Portland Pilots (3-1) at Portland State Vikings (1-2)
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019
Time: 7:00 p.m. (PT)
City: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Viking Pavilion
Video: Pluto TV Channel 532
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT)
Live Coverage Links: Video I Audio I Stats

GAME INFORMATION
• Portland visits crosstown rival Portland State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Viking Pavilion. The teams have split the last 10 meetings, while PSU has won three in a row.
• The Pilots (3-1) will then welcome UC Davis to the Chiles Center on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game will be followed by a post-game family clinic hosted by head coach Terry Porter, staff and players. Tickets for that game and all future Pilot home games are available at PortlandPilots.com/Tickets.
• All Pilot games are on the radio on 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT) with Jason Swygard providing the play-by-play. The pre-game show begins 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
• Links for live video, audio and stats for all Portland games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
• Follow @PilotHoops on Twitter for in-game updates.

LAST GAME
• Tahirou Diabate and Malcolm Porter had numerous hustle plays and combined for 18 points in the second half as the Pilots pulled away from the Maine Black Bears for a 71-62 non-conference victory Saturday night at the Chiles Center.
• Diabate finished with a team-high 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting, while Porter scored 10 of his 12 points late in regulation and junior guard JoJo Walker added 13 points.
• All nine Pilots that saw court action scored in a balanced, energetic effort.
• Portland shot an efficient 55 percent from the field and had 17 assists on 28 made field goals. The Pilots also outrebounded Maine by a 29-28 margin despite a significant size disadvantage.

PORTLAND NOTES
• The team returns two starters, nine lettermen and adds five newcomers along with a returning redshirt to the 2019-20 roster.
• Freshman PG Chase Adams moved into the starting lineup and has been a difference-maker at both ends of the court. He leads the WCC in steals (2.5) and is fourth in the league in assists (5.0).
• Graduate transfer G Isaiah White has provided an expected boost and is averaging 13.5 points per game, including a season-high 22 points at USC.
• Junior G JoJo Walker entered the 2019-20 season as the Pilots' active leader in points, minutes played, steals, free throws made and three-pointers made after starting his first two years on The Bluff. He leads the team in scoring (13.8)
• Sophomore C Hugh Hogland (concussion) missed the team's first three games, but returned on Saturday with four points and two rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench. Hogland spent time with the Japanese National Team this year.
• The Pilots return their entire frontcourt from last year. Tahirou Diabate, Jacob Tryon, Hugh Hogland, Theo Akwuba and Josh Phillips combined to average 16.7 points and 12.2 rebounds per game and the five big men also were the top five players in field goal percentage last season. Akwuba is expected to return to the lineup in mid-December.
• Lavar Harewood (South Carolina State) joins White as a grad transfer adding experience as Portland has no true seniors on the roster.
• Portland will return to Hawai'i for a non-conference tournament for the second straight season. The Pilots will take part in the 2019 Diamond Head Classic Dec. 22-25 after playing last season in the Rainbow Classic.
• The roster features players 12 different states, countries or territories including four from California and one each from Alabama, Hawai'i, Illinois, Mali, Maryland, New Zealand, Oregon, Puerto Rico, New York, Texas and Washington.
• The Pilots were picked to finish 10th in the WCC Preseason Head Coaches Poll.
• A total of 12 former Pilots are currently playing professionally overseas, while alum Erik Spoelstra ('92) is the head coach of the Miami HEAT and Ben Sullivan ('07) is on the Milwaukee Bucks coaching staff.
• Former NBA All-Star Terry Porter is in his fourth year as the head coach of the Pilots and is one of 11 Division I coaches in the nation to coach his son this season.
• The Pilots signed Zac Triplett, a 6-5 guard from Melbourne, Australia, to a NLI on Wednesday.

ABOUT PORTLAND STATE
• The Vikings (1-2) dropped a close road contest at Hawai'i (83-75) on Friday. Senior G Matt Hauser, a transfer from Santa Clara, led the way with 18 points.
• Portland State opened the season with a rout of Puget Sound (94-69) before a road loss at Indiana (85-74).
• Guards Hauser (17.3) and Holland Woods (17.0) provide a majority of the scoring, while PSU forces 19.7 turnovers per game.
• The Vikings were picked sixth in both Big Sky Conference Preseason Polls after finishing with a 16-16 overall record last season.
• Head coach Barret Peery is in his third year at the helm and has a 37-32 record.

BALANCED ATTACK
• Portland has had a different leading scorer in each of the team's first four games, while all nine Pilots that played against Maine on Saturday scored.
• Unselfish play has been an early theme as the team is averaging 17.5 assists per game, which ranks second in the WCC. Last year's team averaged 11.5 per game.
• The team has shot above 48 percent from the field three of four games.

LOCK DOWN DEFENSE
• Portland leads the WCC in field goal percentage defense (.378) and is second in both scoring defense (57.8) and steals (8.3).
• Opponents have been held below 45 percent from the field in all three wins, while the Pilots have a plus-3.3 turnover margin.

INSTANT IMPACT FROM GRAD TRANSFER WHITE
• Graduate transfer Isaiah White (Maine) has scored the most points at the Division I level (726) on the Portland roster after filling the stat in his two seasons at Maine.
• White scored a game-high 22 points and buried six three-pointers against USC on Friday. He added three steals in a solid all-around performance.
• He then went for 17 points, seven assists, three rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots in the road win at San Jose State on Sunday.
• White missed the exhibition game with an ankle injury and debuted with 11 points off the bench in limited minutes against Willamette on Nov. 5.

ADAMS NAVIGATING
• Freshman Chase Adams has been a difference maker at point guard out of the gates and leads the WCC in steals (2.5), while ranking fourth in assists (5.0).
• He earned the start in the team's opener against Willamette and took over the game in the first five minutes.
• Adams sparked a 23-3 run with disruptive on-ball defense, collecting four steals and getting three other defections. He also scored four points and dished out three assists during the spurt.
• He followed with six points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals at USC and then earned his first start against as D-I opponent in the team's win at San Jose State.
• The 5-foot-7 speedster was a heralded youth basketball star out of Chicago and spent one year at Link Prep (Branson, Mo.) before signing with the Pilots.
• Adams is prominent on social media with 125,000 Instagram followers.

WALKER LEADS THE WAY
• Junior G JoJo Walker returns as a two-year starter expected to take on a leading role.
• He led the team in assists each of the last two seasons and ranked eighth in the WCC with 3.3 assists per game a year ago.
• Walker is the team's leading returning scorer after averaging 11.5 per game last season and enters the 2019-20 season as the Pilots' active leader in points, minutes played, steals, free throws made and three-pointers made.
• He has reached double figures all four games including a 22-point effort at San Jose State while shooting 8-for-12 from the field and 5-of-7 from three-point range.

TAKI TAKES ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITY
• Redshirt sophomore G Takiula (Taki) Fahrensohn played limited minutes behind a backcourt logjam of experienced players last season.
• He has seized the opportunity this year and recorded career-highs of 10 points and six rebounds off the bench at USC on Nov. 8. Fahrensohn added two steals and a blocked shot in 26 minutes, while often battling defensively against bigger players in the post.
• He followed with six points, five rebounds and four assists in 21 effective minutes off the bench in the win over San Jose State, and then played major minutes down the stretch as the Pilots pulled away from Maine on Saturday.
• Fahrensohn started the team's exhibition win versus George Fox and the team's season-opening victory against Willamette.
• The New Zealand native redshirted his freshman year after having knee surgery.

TRANSFERS BRING EXPERIENCE AND LEADERSHIP
• Portland's two graduate transfers are the only 'seniors' on the 2019-20 roster and embraced the leadership opportunity throughout summer and fall workouts.
• Lavar Harewood (South Carolina State) joins White as a previous D-I starter and posted strong numbers last season. He averaged 8.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and shot 39 percent from three-point range.
• Both players have had circuitous routes to Portland that touched in Maine. White is from Ellicott City, Md. and spent one season at UNC-Asheville, then a year at junior college before landing in Maine. Harewood, a Brooklyn, N.Y. native, began his college career at Maine and spent one season at a junior college and the last two at SCSU.
 
ALOHA AGAIN!
• Portland will travel back to Hawai'i for a non-conference tournament for the second straight season after competing in the 2018 Rainbow Classic last season.
• The Pilots will take part in the 2019 Diamond Head Classic Dec. 22-25, opening the tournament against Houston.

PORTER PRODUCES
• Redshirt junior G Malcolm Porter was clutch down the stretch in the Nov. 16 win against Maine. He buried a 30-footer to beat the shot clock and scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half. Porter also matched his career best with six rebounds.
• He also reached double figures and tied for the team lead with 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting in a season-opening win against Willamette.
• The youngest son of head coach Terry Porter, Malcolm played primarily a reserve combo guard role the last two years, but as one of the more experienced players on the roster has expanded his role this season.

HOGLAND HONES SKILLS IN JAPAN
• Redshirt sophomore C Hugh Hogland has spent time with the Japanese National Team over the past year, just missing out on making the final roster for the Olympics.
• Hogland was born and raised in Hawai'i, but has dual citizenship as his mother, Sanae Watanabe, is Japanese.
• Hogland was also a standout prep volleyball player and member of various USA Volleyball Youth and Junior National Teams before choosing to play college basketball.
• One of the team's best back-to-the-basket scorers, Hogland shot 54.1 percent from the field last season.

TRYON FINDS HIS STROKE
• Junior F Jacob Tryon showed his versatile scoring abilities against Willamette on Nov. 5 by knocking down a three-pointer, making both of his free throw attempts, and scoring from the block and high post while going 5-for-7 from the field.
• Recruited as a stretch big, Tryon shot 50 percent from three-point range in his one year at East Los Angeles JC and started in his debut for the Pilots to open last season, but then missed 10 games with a foot injury.
• After struggling to find his shooting rhythm and opening the year 3-for-18 from the field, he finished the year shooting 44.6 percent overall and 49.4 percent in WCC play.

DIVERSE ROSTER WITH INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
• Portland's roster features players from a variety of geographic locations as four players are from the state of California, but all other 11 Pilots hail from different states, countries or territories.
• Other Pilots came to The Bluff from Alabama, Hawai'i, Illinois, Mali, Maryland, New Zealand, Oregon, Puerto Rico, New York, Texas and Washington.
• 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.

AUSSIE SHARPSHOOTER SIGNS WITH PILOTS
• Zac Triplett, a shooting guard from Melbourne, Australia, signed a National Letter of Intent with Portland on Nov. 13. He will join the Pilots as a freshman in 2020.
• The 6-foot-5, 165-pound sharp-shooter has represented Victoria on state teams at the Under-18 and Under-20 Australian National Championships.
• He helped Victoria win the Gold Medal at the 2019 School Sport Australia (SSA) National Championships in the U-18 division. The previous year, he earned All-Australian Team honors at the SSA National Championships.
• Triplett also led Maribyrnong to a Bronze Medal at the 2018 Australia School Championships for the Under-20, Division I level.

PILOTS ON THE TV & RADIO
Portland will have an extensive TV package with a minimum of 12 games aired nationally or regionally. All three games at the Diamond Head Classic will air on the ESPN family of networks, while a majority of Portland's WCC games will be televised regionally. Visit PortlandPilots.com for complete schedule details and full TV listings (once finalized). Pilot games will once again have live radio coverage on 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT) 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.