Portland Pilots (5-2, 0-0 WCC) vs. Montana State Bobcats (2-2, 0-0 Big Sky)
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 22
Time: 12 p.m.
Place: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center
TV: NBC Sports Northwest
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT)
Live Coverage Links: Video | Audio | Stats

Portland vs. Montana State Series
Overall: UP leads 14-11
Last 5/10: MSU leads 3-2/Tied 5-5
At Portland: UP leads 9-3
At Montana State: MSU leads 7-4
Neutral: Tied 1-1
Last Game: Pilots 87, Montana State 60 (12/20/14 – Chiles Center)

GAME INFORMATION
• Portland hosts the Montana State Bobcats at the Chiles Center with a noon tip-off on Tuesday afternoon. The game will be televised live on NBC Sports Northwest with Ann Schatz and Jennifer Mountain on the call.
• The Pilots (5-2) had their five-game win streak snapped with a road loss at Oregon on Saturday, while the Bobcats (2-2) dropped a road game to Washington State last Thursday.
• All Pilot men's basketball games are on the radio on 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT) with Jason Swygard calling the action. The pre-game show begins 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
• Live coverage links for Portland games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
• Follow @PilotHoops on Twitter for in-game updates.

LAST GAME
• Oregon's stifling defense limited the Pilots to just 21 percent shooting in an 80-41 rout in Eugene on Saturday.
• No Pilot reached double figures as the team went scoreless for more than eight minutes during a 19-0 Oregon run from the end of the first half through the early part of the second half.
• The Pilots struggled with the size and athleticism of Oregon and were outrebounded by a 42-26 margin and gave up a 48-14 edge in points in the paint.
• Portland entered the Oregon game averaging 81.7 points and had yet to score less than 72 in a game before the Ducks shut down the UP offense.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland's five-game win streak before falling to Oregon matched the program's best since winning six straight during the 2008-09 season.
• The Pilots are shooting 75.1 percent from the free throw line as a team. The program record for a single-season is 74.8 percent (1990-91).
• Senior PG Ahmed Ali garnered WCC Player of the Week honors as well as the Lou Henson Award for mid-major National Player of the Week on Dec. 14 after erupting for 26 points, six rebounds and four assists in an overtime win at Oregon State on Dec. 10. His 19.3 points per game ranks fourth in the WCC.
• Portland lost its season-opener to Seattle U on Nov. 25. That game was scheduled on less than 24 hours' notice for the Pilots, replacing Idaho who was unable to play due to COVID-related issues.
• Portland got a later start than most as a result of complications from COVID-19. The Pilots were waiting for an exemption from the State of Oregon and Oregon Health Authority before being allowed full contact practice. UP was given the exemption on Sunday, Nov. 22, three days before the season officially started.
• The Pilot roster features nine newcomers to The Bluff this season, while returning just five lettermen. Only four of those returners are on the active roster, as senior F Tahirou Diabate has opted out of the season for personal reasons.
• The Pilots return just 25 percent of the scoring from last year to the active roster.
• UP's starting lineup in each of the first seven games has consisted of all newcomers.
• Portland got much-needed experience with the addition of Division I transfers Ahmed Ali (Washington State/Hawaii) and Michael Henn (UC Davis/Cal Baptist). The Pilots also hit the JUCO recruiting circuit in the spring and signed five players from those ranks to join incoming freshmen Zac Triplett and Hayden Curtiss.
• Sophomore PG Chase Adams is coming off of an impressive season where he racked up the second most assists by a Pilot freshman in program history. He started 30 games for the Pilots while his 117 total assists trailed only Hall of Famer and former NBA standout, Darwin Cook (128). Adams also led the WCC in steals per game (1.8) and was eighth in assists per game (3.7).
• Redshirt junior G Takiula Fahrensohn had a breakout 2019-20 campaign. Despite battling injuries, Fahrensohn started eight games and averaged 7.8 points and 3.0 rebounds. He shot 41 percent from the field and was second best on the team in three-point percentage (.390) and three-pointers made (46).
• The current roster features players 11 different states, countries or territories including three from Washington, two from California and Canada, and one each from Australia, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Mali, New Zealand, New Jersey and North Carolina.
• The Pilots were picked to finish 10th in the WCC Preseason Head Coaches Poll.
• A total of 13 former Pilots have played professionally overseas in the last year, 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 fifth year as the head coach of the Pilots.
• The Pilots signed PG Deng Dut (6-4, 190) from Melbourne, Australia and the College of Southern Idaho to a NLI in November.

ABOUT MONTANA STATE
• The Bobcats (2-2) picked up an impressive 91-78 road win at UNLV to open the season and routed Yellowstone Christian (114-74) for its other win. MSU lost in overtime at Pacific (74-70) and dropped an 82-54 decision at Washington State on Thursday.
• Xavier Bishop and Amin Adamu both average 14.3 points per game, while Jubrile Belo adds 12.5 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game.
• Head Coach Danny Sprinkle is in his second year at the helm of his alma mater after spending the previous six seasons as an assistant at Cal State Fullerton. Sprinkle went 16-15 last year and returns three starters and six lettermen.

IMPACT D-I TRANSFERS
• Division I transfers Ahmed Ali and Michael Henn have been impact contributors out of the gates and provided much needed experience to the roster.
• Ali, a JC All-American at Eastern Florida State College, started for Washington State during the 2018-19 season before transferring to Hawaii and sitting out last year due to injury. He has led the team in scoring six times, including a career-high 28 points against Portland State and 26 points at Oregon State. He ranks fourth in WCC in scoring (19.3) and was named the WCC Player of the Week on Dec. 14.
• Henn helped UC Davis reach the NCAA Tournament as a freshman in 2017 before transferring to Cal Baptist. He sat one year and then started 24 games during the 2018-19 season before being sidelined last year with an injury. Henn scored a career-high 21 points vs. College of Idaho on Dec. 15 and is averaging 8.7 points and a team-high 5.0 rebounds per game.

JUCO TRANSFERS PROVIDE BIG BOOST
• Portland signed five JUCO transfers in the spring and they have had a major impact.
• Junior F Eddie Davis helped Colby JC in Kansas reach the JUCO Nationals and earned league MVP honors. Davis is second on the roster at 10.9 points per game and also second in rebounds (4.6).
• Junior G Isiah Dasher had two standout years at State College of Florida. Dasher is averaging 9.0 points and has a team-best 12 steals.
• Junior G Latrell Jones became the first Pilot this season to record a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Portland State. Jones played two years at College of Central Florida, averaging double figures both years, and brings great athleticism to the roster.
• Junior G Clythus Griffith, Jr. has been a sharpshooter off the bench who averaged more than 20 points per game last year at SW Tennessee Community College. Griffith Jr. is 5-for-10 from three-point range, has made all eight of his free throw attempts, and is second on the roster with ten steals.
• Junior F Hunter Seymour is a developing big man that played at Cabrillo College the last two years and averaged a double-double of 11.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.2 blocked shots per game a year ago. He logged season highs of four points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots vs. College of Idaho.

FREE THROW EFFICIENCY
• Portland is shooting 75.1 percent as a team at the free throw line and has been above 70 percent in six of the first seven games. The program record for a season is 74.8 percent (1990-91).
• Ahmed Ali converted 15-of-18 free throw attempts against Portland State on Saturday to become the first Pilot since Alec Wintering on Nov. 25, 2016 to make 15-or-more free throws in a game.