Portland Pilots (6-2, 0-0 WCC) at Seattle U Redhawks (5-5, 0-0 WAC)
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 30
Time: 6 p.m.
Place: Seattle, Wash.
Arena: Redhawk Center
Video: WAC Digital Network
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT)
Live Coverage Links: Video | Audio | Stats

Portland vs. Seattle U Series
Overall: SU leads 75-30
Streak: SU W4
Last 5/10: SU leads 4-1/Tied 5-5
At Portland: SU leads 34-17
At Seattle U: SU leads 36-5
Neutral/Unknown: UP leads 8-5
Last Game: Seattle U 84, Pilots 72 (11/25/20 – Chiles Center)

GAME INFORMATION
• Portland concludes non-conference play with a re-match against the Seattle U Redhawks on Wednesday. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. tip-off at the Redhawk Center. Live video coverage will be available on the WAC Digital Network.
• The teams opened the season on short notice with the Redhawks (5-5) pulling out an 84-72 win at the Chiles Center. The game was put together in less than 24 hours after Seattle's game with Idaho was cancelled due to COVID-related issues.
• The Pilots (6-2) defeated Montana State on Dec. 22 and the team's only loss since the opener was at Oregon.
• 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.

LAST GAME
• Portland trailed by 13 points early and 10 at halftime, but pulled out a thrilling 62-59 victory against Montana State on Dec. 22 at the Chiles Center. Eddie Davis finished with team-highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Ahmed Ali scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half.
• An Isiah Dasher layup gave Portland its first lead of the day at 51-50 with 6:15 remaining and the Pilots never gave it back.
• Ali hit a runner, drilled three free throws and then found Michael Henn for a layup giving UP a 60-56 edge with 1:21 left.
• The Bobcats had the ball trailing by one in the closing seconds, but Portland got a stop and Latrell Jones hit a pair of free throws to ice the game.
• The Pilots shot just 33 percent from the field, 3-of-18 from three-point range and committed 20 turnovers, but made 25-of-26 free throws and dominated the boards with a 42-31 rebounding margin.
• Freshman Hayden Curtiss was a big spark off the bench and blocked six shots, one off the school single-game record.
 
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 77.8 percent from the free throw line as a team, which ranks 16th nationally. The program record for a single-season is 74.8 percent (1990-91).
• Ahmed Ali garnered WCC Player of the Week honors as well as 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. His 19.0 points per game ranks third in the WCC.
• UP lost its season-opener to Seattle U. The game was scheduled on less than 24 hours' notice for the Pilots, replacing Idaho who was unable to play due to COVID.
• 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 eight 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 (117), trailing 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).
• 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 SEATTLE U
• The Redhawks (5-5) have a D-I wins against the Pilots and Air Force, with losses coming to California, Washington, UCLA, CSUN and Long Beach State.
• Riley Grigsby (17.6) and Darrion Trammell (16.8) lead Seattle U in scoring, while Emeka Udenyi adds 8.2 points and 7.1 rebounds.
• Head Coach Jim Hayford is in his fourth year at the helm after a successful six-year run at Eastern Washington. Hayford went 14-15 last year, returns four lettermen and added 11 newcomers to this season's roster.
 
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 7.9 points and 4.8 rebounds.
 
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 11.9 points per game and also leads the team in rebounds (5.3).
• Junior G Isiah Dasher had two standout years at State College of Florida. Dasher is averaging 8.6 points and has a team-best 15 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-11 from three-point range, has made all 12 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 77.8 percent as a team at the free throw line and has been above 70 percent in seven of the first eight games. The program record for a season is 74.8 percent (1990-91). The Pilots also rank eighth nationally in FT's made (161).
• The team was 25-for-26 from the stripe against Montana State and converted all 17 second-half attempts.
• Ahmed Ali made 15-of-18 attempts against Portland State to become the first Pilot since Alec Wintering on Nov. 25, 2016 to make 15-or-more in a game.