Portland Pilots (3-1, 0-0 WCC) vs. Oregon State Beavers (2-2, 0-1 Pac-12)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 10
Time: 5 p.m.
Place: Corvallis, Ore.
Arena: Gill Coliseum
TV: Pac-12 Network
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT)
Live Coverage Links: Video | Audio | Stats

Portland vs. Oregon State Series
Overall: OSU leads 53-17
Last 5/10: OSU leads 4-1/7-3
At Portland: OSU leads 17-12
At Oregon State: OSU leads 29-4
Neutral: OSU leads 7-1
Last Game: Pilots 53, Oregon State 45 (12/18/16 - Moda Center)

GAME INFORMATION
• Portland visits Oregon State for the first regular season meeting between the two schools since the Pilots won a 53-45 decision over the Beavers on Dec. 18, 2016 at the Moda Center.
• Thursday's game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. tip-off on the Pac-12 Network with Rich Burk and Lamar Hurd on the call.
• The Pilots (3-1) have won three straight after defeating crosstown rival Portland State by an 86-73 margin on Saturday, while the Beavers (2-2) are coming off of back-to-back close losses at Washington State (59-55) and versus Wyoming (76-73).
• 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 WEEK
• Portland opened the game with a 14-2 run and finished regulation with a 17-5 run to defeat crosstown rival Portland State 86-73 on Saturday night at the Chiles Center.
• Ahmed Ali scored a career-high 28 points, while junior guard Latrell Jones tallied a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to propel the Pilots. Eddie Davis added 14 points, while Chase Adams scored 11 off the bench.
• The Pilots led 35-33 at halftime, but PSU took its first lead of the night early in the second half. There would be ten ties and five lead changes, but the Pilots only allowed two field goals in the last eight minutes to pull away.
• Portland handled the Vikings full-court pressure well, actually forcing 20 turnovers while committing just 13 for a 22-12 edge in points off of turnovers. UP was just 3-for-16 from three-point range, but racked up a 48-26 advantage in the paint and 23-9 margin in fast break points, while limiting the Vikings to 38 percent shooting.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• 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.
• Portland has won three straight after dropping 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.
• 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 four 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 also 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). Fahrensohn missed the Portland State game due to injury (shoulder).
• 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 OREGON STATE
• The Beavers (2-2) opened the season with non-conference wins against California (71-63) and Northwest U (114-42), but have dropped consecutive games at Washington State (59-55) and home vs. Wyoming (76-73).
• Senior G Ethan Thompson is averaging 15.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game to lead Oregon State.
• The Beavers are shooting 39.7 percent from three-point range and has outrebounded all four opponents this year with a +9.0 margin.
• Head Coach Wayne Tinkle is in his seventh year with the Beavers after serving eight seasons as head coach at Montana. Tinkle returns three starters and seven lettermen from last year's team that finished 18-13 overall.
 
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 each of the first four games, including a career-high 28 points against Portland State. He ranks fourth in WCC in scoring (20.3).
• 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 is averaging 7.3 points and a team-high 4.8 rebounds per game while playing more than 27 minutes 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 has started all four games, is second on the roster at 11.3 points per game and is third at 4.5 rebounds per game.
• Junior G Isiah Dasher worked his way into the starting five after two standout years at State College of Florida. Dasher is averaging 9.0 points and swiped five steals against Northwest U.
• Junior G Latrell Jones became the first Pilot this season to record a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Portland State. He opened the game with a monster put-back dunk to set the tone and continued to make big plays throughout, including a clutch three late in regulation. 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 8-for-16 from the field, 2-for-3 from three-point range and has made all eight free throw attempts this season. He is also second on the roster with five 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 played 13 effective minutes vs. PSU grabbing three rebounds, dishing two assists and blocking a shot.
 
FREE THROW EFFICIENCY
• Portland is shooting 76.6 percent as a team at the free throw line and has been above 70 percent in each of the first four games.
• 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.