Portland Pilots (6-5, 0-2 WCC) vs. San Francisco Dons (8-6, 2-2 WCC)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021
Time: 5:00 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

GAME INFORMATION
• Portland and San Francisco meet for the second time in a week when the Pilots (6-5, 0-2 WCC) host the Dons (8-6, 2-2) on Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Chiles Center. Portland will then travel to Pepperdine for a 4 p.m. contest Saturday at Firestone Fieldhouse.
• San Francisco defeated Portland by an 88-64 margin on Jan. 7 on the Hilltop, despite trailing by two at the half.
• The Pilots are coming off of a 116-88 loss to No. 1 Gonzaga on Saturday, while the Dons dropped a 68-60 decision at Loyola Marymount.
• 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: #1 GONZAGA 116, PILOTS 88 (JAN. 9 AT UP)
• Gonzaga's Joel Ayayi recorded the first triple-double in program history as the Bulldogs remained unbeaten. Ayayi finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists.
• The Pilots matched their season high in points as well as assists (16) – and also drilled a team-best 13 three-pointers –  but UP had no answer defensively for the Zags.
• GU shot a remarkable 63 percent from the field, posted an 80-26 margin in points in the paint and gained a 42-27 rebounding edge.
• Ahmed Ali led five Pilots in double figures with 19 points, while freshman G Zac Triplett finished with 13 points in 12 minutes on 4-of-6 shooting. Michael Henn finished with 12 points, while Latrell Jones and Clythus Griffith Jr. added 11 each.
• The Pilots hung around early before Gonzaga erupted midway through the first half to take a 56-35 lead into halftime. It marked a season-high for points allowed in a half for Portland, which would be broken in the second half by the Zags.
• The Bulldogs led by as much as 36 points midway through the second half before Chase Adams ignited a 20-6 Pilot run by scoring or assisting on 15 straight points. He found Triplett for a trio of three-pointers during the spurt and converted a three-point play forcing GU to bring its starting lineup back in to close it out down the stretch.
• Portland falls to 0-9 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland's 88 points against Gonzaga was a season-high against a Division I opponent for the Pilots and matched Iowa for the second highest total scored against the Bulldogs this season (Kansas scored 90).
• The Pilots are shooting 77.7 percent from the free throw line as a team, which ranks 18th nationally and second to only Pepperdine (81.4) in the WCC. The program's single-season record 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 18.5 points per game ranks fourth in the WCC.
• Portland's five-game win streak before falling to Oregon on Dec. 19 matched the program's best since winning six straight during the 2008-09 season.
• 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 11 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.
• Curtiss has been a force defensively and ranks fourth in the WCC in blocked shots (1.5) despite playing less than 10 minutes per game. His six blocked shots against Montana State Dec. 22 was one shy of the school record (Bart Koenitzer, 1/14/89 vs. San Diego).
• 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 from 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 14 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.
 
FREE THROW EFFICIENCY
• Portland is shooting 77.7 percent as a team at the free throw line and has been above 70 percent in all but one game this season. The program record for a season is 74.8 percent (1990-91).
• The team was 25-for-26 from the stripe against Montana State on Dec. 22 and converted all 17 second-half attempts to overcome a double-digit first half deficit.
• 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. Ali also leads the WCC in free throws made (64) and attempted (75).

TRIPLET SHOWS THE STROKE
• Freshman G Zac Triplett made the most of his minutes against Gonzaga on Saturday and finished with a season-high 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting including 3-of-5 from three-point range. Triplett did his damage in just 12 minutes, all in the second half.
• The Melbourne, Australia sharpshooter is 5-for-11 from beyond the arc this season.

DIALING IT IN FROM DISTANCE
• Portland drilled a season high 13 three-pointers against Gonzaga, besting the team's previous high of just nine.
• The Pilots were 13-of-27 from three-point range in the game which also accounted for season highs in attempts and percentage (.481).

FRESHMAN BLOCK PARTY
• Freshman F Hayden Curtiss ranks fourth in the WCC in blocked shots per game (1.5).
• Curtiss was one off the school record when he collected six blocked shots against Montana State Dec. 22. He came back with four more blocks at Seattle U Dec. 30.
• The North Bend, Wash. native won the Washington State title as a senior at Mount Si High School.

IMPACT D-I TRANSFERS
• Division I transfers Ahmed Ali and Michael Henn have been impact contributors 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 eight times, including a career-high 28 points against Portland State and 26 points at Oregon State. He ranks fourth in WCC in scoring (18.5) 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 8.2 points and 4.3 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 10.7 points per game and also leads the team in rebounds (4.9).
• Junior G Isiah Dasher had two standout years at State College of Florida. Dasher is averaging 9.1 points and his 1.6 steals per game ranks fourth in the WCC.
• 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 and adds 9.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
• 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. has made 21-of-22 free throw attempts and has 12 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.
 
ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO
• The Dons (8-6, 2-2 WCC) are coming off of a 68-60 loss at LMU on Saturday and also have a WCC road loss to Gonzaga. USF has defeated San Diego and Portland in WCC home games.
• The Dons posted notable non-conference wins against Virginia, Nevada, Grand Canyon and Long Beach State and dropped close games at California and Oregon.
• USF sits at No. 88 in the latest NCAA NET Rankings and No. 82 by KenPom.
• Nine players average double-digit minutes for the Dons. Jamaree Bouyea (17.3) and Khalil Shabazz (14.8) lead a dynamic backcourt attack.
• Head Coach Todd Golden is in his second year at the helm of the Dons after being promoted when Kyle Smith moved to Washington State following the 2018-19 season.