Portland Pilots (6-6, 0-3 WCC) at Pepperdine Waves (4-6, 0-1 WCC)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021
Time: 4:00 p.m. (PT)
City: Malibu, Calif.
Arena: Firestone Fieldhouse
Video: WCC Network
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT)
Live Coverage Links: Video I Audio I Stats

GAME INFORMATION
• Portland will look to snap a four-game losing streak when the Pilots travel to take on the Pepperdine Waves on Saturday at Firestone Fieldhouse. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.
• The Pilots (6-6, 0-3 WCC) dropped a 79-63 decision to San Francisco on Thursday at the Chiles Center, while the Waves (4-6, 0-1) opened WCC play with a 95-70 road loss to No. 1 Gonzaga.
• Pepperdine swept both games last season and have won five straight in the series.
• 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: SAN FRANCISCO 79, PILOTS 63 (JAN. 14 AT UP)
• Eddie Davis finished with 20 points to lead Portland, but the Dons cruised to the win Thursday night at the Chiles Center. Jamaree Bouyea led four Dons in double figures with 28 points as USF completed the season sweep.
• The teams met just one week ago in San Francisco and the script on Thursday was similar. The Pilots led by two at the half last week before the Dons pulled away for an 88-64 victory. This time, Portland went up by eight midway through the first period and led for more than 10 minutes before USF used a 13-0 run to take the lead. Portland was held scoreless for the final 3:42 of the half and trailed 43-30 at the break. The Dons would extend the margin to as much as 24 points late in regulation.
• The Pilots were coming off of a season-high 88-point effort against No. 1 Gonzaga, but struggled to get going offensively. Portland was held to 34 percent shooting from the field and was 4-of-19 from three-point range.
• USF finished at 48 percent overall and 13-of-38 from beyond the arc. The Dons also had a 43-26 rebounding advantage and 16-6 margin in second chance points.
• Senior G Ahmed Ali finished with 11 points and Latrell Jones added 10 for UP.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland's 88 points against Gonzaga on Jan. 7 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 78.9 percent from the free throw line as a team, which ranks 18th nationally and second to only Pepperdine (80.7) 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 17.8 points per game ranks fifth 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 went with the same starting five for the first 11 games of the season before inserting freshman G Zac Triplett into the lineup Thursday at USF. All starters this season have been 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 Hayden Curtiss and Triplett.
• Curtiss has been a force defensively and ranks sixth in the WCC in blocked shots (1.3) despite playing just 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 78.9 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 (69) and attempted (80).

TRIPLET SHOWS THE STROKE
• Freshman G Zac Triplett made the most of his minutes against Gonzaga last 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.

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).
• The hot shooting didn't carry over as Portland was just 4-of-19 against San Francisco.

FRESHMAN BLOCK PARTY
• Freshman F Hayden Curtiss ranks sixth in the WCC in blocked shots per game (1.3).
• 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 fifth in WCC in scoring (17.8) 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 7.8 points and 4.0 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 11.5 points per game and also leads the team in rebounds (5.0).
• Junior G Isiah Dasher had two standout years at State College of Florida. Dasher is averaging 8.8 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 9.2 points and 4.8 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 25-of-26 free throw attempts and has 13 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 PEPPERDINE
• The Waves (4-6, 0-1 WCC) dropped a 95-70 decision at No. 1 Gonzaga on Thursday in the team's first game since Dec. 23. Pepperdine had a number of games postponed due to COVID-related issues.
• Pepperdine posted notable non-conference wins against California and UC Irvine, with close losses to UCLA (triple OT) and San Diego State (65-60).
• Senior PG Colbey Ross is the Waves all-time leader in scoring and assists and leads.
• Head Coach Lorenzo Romar is in his second stint as head coach of the Waves. The former Washington head coach led Pepperdine to a 16-16 overall record and 8-8 finish in the WCC last season.