Portland Pilots (8-3) vs. Jackson State Tigers (2-8)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019
Time: 7:30 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 looks to sweep its three-game homestand Thursday night versus Jackson State at 7:30 p.m. This will be the second game of a doubleheader with the women's team hosting Willamette at 5 p.m.
• Portland will then close out the non-league schedule at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii on Dec. 22-25.
• 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 tickets, live video, audio and stats for all Portland games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
• Follow @PilotHoops on Twitter for in-game updates.

TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
• Kids sixth grade and younger will receive free tickets 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
• Isaiah White scored 19 points to lead four players in double figures night as the Pilots defeated Florida A&M 66-60 on Monday night at the Chiles Center.
• White scored 16 of his points in the second half as the Pilots used a 12-0 run early in the period to take the lead for good.
• Takiula Fahrensohn recorded career highs of 15 points and seven rebounds. Fahrensohn earned the start as the shorthanded Pilots were missing two of their top three scorers with Malcolm Porter and JoJo Walker unavailable.
• Freshman PG Chase Adams reached double figures for the second straight game with 11 points, while junior Jacob Tryon had 10 points, eight rebounds and career-high five blocked shots.
• Portland shot 46 percent from the field and made 9-of-19 three-pointers and held the Rattlers to 37 percent overall and 2-of-12 from beyond the arc.

PORTLAND NOTES
• Monday's win against Florida A&M gave Portland its eight win, already more than the team's seven total wins during the 2018-19 season.
• The team's 8-3 record matches the fifth best 11-game start since joining Division I for the 1958-59 season.
• The Pilots lead the WCC in FG percentage defense (.378), three-point defense (.281) and blocked shots (4.4) while also ranking second in points allowed per game (62.1).
• UP ranks 23rd nationally in three-point percentage (.392) and 31st in assists per game (16.5).
• 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 (15.4) and was named the league's Player of the Week on Nov. 25, while Adams ranks third in the conference in assists (4.6) and fourth in steals (1.5).
• 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).
• 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. Tryon, Hogland, Theo Akwuba, Tahirou Diabate, 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.
• 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 JACKSON STATE
• The Tigers are a member of the SWAC and all eight losses this year have come in true road games.
• Tristan Jarrett leads the team and averages 18.9 points per game.
• JSU got recent boost as Roland Griffin returned to the lineup for the first time on Monday and scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a win against Southeastern Baptist.
• Head coach Wayne Brent is in his eighth year at the helm.

LINEUP ADJUSTMENTS CONTINUE
• Head Coach Terry Porter has had to juggle his lineup and rotation all season for a variety of reasons.
• Hugh Hogland and Takiula Fahrensohn each missed three games to injury, while JoJo Walker and Quincy Ferebee each missed one game with nagging injuries. Malcolm Porter sat out Monday's game while in concussion protocol.
• Theo Akwuba missed the first nine games of the year in order to become academically eligible, while Walker has missed the last two games for team rules violations.
• Portland has featured five different starting lineups with Tahirou Diabate the lone Pilot to start all 11 games.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
• The Pilots lead the league in field goal percentage defense (.378), three-point defense (.281) and blocked shots (4.4).
• Portland ranks second in points allowed per game (62.1).
• Opponents have been held below 45 percent from the field in all eight wins, while the Pilots have a plus-1.0 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 (841) 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 ranks second in the WCC in blocked shots per game (1.4), eighth in scoring (15.4) and ninth in steals (1.5).

TRYON WITH THE BLOCK PARTY
• Jacob Tryon blocked a career-high five shots in Portland's win against Florida A&M on Monday. He added 10 points and eight rebounds in a solid all-around performance.
• Tryon is averaged 10.0 points and 9.3 rebounds over the last three games, while shooting 13-for-19 from the field.
• He recorded his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds against Evergreen State on Dec. 13.
• Tryon tallied his first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds in the win against UC Davis on Nov. 23. He then just missed another one with 10 points and nine rebounds at Seattle.
• He 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.

TAKI TAKES ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITY
• Redshirt sophomore G Takiula (Taki) Fahrensohn has missed three games due to injury, but returned to the lineup Monday and finished with career highs of 15 points and seven rebounds. He buried his first four three-point attempts to open the game.
• Fahrensohn has blossomed in his first chance getting extended playing time while on The Bluff. He has recorded double figures four times including 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 and played a total of just 81 minutes last season.

EFFECTIVE OFFENSE
• The Pilots rank 23rd nationally in three-point percentage (.392), but remarkably are just the fourth best among WCC institutions this season.
• Portland also ranks third in the WCC and 31st nationally in assists per game (16.5). The team averaged just 11.5 assists per game last season.
• The Pilots have shot above 45 percent from the field in all eight wins, including 55 percent versus Maine and 53 percent at Portland State.

ADAMS NAVIGATING
• Chase Adams has been a difference maker at point guard out of the gates and ranks third in the WCC in assists (4.5) and fourth in steals (1.5).
• He has recorded back-to-back double digit scoring games with a season high 14 points Friday against Evergreen State and 11 against Florida A&M.
• Adams 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 10.2 points per game.
• He recorded a career-high 15 points in the win over Incarnate Word.
• 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.
• Porter missed Monday's game and is questionable on Thursday.
 
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.

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 ninth 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.
• He missed the last two games and his status for Thursday is undetermined.

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.

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.
 
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.