Portland Pilots (5-8, 0-0 WCC) vs. Washington State Cougars (10-3, 0-0 WCC)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024
Time: 5 p.m. (PT)
Place: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center
TV: Portland's CW (KRCW)/ESPN+
Radio: 910 ESPN Portland
Live Coverage Links: Video I Audio I Stats
Tickets: PortlandPilots.com/Tickets

THIS WEEK
• The Pilots open a tough West Coast Conference slate by hosting affiliate member Washington State on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 5 p.m. The Pilots will then visit Oregon State on Monday at 6:30 p.m.

GAME COVERAGE
• Saturday's game will be televised on Portland's CW (KRCW) and ESPN+. Bryan Sleik and Jennifer Mountain will be on the call. All WCC games will be aired on ESPN+ this season.
• Radio for all Portland men's basketball games is on 910 ESPN Portland (KMTT) with Jason Swygard and Joel Sobotka 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.

LAST TIME OUT: @Pilots 74, Lafayette 64 (Dec. 21, 2024)
• Kelson Gebbers hit a dagger 3-pointer with 1:56 left in the fourth quarter to put Portland ahead 68-59, and the Pilots earned a 74-64 victory against the Lafayette Leopards at Chiles Center Saturday.
• The Pilots had three players score in double figures, led by Chris Austin with 20 points. Austin Rapp tacked on 15 points and eight rebounds and Gebbers helped out with 10 points off of the bench.
• Portland knocked down 9 of 19 three-pointers and shot 48.1 percent overall while holding Lafayette to just 38.9 percent shooting. The Pilots had a 36-28 edge on the boards and had 20 assists on 25 made field goals.

TOUGH SCHEDULE TO START LEAGUE PLAY
• Portland's first five WCC games are against the top five teams in the team standings and all are Top 70 in the latest NCAA Net Rankings.
• After Washington State (10-3, No. 68), the Pilots visit Oregon State (10-3, No. 48) on Monday and then are at Gonzaga (9-3, No. 4) on Thursday.
•The Pilots host Saint Mary's (10-3, No. 56) for the fourth game in seven days on Jan. 4 before welcoming San Francisco (10-3, No. 59) on Thursday, Jan. 9.

RAPP RACKING UP THE NUMBERS
• Freshman F Austin Rapp is averaging team-highs of 13.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, both tops among all freshmen in the WCC. He also leads the WCC in three-point percentage (.418) and his three-pointers made (33), while his 88.9 free throw percentage is No. 2 in the conference.
• The Melbourne, Australia native was named the Dec. 2 WCC Freshman of the Week after dropping 20 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocked shots in 41 minutes against Denver on Dec. 1.
• Rapp then recorded his first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds against Kansas City on Dec. 10.
• He has reached double figured four of the last five games averaging 16.0 points during the span.

AUSTIN BREAKS OUT OFF THE BENCH
• Graduate G Chris Austin came off the bench Saturday to score a game-high 20 points in the team's win over Lafayette. It was Austin's first 20-point game since the final game of the 2022 season against Southern Utah when he scored 21 points before going down with a broken leg in the game. Austin was sidelined for the entire 2022-23 season while doing rehab on his knee and leg.
• Austin previously 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.
• With 127 total games played, including 94 games started, Austin is by far the most experienced player on the roster and has become a vocal leader this year.

GEBBERS GARNERS CRUNCH TIME MINUTES
• Redshirt freshman G Kelson Gebbers missed the first five games of the season coming off a back injury, but has made an significant impact recently.
• After seeing the court sparsely in four prior games, he played a season-high 22 minutes in the team's win against Lafayette on Saturday and scored a career best 10 points. He drilled 2 of 3 three-pointers, including a clutch once to ice the game in the final two minutes, and made four key free throws midway through the second half.
• The Brewster, Wash. native also grabbed four rebounds with two assists a steal and no turnovers against the Leopards.

BALLISAGER WEBB BALLING OUT
• Junior C Jermaine Ballisager Webb has made the most of his opportunities by scoring season highs of 14 points in three of the last six games. He moved into the starting lineup last week for the Pilots.
• The 7-1 transfer from American University was instrumental in Portland's 101-90 overtime win against Denver. He was difference maker off the bench with 14 points and five rebounds and played crucial minutes late in regulation and overtime.
• He bounced back with a solid eight points, three rebounds and three assists in the team's next game at Kent State.
• Ballisager Webb matched his season high with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting on Dec. 10 vs. Kansas City. For the season, he is shooting 66 percent from the field this year including 5-of-8 from three-point range.

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 adding 10.9 points per game this year. He scored 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting against UC Santa Barbara in his season debut.
• The Belgrade, Serbia native scored a season high 27 points in the win against Denver on Dec. 1 for his second 20-point game of the year. He battled the flu last week and played limited minutes in the team's last two games.
• 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.

AUSSIE CONNECTIONS
• Head Coach Shantay 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.

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.

FRESHMEN PHENOMS
• The Pilots regularly have had four freshmen on the court at the same time often throughout the early season and gotten consistent production from the group.
• Between the four active true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen on the roster, the group has accounted for 43 percent of Portland's total scoring this year. Austin Rapp is Portland's leading scorer (13.6), while redshirt freshman PG Vincent Delano and freshman G Mikah Ballew add 6.9 and 5.8 points per game, respectively.
• Rapp has been a regular among Australian Youth National Teams and led 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.
• Delano erupted for season highs of 18 points, six rebounds and five assists against Denver on Dec. 1. He moved into the starting lineup the last two games, while Ballew has played quality crunch time minutes all season.
• Todd Jones has started eight games and battled foul trouble but is still contributing 4.0 points and 3.6 rebounds per outing. 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.

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 making 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 added career-highs of 19 points and eight rebounds vs. Willamette on Dec. 16. 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.

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 WASHINGTON STATE
• The Cougars (10-3) have notable wins against Bradley (91-74), Nevada (68-57), Boise State (74-69) and Northern Iowa (76-68). WSU's losses have come to Iowa (76-66), SMU (77-60) and Washington (89-73).
• Six players are averaging double figures for the Cougars, but they lost leading scorer Cedric Coward to a season-ending shoulder injury after six games. Nate Calmese (16.0) and LeJuan Watts (13.2) lead the way among active players.
• Head coach David Riley is in his first season at the helm. Riley previously was an assistant under Shantay Legans at Eastern Washington before serving the last four seasons as EWU head coach.
• Washington State leads the all-time series by a 12-2 margin with the last game an 83-73 WSU win at Chiles Center on Nov. 20, 2011.

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.
 
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 University of Portland Athletics can do so by clicking here. Your gift helps our over 300 student-athletes compete at the highest level – on and off the field - in the rapidly changing world of intercollegiate athletics. All gifts to Pilot Athletics are 100% tax deductible.

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.