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Vincent Delano scores a layup in a home game against Lafayette.
Maury Neipris

Men's Basketball

Men’s Hoops visits No. 19 Gonzaga before hosting Saint Mary’s

Portland Pilots (5-10, 0-2 WCC) vs. #19 Gonzaga Bulldogs (10-4, 1-0 WCC)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025
Time: 6 p.m.
Place: Spokane, Wash.
Arena: Spokane Arena
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 910 ESPN Portland (KMTT)
Live Coverage Links: Video I Audio I Stats

Portland Pilots (5-10, 0-2 WCC) vs. Saint Mary's Gaels (11-3, 1-0 WCC)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 910 ESPN Portland (KMTT)
Live Coverage Links: Video I Audio I Stats
Tickets: PortlandPilots.com/Tickets

THIS WEEK
• The Pilots continue a tough West Coast Conference slate by visiting No. 19 Gonzaga Bulldogs on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Spokane Arena.
• Portland returns home to host the Saint Mary's Gaels on Saturday at 7 p.m.

GAME COVERAGE
• All West Coast Conference 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 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: Oregon State 89, Pilots 79 (Dec. 30, 2024)
• Portland started the game by making 15 of 16 field goals, including 6-for-7 from three-point range, but fell to Oregon State Monday at Gill Coliseum.
• The Pilots jumped out to a 10-point lead, but the Beavers never let the margin get too far out of reach and took a 46-39 lead into halftime.
• OSU used a 17-0 run to close the first half that extended into the second half and the Beavers pushed the advantage to 54-42. Portland refused to quit and a four-point play by Austin Rapp made it a 66-62 deficit with 7:41 remaining but a 9-0 run by the Beavers essentially put the game away.
• Rapp led the Pilots with 22 points and six rebounds, while Max Mackinnon and Jermaine Ballisager Webb added 14 and 10 points, respectively.
• Michael Rataj finished with a game-high 28 points to lead five Beavers in double figures.

RAPP RACKING UP THE NUMBERS
• Freshman F Austin Rapp picked up his second WCC Freshman of the Week honor on Tuesday after averaging 19.5 points and 6.0 rebounds against Washington State and Oregon State.
• Rapp is averaging team-highs of 14.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, both tops among all freshmen in the WCC. He also leads the entire WCC in three-point percentage (.411), three-pointers made (39) and free throw percentage (.918).
• Among freshmen nationally, Rapp leads the nation in free throw percentage, is second in three's made, fourth in three-point percentage, 11th in blocked shots per game (1.21), 18th in scoring and 19th in rebounding.
• Rapp recorded his first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds against Kansas City on Dec. 10.
• He has reached double figured six of the last seven games and is averaging 17.0 points during the span.

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 falling to Washington State (12-3, No. 67) and Oregon State (11-3, No. 56), the Pilots visit Gonzaga (10-4, No. 6) on Thursday.
• Portland hosts Saint Mary's (12-3, No. 55) for the fourth game in seven days on Jan. 4 before visiting San Francisco (12-3, No. 61) on Thursday, Jan. 9.

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 Dec. 21 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. He also grabbed four rebounds with two assists a steal and no turnovers against the Leopards
• Gebbers followed with six points, two rebounds and two steals in the WCC opener against Washington State on Saturday and was solid in 15 minutes vs. OSU.

MACKINNON FILLING THE STAT SHEET
• Elon junior transfer Max Mackinnon had a stellar line of a season-high 22 points, five rebounds and three assists in the WCC opener against Washington State Saturday. Mackinnon also scored 20 points in his Pilot debut vs. Lewis & Clark.
• The Brisbane, Australia native 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.
 
AUSTIN BREAKS OUT OFF THE BENCH
• Graduate G Chris Austin came off the bench to score a game-high 20 points in the team's win over Lafayette on Dec. 21. 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 129 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.

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 eight games.
• 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 68 percent from the field this year including 6-of-9 from three-point range.

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.

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 10.2 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.
• 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.

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 44 percent of Portland's total scoring this year. Austin Rapp is Portland's leading scorer (14.4), while redshirt freshman PG Vincent Delano and freshman G Mikah Ballew add 7.0 and 6.1 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 five 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 3.6 points and 3.3 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.
• RS freshman Kelson Gebbers also moved into the rotation the last three games.

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 GONZAGA
• The Bulldogs (10-4, 1-0 WCC) are ranked No. 6 in the latest NCAA Net Rankings and No. 19 in both the AP and Coaches Top 25.
• Gonzaga has notable wins against Arizona State (88-80), San Diego State (80-67) and Indiana (89-73). GU has losses to West Virginia (86-78, ot), Kentucky (90-89, ot), UConn (77-71) and UCLA (65-62).
• Graham Ike leads four Zags in double figures at 16.1 points per game, while Ryan Nembhard leads the WCC and is second nationally in assists per game (9.5).
• Head coach Mark Few has led Gonzaga to the NCAA Tournament in each of his 25 seasons at the helm.

PORTLAND-GONZAGA SERIES DETAILS
Series: Gonzaga leads 109-66; H / A / N: 35-45 / 22-51 / 9-13
Streak: L17
Last Meeting: Gonzaga 86, Pilots 65 (Feb. 22, 2024 at Gonzaga)

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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