Portland Pilots (6-3) vs. Evergreen State Geoducks (3-4)
Date: Friday, Dec. 13, 2019
Time: 7:00 p.m. (PT)
City: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center
Video: WCC Network
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT)
Live Coverage Links: Video I Audio I Stats
Tickets: PortlandPilots.com or 503-943-GOUP (4687)

GAME INFORMATION
• Portland (6-3) looks to snap a two-game losing streak as it opens a three-game homestand on Friday night against Evergreen State (3-4). Tip-off is 7 p.m. at the Chiles Center.
• The Pilots will then host Florida A&M on Monday and Jackson State on Thursday before closing the non-league schedule at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii.
• All three home games will be aired on the WCC Network.
• All Pilot men's basketball 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.

TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
• Kids sixth grade and younger will receive free tickets to the next three home games as part of a Holiday Special!
• Single-game tickets, group discounts and youth experience packages are available by calling or texting the Pilot Box Office at 503-943-GOUP (4687).
• Tickets for Portland's upcoming home game against No. 6 Gonzaga on Thursday, Jan. 2 are still available!

LAST GAME
• Portland made just 16-of-28 free throws and struggled to make shots late as the Seattle U Redhawks held on for a 73-71 victory Saturday night at the ShoWare Center.
• Isaiah White had a shot to tie at the buzzer just miss off the back rim as the Redhawks escaped despite their own late shooting issues.
• White led the Pilots with 18 points and five assists, while Jacob Tryon just missed his second double-double of the season with 10 points and nine rebounds. Tahirou Diabate also finished in double figures with 10 points.
• Seattle was held to 39 percent shooting overall, while Portland shot 47 percent from the field.
• The Redhawks had a 42-32 rebounding margin and 11-4 edge in 2nd chance points.

PORTLAND NOTES
• UP ranks 18th nationally in three-point percentage (.404) and is among the WCC leaders in a variety of defensive categories.
• The team returns two starters, nine lettermen and adds five newcomers along with a returning redshirt to the 2019-20 roster.
• Newcomers Isaiah White (grad transfer) and Chase Adams (freshman) have been impact contributors. White ranks eighth in the WCC in scoring (14.9) and was named the league's Player of the Week on Nov. 25, while Adams ranks third in the conference in both assists (4.6) and steals (1.8).
• 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 is second on the team in scoring (13.9) and has reached double figures in all but one game this season.
• Sophomore C Hugh Hogland (concussion) missed the team's first three games. 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 13 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 6-5 G Zac Triplett (Melbourne, Australia) to a NLI on Nov. 13.

ABOUT EVERGREEN STATE
• The Geoducks (3-4) are a member of the NAIA's Cascade Collegiate Conference and have exhibition losses to Portland State (103-46) and Idaho (88-82).
• Evergreen State plays a fast pace and forces 19.3 turnovers per game, while scoring 75.6 points per game.
• Gloire Biongo leads three players averaging double figures at 17.0 per game.
• Head coach Tim Malroy is in his sixth season at the helm.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
• The Pilots lead the league in blocked shots (4.1) and three-point percentage defense (.288).
• Portland also ranks second in field goal percentage defense (.385) and is allowing just 63.1 points per game.
• Opponents have been held below 45 percent from the field in all six wins, while the Pilots have a plus-1.1 turnover margin.

WHITE MAKES IMMEDIATE IMPACT
• Isaiah White was named the WCC Player of the Week on Nov. 25 after averaged 22.0 points and 5.5 assists in leading the Pilots to wins against Portland State and UC Davis.
• White is the first Pilot to earn men's hoops weekly honor since Alec Wintering took the award on Jan. 2, 2017.
• A grad transfer from Maine, White has scored the most points at the Division I level (806) on the Portland roster after filling the stat in his two seasons with the Black Bears.
• He scored a career-high 23 points in the win over UC Davis and has recorded three 20-point games already this season.
• He finished with 22 points at USC and added 21 points and eight assists in the team's win at Portland State.
• White also leads the WCC in blocked shots per game (1.3).

EFFECTIVE OFFENSE
• The Pilots are third in the league and 18th nationally in three-point percentage (.404).
• Portland also ranks 30th in the nation in assists per game (16.6). The team averaged just 11.5 assists per game last season.
• The Pilots have shot above 47 percent from the field in all six wins, including 55 percent versus Maine and 53 percent at Portland State.

WALKER LEADS THE WAY
• Junior G JoJo Walker missed the team's win over UC Davis on Nov. 23 with back spasms, but has scored in double figures in seven of the eight games he has played.
• Walker ranks 14th in the WCC in scoring (13.3) and eighth in 3-pointers made (2.0).
• He posted a season-high 22 points at San Jose State while shooting 8-for-12 overall and 5-of-7 from three-point range.
• Walker is the team's leading returning scorer after averaging 11.5 per game last season and entered the season as the Pilots' active leader in points, minutes played, steals, free throws made and three-pointers made. 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.

ADAMS NAVIGATING
• Chase Adams has been a difference maker at point guard out of the gates and ranks third in the WCC in both assists (4.6) and steals (1.6).
• 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.

PORTER PRODUCES
• Malcolm Porter has had a breakout season averaging 10.0 points per game.
• He recorded a career-high 15 points in the win over Incarnate Word and is shooting 49 percent from the field and 41 percent from three-point range.
• 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.
• He followed with an efficient 13 points and four rebounds at Portland State, finishing 5-for-8 from the field. Porter had 12 points, a career-high seven rebounds and four assists in the win against UC Davis.
• The youngest son of head coach Terry Porter, Malcolm played primarily a reserve combo guard role the previous two years.

TRYON SEEING DOUBLE
• Jacob Tryon came up big with 12 points off the bench in the second half of Portland's win at Portland State. He was a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line and made both of his field goal attempts.
• Tryon followed by recording his first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds in the win against UC Davis. He then just missed another one with 10 points and nine rebounds at Seattle.

TAKI TAKES ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITY
• Redshirt sophomore G Takiula (Taki) Fahrensohn missed two games due to injury, but returned to the lineup against Seattle and buried three three-pointers. He has seized the opportunity for more playing time this year.
• Fahrensohn has recorded double figures three times including a career-high of 11 points at Portland State.
• He had 10 points and six rebounds off the bench at USC on Nov. 8. He 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.
• 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, averaging 8.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and shot 39 percent from three-point range last year.
• 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.

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.

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.

STELLAR START
• Portland's 6-1 start was tied for the second best in program history.
• The feat was accomplished just eight times since Portland moved to the NCAA Division I level for the 1958-59 season, most recently to open the 2014-15 season.
• Portland five-game win streak matched the longest since opening the 2014 as well.

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.

PILOTS PARTNER WITH NBC SPORTS NW
• UP Athletics and NBC Sports Northwest came to an agreement to air a total of seven basketball games this season (Xfinity Ch. 737) beginning with Sunday's women's game vs. Portland State. Here is the complete schedule:
• Sun., Dec. 15: WBB vs. Portland State, 2 p.m.
• Sat., Jan. 4: MBB vs. San Francisco, 7 p.m.
• Sat., Jan. 11: WBB vs. Saint Mary's, 2 p.m.
• Sat., Jan. 25: WBB vs. Pepperdine, 2 p.m.
• Sat., Feb. 1: WBB vs. San Diego, 2 p.m.
• Sat., Feb. 15: WBB vs. San Francisco, 2 p.m.
• Sat., Feb. 22: MBB vs. LMU, 7 p.m.

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.