Portland Pilots (6-6, 0-0 WCC) vs. Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (7-2, 0-0 Big West)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023
Time: 8 p.m. (PT)
Place: Manoa, Hawaii
Arena: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: ESPN2
Radio: 910 ESPN Portland (KMTT)
Live Coverage Links: Video I Audio I Stats

THIS WEEK
• The Pilots conclude non-conference play at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. Portland will face host Hawaii on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 8 p.m. (PT). • The eight-team bracket also features UMass and Georgia Tech on Portland's side, along with TCU, Old Dominion, Temple and Nevada on the opposite side.

GAME COVERAGE
• All tournament games will be aired on the ESPN family of networks, with Portland's first two games set for ESPN2. Roxy Bernstein and Carolyn Peck will be on the call for Thursday's game.
• Radio for all Portland men's basketball games is on 910 ESPN Portland (KMTT) with Jason Swygard and Joel Sobotka calling the action.
• Live coverage links for Portland games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
• Follow @PortlandMBB on Twitter and Instagram for the latest team content.
 
LAST GAME: GRAND CANYON 91, PILOTS 63 (Dec. 16 in Phoenix, Ariz.)
• Portland fell to Grand Canyon Saturday at the Jerry Colangelo Classic hosted at the Footprint Center, home of the NBA's Phoenix Suns. Four Pilots reached double figures, led by Tyler Robertson, who had 17 points. Tyler Harris tacked on 15 points and 10 rebounds and Vukasin Masic chipped in as well with 12 points.
• The Lopes owned the glass and finished with a 51-32 rebounding margin and 22 second chance points on 17 offensive rebounds.
•Portland trailed by 13 at the half and twice cut the deficit to 10 in the second half before GCU pulled away late.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Head Coach Shantay Legans and the Pilots bring back several key players from last year's team that finished 14-19 overall, including Tyler Robertson, a two-time All-West Coast Conference guard. 2023 All-WCC Freshman Team guard Juanse Gorosito is also back after setting the UP freshman record for three-pointers made (63).
• The Pilots return more experience in Chris Austin, who averaged 14.4 points for the Pilots two seasons ago. Austin took a medical redshirt this past year after breaking his leg in the final game of the 2021-22 season.
• Portland has integrated 2022-23 redshirts Vukasin Masic (Maine transfer) and freshmen Bol Dengdit to the rotation. Masic averaged 9.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game during the 2021-22 season, while Dengdit competed with the NBA Academy in Australia and the Australian National Team.
• An intriguing group of newcomers includes transfers Alimamy Koroma (Cal Poly), Thomas Oosterbroek (Miami), Noah Jordan (West Virginia State) and Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams (Lamar). Koroma  averaged 10.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in four years with the Mustangs, twice garnering All-Big West recognition. Oosterbroek went to the Elite Eight and the Final Four with Miami in his first two years of college hoops. He redshirted last season and has three years of eligibility remaining. Jordan is a grad transfer that helped Division II WVSU win 44 total games and advance to the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. He averaged 11.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 52 percent overall and 40 percent from three-point range. Yamanouchi-Williams made 24 starts at Lamar and averaged 6.9 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game.
• Portland also welcomes four freshmen to the 2023-24 roster. G Tyler Harris (Hayward, Calif.) led Granada HS to the 2023 CIF NorCal Division I championship and a runner-up finish at the State Division I Boys Championship with a 17-point and 10-rebound effort in the title game loss to Notre Dame. G Vincent Delano (Phoenix, Ariz.) played for nationally recognized Arizona Compass Prep as a senior. F Cyprian Hyde (Oceanside, Calif.) Earned All-North County Coastal First Team honors as a senior after leading the team to the second round of the 2023 CIF San Diego Section Division II Championships. G Jude Harris (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) was a First Team All-Camino Real League in 2023 after averaging 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists per game.
• The Pilots are represented by eight different countries, tied for the most in the nation with Arizona and Hawaii. Portland players hail from the United States (10), Australia (2), Argentina (1), Japan (1), Montenegro (1), Netherlands (1), Serbia (1) and Sierra Leone (1).
 
MASIC MAGIC
• Masic has shown flashes of brilliance early in his return to action this season after being denied an immediate eligibility waiver last year by the NCAA.
• Masic erupted for a career high 32 points in Portland's Dec. 9 road win at North Dakota. He was 10-for-16 from the field, 4-of-8 from three-point range and 8-for-9 at the foul line. Masic added five rebounds and four assists with no turnovers. The 32 points are the most scored by a WCC player this season.
• In his Pilot debut, Masic scored 22 of his 25 points in second half to lead the team to a 78-73 season-opening win versus Long Beach State. His 25 points were the most ever scored by a Portland player in their debut.

ROBERTSON PILES UP THE STATS
• Tyler Robertson has scored at least 12 points in each of the first 12 games, including a season-high 28 points at Portland State on Nov. 28. He passed the 1,500-point mark for his career following Saturday's 16-point effort vs. Grand Canyon and ranks 65th among all active players in career scoring (1,503).
• Robertson is one of six players nationally with career totals of at 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists: Tristen Newton (UConn), RayJ Dennis (Baylor), Andrew Taylor (Miss. State), Baylor Scheierman (Creighton) and Jahmir Young (Maryland)
• Robertson is third in the WCC in scoring (16.8) and assists per game (4.4).
• Last season, Robertson and Jalen Pickett (Penn State) were the only Division I players to average at least 15 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. Robertson also led the WCC in assists, assists per game and free throws made (163).
• He entered the 2023-24 season ranked on the UP career charts in assists per game (4.9, 5th), scoring average (15.4, 11th), free throw percentage (.823, 11th), assists (312, 13th) and free throws made (284, t-15th).
• Robertson scored his 1,000th career point as a Pilot in the season opener versus Long Beach State.

HARRIS CONTINUES TORRID START
• Tyler Harris is second nationally among freshmen in rebounds per game (8.3) and 15th in blocked shots (1.3).
• He ranks second in the WCC in blocked shots and fourth in rebounding.
• His double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds against LBSU made him the first freshman in UP history to debut with a double-double. He also is the first true freshman to start a season-opener in Shantay Legans' seven years as a head coach.
• Harris also recorded double-doubles against UC Riverside (22 pts, 12 rebs), Wyoming (11 pts, 10 rebs) and Grand Canyon (15 pts, 10 rebs) and has twice been named the WCC Freshman of the Week.

GETTING OFFENSIVE
• The Pilots are third in the WCC in scoring offense (77.0) and second in three-pointers made per game (8.2).
• The team also is shooting 73.4 percent from the free throw line, which has been a consistent strength under Legans. His first UP team set a new school single-season record (.791) and last year's squad is No. 4 all-time (.745).

AUSTIN BACK IN ACTION
• Chris Austin made his much-anticipated return to action nearly 19 months after suffering a broken leg in Portland's College Basketball Classic loss to Southern Utah on March 26, 2022. He played 24 minutes against Long Beach and recently went for a season high 17 points versus Air Force.
• The 6-4 guard has found his stride the last five games, averaging 12.4 points on 50 percent shooting from the field.

KOROMA HEATS UP
• Alimamy Koroma went for 23 points against Willamette on Nov. 25 before erupting for 24 points and 12 rebounds at Portland State on Nov. 28.
• Koroma followed with 13 points and two blocked shots in a win over Wyoming and had 13 points at North Dakota State.
• A grad transfer from Cal Poly, Koroma started 75 games in his four years with the Mustangs and averaged 10.7 points and 4.6 rebounds throughout this career. He joined a short list of 17 players entering the 2023-24 season with career totals of at least 1,100 points, 500 rebounds and 90 blocked shots.

SETTING PROGRAM RECORDS
• In his first two seasons leading the Pilots, head coach Shantay Legans has already began rewriting the program record books.
• The Pilots have scored the most single-season points in school history each of the last two years. Portland scored 2,524 points in his inaugural 2021-22 season and then broke that record with 2,566 total points last year.
• The 2021-22 team set a new free throw percentage record (.791), while last year's 317 three-pointers made shattered the previous record of 289 (2016-17).
• The Pilots set a single game scoring record in a 122-78 victory over Willamette on Nov. 11, 2021, eclipsing the 115 scored against St. Martin's in 1978.
• Portland also broke the program's single game three-pointers made record with 18 against VMI on Dec. 3, 2021.
• Individually, Robertson broke the school record for free throws made when he converted 22-of-24 against Portland State on Nov. 11, 2022, eclipsing a record held by Jim Winters (20-of-23) which dated back to a matchup with Seattle U on Feb. 12, 1956. He also set the program single-game assists record with 15 against New Orleans on Dec. 10, 2022.
• Mike Meadows and Robertson also became the first Pilots to ever record triple-doubles. Meadows had one against Willamette, while Robertson posted a 31-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist triple-double in a win over LMU. He added another triple-double last year with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists against Multnomah.
 
ABOUT HAWAII
• The Rainbow Warriors (7-2) lost for the first time at home with Sunday's 72-66 defeat to Nevada.
• UH has Division I wins against Niagara, NAU, UTRGV, San Diego and Central Arkansas, with the only other loss coming against Utah at a neutral site.
• Noel Coleman leads three players in double figures at 16.9 points per game.
• Head coach Eran Ganot is in his ninth year at the helm and has led UH to a winning record in all but one season with a .616 winning percentage.

PORTLAND-HAWAII SERIES DETAILS
Series Information: Hawaii leads 13-8
H / A / N: 2-2 / 4-11 / 2-0
Streak: L4
Last 5 /10: 1-4/ 4-6
Last Meeting: Hawaii 82, Pilots 64 (Nov. 9, 2018 at Hawaii)
 
WE'RE RIVERBOAT PILOTS, NOT AIRPLANE PILOTS!
• Though the original nickname that students chose in a 1935 contest resulted in "Chinooks" (after the Native American tribe that inhabited the area, and the largest of the salmon species in the Willamette River), the "Pilots" was chosen by presidential fiat. From that day forward, The Bluff had a new mascot, and he was Wally Pilot.
• When the University changed its name from Columbia University (its earliest sports teams were known as the Cliff dwellers or the Columbias), to the University of Portland in 1935, the name and University had already begun to adapt a more "nautical motif," suitable for a campus site overlooking the Willamette River. At the same time, the Pilot athletic teams became associated with Wally (a stylized riverboat pilot), and the pilot's wheel became the logical logo.
  Get Your Tickets Now!
Secure your spot now for any upcoming Portland Pilots ticketed home event by visiting PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or by downloading the Portland Pilots App. For group and fan experience package information, email pilotsboxoffice@up.edu.

Donate Today
Fans interested in making a contribution to the Pilot Athletic Fund can do so by clicking here. Your gift directly helps our nearly 300 student-athletes as they strive to make a difference in our community and achieve academic and athletic excellence. Thank you for support of Pilot Athletics!

Follow Along With the Action
Get the latest news and information about your favorite University of Portland athletic programs by visiting PortlandPilots.com. You can also follow along for the most dynamic coverage and team-centric content by following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook, and following us on Instagram.