT SAN DIEGO
• The Toreros have battled injuries of late and dropped their first home game of the season to Pepperdine on Saturday (76-71).
• San Diego All-WCC point guard Isaiah Wright has missed the last four games. The Toreros also lost starters Olin Carter III and Alex Floresca to injury against the Waves. Wright and Floresca are expected to return to the court on Thursday, while Carter III is listed as day-to-day.
• USD posted impressive non-conference wins against Colorado, San Diego State, Washington State and Grand Canyon, with close losses to Washington, Ole Miss, Oregon and Drake in double overtime.  
• Senior F Isaiah Pineiro averages a team-best 20.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, while Carter III (16.5) and Wright (13.2) also average double figures.
• Sam Scholl took over at the end of last season as interim head coach and was named the permanent head coach in the offseason.

WALKER STARTS WCC PLAY STRONG
Sophomore G JoJo Walker recorded his fourth 20-point game of the season in the WCC opener at LMU. He finished with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, while going a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line. He recorded back-to-back career highs in scoring with 22 points versus North Texas (11/10) and 23 points against CSUN (11/17). The Carolina, Puerto Rico native went 9-for-11 from the field against the Mean Green in Hawai'i. He then ignited Portland's comeback win against CSUN with 23 points, seven assists and zero turnovers in 40 minutes. Walker scored 15 second half points and made 6-of-8 from three-point range in the win. He made 5-of-7 triples and scored 22 points to lead the Pilots over Sacramento State on Dec. 8. Walker ranks eighth in the WCC in assists (3.5).

SHAVER JR. CONTINUES WHERE HE LEFT OFF
Freshman PG Marcus Shaver Jr. recorded a career-high 25 points on 9-for-12 shooting on Saturday against Pacific. He ranks 15th in the WCC in scoring (14.8). Shaver became the first Pilot since Taishi Ito in 2007 to be named to the WCC All-Freshman Team last year and was the first UP freshman to earn All-WCC honorable mention honors since Donald Wilson in 2003. Shaver's 394 points last season were the third most by a freshman in Portland history. He has recorded double figures in 15 games this year, is 13th in the WCC in steals (1.3), and was named to the Rainbow Classic All-Tournament Team.
 
CLARK MAKES HIS LONG AWAITED DEBUT
Redshirt junior G Crisshawn Clark made his Portland debut off the bench and scored five points with three rebounds in 12 minutes at BYU on Jan. 10. Clark has had a circuitous route to Portland that has been plagued by injuries. He last competed in an official game during the 2014-15 season at Cañada College in San Mateo, Calif. He was at Pittsburgh for the 2015-16 season, but has had a total of three ACL surgeries in the last three years that he kept him sidelined. He was ready to return to the court this year, but suffered a foot injury in preseason training that kept him out of action.

McSWIGGAN MONEY AT THE LINE
Josh McSwiggan is a 37-of-41 from the free throw line this season. The Loughborough, England native made his first 20 free throw attempts and leads the WCC in FT percentage (.902). He also recorded his first double double with career highs of 37 points and 11 rebounds in the season opener against Multnomah. McSwiggan buried five three-pointers at Colorado and ranks sixth in Portland history for career three-point percentage (.411).

AKWUBA WITH THE BLOCK PARTY
Freshman C Theo Akwuba ranks second in the WCC in blocked shots per game (1.6). He has 28 blocked shots in 17 games played which is the second highest per game average in Portland history. The single-season record of 73 blocked shots was set last year by Philipp Hartwich and is within reach at his current pace. Akwuba has blocked three or more shots in six games, including a season-high five blocks on Dec. 8 against Sacramento State. He also leads the team in rebounding this season (5.4). The Montgomery, Ala. native averaged a triple double as a high school senior at 11.7 points, 14.1 rebounds and 10.4 blocked shots per game and ranked No. 2 nationally in blocks. Akwuba is pursuing a computer science degree from the Shiley School of Engineering at Portland.

TRYON FINDS HIS STROKE
Sophomore F Jacob Tryon came off the bench to record back-to-back 11 point games against Cal State Fullerton and LMU. Tryon went 4-of-6 from the field against Fullerton and then was 5-for-8 from the floor at LMU and added five rebounds. Tryon was in the starting lineup to open the season, but missed 10 games with a foot injury. A stretch-four, he is one of Portland's top offensive threats.

HOGLAND PRODUCING IN THE PAINT
Redshirt freshman C Hugh Hogland has been Portland's best back-to-the-basket scorer this season. Hogland had a career game Dec. 8 against Sacramento State. He went 6-for-9 from the field and scored a season-high 13 points to go with five rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. He followed with 11 points against Grambling State and is shooting 57.1 percent from the field. The Hawai'i native holds dual citizenship with Japan and has trained with the Japanese National Team.

WCC FINISHES NON-CONFERENCE STRONG
Nine of ten WCC programs had .500 or better non-conference records, while the league as a whole finished non-conference play with a 100-49 (.671) mark. For comparison, that is better than the Pac-12 (99-58, .631), Mountain West (76-64, .543) and Atlantic 10 (100-83, .546).

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.

HALLINAN RETURNS
Redshirt junior G Xavier Hallinan became eligible following fall semester. The Portland native contributed three points and an assist off the bench in his season debut on Dec. 17 against Seattle U. Hallinan provided a spark as a walk-on during the 2016-17 season, when he averaged 10.7 points while starting the final six games and led the Pilots to a WCC Tournament win over San Diego by playing all 40 minutes. He returned to The Bluff last spring after a brief stint at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

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 WCC announced changes to the league schedule and conference tournament this season. Moving from an 18-game to a 16-game league schedule is the result of changes adopted as part of the 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.

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.

PILOTS IN THE PROS
A total of 12 former Pilots are currently playing professionally overseas, while Miami HEAT head coach Erik Spoelstra played four years with the Pilots (1989-92) and was the WCC Freshman of the Year in 1989. Ben Sullivan is also an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks. Here are former Pilots still with active playing careers: 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. 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. He had offers from Creighton, UMKC, Southern Illinois, Missouri State and Southeast Missouri State 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 had offers from TCU, Minnesota, Wright State, Northern Colorado and Northwestern State.