Portland Pilots (2-5, 0-0 WCC) vs. Denver Pioneers (3-5, 0-0 Summit)
Date: Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024
Time: 2 p.m.
Place: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center
TV: Portland's CW
Radio: 910 ESPN Portland (KMTT)
Live Coverage Links: Video I Audio I Stats
Tickets: PortlandPilots.com/Tickets

THIS WEEK
• The Pilots return home to the Chiles Center to host the Denver Pioneers on Sunday at 2 p.m. This is a special 5-0-3 game with $5 tickets, $0 parking and $3 hot dogs.
• Portland plays four of its final five non-league games at home over the next three weeks, with a road game at Kent State scheduled for Dec. 6.
 
GAME COVERAGE
• Sunday's game will be televised on Portland's CW (KRCW) and ESPN+ with Ann Schatz and Jennifer Mountain on the call.
• Radio for all Portland men's basketball games is on 910 ESPN Portland (KMTT) with Jason Swygard calling the action. Pre-game coverage begins 30 minutes prior to tip-off and ends with a 30-minute post-game show.
• Live coverage links for Portland games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
• Follow @PortlandMBB on X and Instagram for the latest team content.

LAST TIME OUT: Myrtle Beach Invitational (Nov. 21-24)
• Portland went 0-3 at the 2024 Myrtle Beach Invitational with losses to South Florida (74-68), Ohio (85-73) and Princeton (94-67).
• The Pilots overcame an 11-point second half deficit to tie the game late but fell 74-68 to South Florida. Max Mackinnon led the way for Portland with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists. The closing minutes were controversial as Portland had the ball down two with 1:35 remaining and were calling a timeout in front of the Pilot bench, but the referee did not grant the stoppage and South Florida stole the ball and scored an uncontested layup to go up two possessions. Portland still had a three-pointer to tie in the final 30 seconds but couldn't convert.
• Portland dropped an 85-73 decision to the Ohio Bobcats on Friday. Vukasin Masic led three Pilots in double figures with 17 points. Austin Rapp added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Pilots, while Max Mackinnon added 10 points and seven boards. Ohio was hot early and knocked down 5 of 7 three-pointers and finished the first half 7-for-17 from downtown, while the Pilots were 0-for-7 from beyond the arc in the period and trailed 46-30 at the half. Portland cut the deficit to 57-49 on a Masic three with 11:18 to go, but the Pilots missed two free throws and came up empty on their next two offensive possessions. Ohio responded by going on a 13-2 run and would lead by as much as 22 late in regulation.
• Portland concluded action at the Myrtle Beach Invitational with a 94-67 loss to Princeton Sunday. Masic and Mikah Ballew scored 12 points each to lead the Pilots, while Jinup Dobuol added 10 points. Turnovers cost the Pilots early as the Tigers forced 11 Portland first half giveaways while committing none. Princeton gained a 17-0 points off turnovers edge in the opening period en route to a 52-29 halftime lead. Portland also struggled to 1-of-9 from three-point range in the opening stanza compared to 8-for-23 for the Tigers. Princeton opened the second half in similar fashion by drilling three straight three-pointers to extend the margin and never looked back.

GEBBERS DEBUTS IN MYRTLE BEACH
• Redshirt freshman G Kelson Gebbers made his official Pilot debut against Ohio at the Myrtle Beach Invitational and appeared against Princeton.
• Gebbers missed the first two weeks of the season with a back injury. He drilled his first shot attempt, a corner three, late against Ohio and then grabbed a rebound, dished out an assist and collected a steal in 16 minutes versus Princeton.

AUSTIN REACHES 1,000 POINTS
• Graduate G Chris Austin eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career on Nov. 12 at Oregon. He entered the game needing 10 points and finished with 11.
• The Pasadena, Calif. native has navigated injuries throughout his seven total years of college athletics, three at Fordham and the last four at UP. A thumb injury ended his freshman season early and then a broken leg at the end of the 2021-22 campaign at Portland sidelined him for the entire 2022-23 season.
• With 118 total games played, including 87 games started, Austin is by far the most experienced player on the roster and has become a vocal leader this year.

MASIC MAKING WAVES
• Vukasin Masic is Portland's top returning scorer after averaging 12.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last season and is leading the way at 13.3 points per game this year. He missed the Lewis & Clark season opener (ankle) but returned to lead the team with an efficient 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting against UC Santa Barbara.
• Masic showed flashes of brilliance last year in his return to action after sitting out the 2022-23 season following the denial of an immediate eligibility waiver by the NCAA. 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 ever eventual NCAA Tournament participant Long Beach State. His 25 points were the most ever scored by a Portland player in their debut. Masic also erupted for a career high 32 points in a road win at North Dakota and had six 20-point games.

FRESHMEN PHENOMS
• The Pilots regularly had four freshmen on the court at the same time throughout the first few weeks of the season.
• Austin Rapp (11.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and Todd Jones (5.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg) have started all seven games and are putting up impressive numbers.
• Between the four active true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen, the group has accounted for 47.8 percent of Portland's total scoring this year. Rapp is Portland's second leading scorer, while redshirt freshman PG Vincent Delano and freshman G Mikah Ballew add 6.9 and 6.0 points per game off the bench, respectively.
• Freshman G Jinup Dobuol impressed with 10 points in nine minutes off the bench against Princeton on Sunday.
• Delano spurred the Pilots off the bench in a narrow loss at Oregon with 12 points and five rebounds in 35 minutes, while Ballew has played quality crunch time minutes all season.
• Rapp has been a regular among Australian Youth National Teams and led his regional team (Victoria) to the Under-20 Australian National Championship with 32 points and 13 rebounds in the title game, including the buzzer-beating game-winning shot. Jones is a three-star prospect that helped Isidore Newman High School win three consecutive Louisiana State Championships. The high-flying Jones was the 2024 District MVP and four-time District Defensive Player of the Year.

AUSSIE CONNECTIONS
• Coach Legans and Portland basketball has had great success with players from Australia and that trend continues this season. Recent graduate Tyler Robertson, a three-time All-WCC selection, is close family friends with Austin Rapp. Rapp, Max Mackinnon, Bol Dengdit and Carlin Briggs make four Aussies on the 2024-25 roster.
 
INJURY UPDATES
• RS sophomore F Bol Dengdit (knee) has eased back into the lineup the last four games after missing early season games against UC Santa Barbara and Oregon. Dengdit is looking to build on his stellar 2024 WCC campaign where he averaged 9.3 points and 7.1 rebounds during league play.
• Redshirt freshman G Kelson Gebbers (back) missed the first five games before making his Pilot debut last vs. Ohio on Nov. 22.
• Freshman G Carlin Briggs (knee) is going to miss the 2024-25 season.


IMPACT TRANSFERS
• Elon junior transfer Max Mackinnon had a stellar line of 20 points, six rebounds and five assists in his Pilot debut against Lewis & Clark. Mackinnon was named the 2022 Coastal Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year at Elon where he averaged 11.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists as a freshman and followed with 12.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists last season. Prior to college, Mackinnon helped Queensland win back-to-back Gold Medals at the U-20 Australian Championships.
• Redshirt junior C Mezziah Oakman (7-0) and junior C Jermaine Ballisager Webb (7-1) are expected to make an impact inside this year for the Pilots. Oakman started the first two games and finished with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting in the season opener. He sat out last season at UC Santa Barbara and was previously the MVP of the Coast Conference North Division while at City College of San Francisco. He averaged 11.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and shot 63.6 percent from the field as a sophomore. Ballisager Webb made significant contributions off the bench in road games at Oregon and Long Beach State. He previously played two years at American University and averaged 7.4 points and 3.8 rebounds last season.

STAFF CONTINUITY
• Portland returns its entire primary coaching staff from last season. Coach Legans, Associate Head Coach Bobby Suarez and Assistant Coach T.J. Lipold have now been together for eight years dating back to their time at Eastern Washington. Arturo Ormond returns for his second year on The Bluff. Ormond previously coached Legans during his time as a player at Fresno State.

SETTING PROGRAM RECORDS
• In his three years leading UP, Shantay Legans is already rewriting the program record books. The Pilots have the two highest single-season scoring records in school history. Portland scored 2,524 points in his inaugural 2021-22 season and then broke that record with 2,566 total points the following season. The 2021-22 team also established a new free throw percentage record (.791), while the 317 three-pointers made in 2022-23 shattered the previous record of 289 (2016-17).
• The Pilots set the game scoring record in a 122-78 win over Willamette (11/11/21), eclipsing the 115 scored vs St. Martin's in 1978. Portland also broke the program's single game three-pointers made record with 18 against VMI (12/3/21).
• Tyler Robertson broke the school record for free throws made when he converted 22-of-24 against Portland State (11/11/22), eclipsing a record held by Jim Winters (20-of-23) which dated back to a matchup with Seattle U (2/12/56). He also set the program single-game assist record with 15 against New Orleans (12/10/22).
• Mike Meadows and Robertson became the first Pilots to record triple-doubles. Meadows had one against Willamette (11/11/21), while Robertson posted a 31-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist stat line in a win over LMU (2/12/22).
 
ABOUT DENVER
• The Pioneers (3-5) have a Division I win against Montana State (79-78) but dropped all three games last week at the Stew Morrill classic in Montana. Denver dropped games to host Montana (83-73), CSUN (89-60) and Utah Tech (68-54).
• Nicholas Shogbonyo leads three Denver players in double figures at 12.0 ppg.
• Head coach Jeff Wulbrun is in his fourth season at DU and has a 46-60 overall record.

PILOTS-DENVER ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
Series: Portland leads 7-6
H / A / N: 5-1 / 2-4 / 0-1
Streak: Portland W5
Last 10 / 5: 6-4 / 5-0
Last: Pilots 71, Denver 64 (Dec. 11, 2010 at Denver)

WE'RE RIVERBOAT PILOTS, NOT AIRPLANE PILOTS!
• Though a 1935 student contest resulted in the nickname "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.
 
POOH JETER INDUCTED IN UP HALL OF FAME
• University of Portland inducted nine new members to its Athletics Hall of Fame on September 27 including basketball legend Eugene "Pooh" Jeter.
• Jeter is No. 2 on the Portland career scoring charts (1,708) and also ranks in the top five all-time in field goals made (550), three-pointers (200), free throws (408), free throw percentage (.846) and is eighth in total assists (346).
• He garnered All-WCC First Team honors in 2004 and 2006 and was honorable mention all-league in 2005. He also led Portland to a 72-68 road upset against Gonzaga at the Kennel in 2003 with a team-high 18 points as a freshman.
• Following his time on The Bluff, Jeter enjoyed a remarkable professional career that spanned 18 seasons including six different countries and one year with the NBA's Sacramento Kings. Following his retirement from pro basketball in 2023, Jeter joined the Portland Trail Blazers where he still serves as a player development coach and Assistant General Manager for the Rip City Remix.
 
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