Game Notes: Portland (3-1) | Fullerton (1-3) | Northern Colorado (3-0) | St. Thomas (3-2)

Portland Invitational presented by Courtyard Portland North Marriott
Dates: Nov. 21-23, 2025
Place: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center
TV: ESPN+
Radio: PortlandPilots.com (UP Games Only)
Live Coverage Links: Video I  Stats
Tickets: PortlandPilots.com/Tickets

Friday, Nov. 21
St. Thomas vs. Northern Colorado, 4:30 PM
Portland vs. Cal State Fullerton, 7:00 PM

Saturday, Nov. 22
Cal State Fullerton vs. St. Thomas, 2:30 PM
Portland vs. Northern Colorado, 5:00 PM

Sunday, Nov. 23
Northern Colorado vs. Cal State Fullerton, 11:00 AM
Portland vs. St. Thomas, 1:00 PM

THIS WEEK
• The Pilots (3-1) return to the Chiles Center to host the Portland Invitational presented by Courtyard Portland North Marriott. Cal State Fullerton, Northern Colorado and St. Thomas join the Pilots in the three-day, round robin event.
• The tournament tips off Friday with Northern Colorado vs. St. Thomas at 4:30 p.m. followed by the Pilots and Fullerton at 7 p.m.
• Tickets purchased are per session and will be good for both games each day.
• Tickets for all UP home games are available at PortlandPilots.com/Tickets.

GAME COVERAGE
• All Portland home games will be aired live on ESPN+.
• Radio for all Portland men's and women's basketball home games – and select road games – will be streamed on PortlandPilots.com with Jason Swygard calling the action. Pre-game coverage begins 20 minutes prior to tip-off and ends with a 15-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: Wyoming 93, Pilots 56 (Nov. 15, 2025 — Laramie, Wyo.)
• Portland got a 33-point showing from the bench, but fell 93-56 to the Wyoming Cowboys on the road Saturday at Arena-Auditorium.
• Timo George led the way with 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Mikah Ballew added 10 points from the bench and James O'Donnell chipped in 10 points.
• Portland struggled to score throughout and finished the game at 38 percent from the field, 2 of 12 from three-point range and 18 for 33 at the foul line.
• The Cowboys also started slow but finished strong at 46 percent overall, 13 of 33 from beyond the arc and 14 for 17 at the stripe.
• Portland made just 10 field goals in the first half and went 1 of 5 from three-point range as the Cowboys took a 41-31 lead into the break.
• Wyoming got hot midway through the second half and used a 19-0 run put the game out of reach. Portland went 7:15 without a field goal as the Cowboys stretched the margin late in regulation.

FOXY OF TO FAST START
• Portland freshman PG Joel Foxwell is averaging team highs of 15.5 points and 5.0 assists per game this season. He also is grabbing 4.0 rebounds and collecting 1.5 steals per outing.
• The Melbourne, Australia native garnered WCC Freshman of the Week honors on Nov. 10 after leading the Pilots to a 3-0 start.
• He debuted with 18 points, three rebounds, four assists and four steals in a 120-83 win against Willamette on Nov. 3.
• Foxwell followed with his first career double-double of 12 points and 10 assists to go along with six rebounds in Portland's 83-74 win against Arkansas Pine Bluff on Nov. 6.
• He capped the week by carrying the Pilots to a 67-63 win against UC Davis on Nov. 9. He had a game-high 23 points to go with four rebounds and three assists. Foxwell drilled five important three-pointers at key moments throughout the game.

AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS
• Portland ranks first in the WCC in both free throw attempts (34.0) and free throws made (25.0). The 34 attempts per game also ranks No. 4 nationally.
• Joel Foxwell ranks 11th nationally among freshmen in assists per game (5.0).

BALLEW IS BALLIN
• Sophomore G Mikah Ballew has come off the bench to average 13.5 points through the first four games.
• He scored a career high 20 points in the opener vs. Willamette, added 15 points against Arkansas Pine Bluff and made clutch plays late in a narrow 67-63 win against UC Davis.
• Ballew has been an efficient scorer shooting 42 percent from the field, 41 percent from three-point range (7-17) and 84 percent at the foul line (21-25).
• He was a key contributor last season off the bench for Portland and the most experienced Pilot returner in terms of minutes played and scoring.

FRESHMAN PHENOMS
• Portland's three true freshmen have all had major impacts out of the gates.
• In addition to Foxwell, F Timo George has come off the bench to average 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds. He is 11-for-17 from the field and already has seven dunks, including three alley oops from Foxwell.
• Guard Dante Censori-Hercules has been a defensive stopper off the bench with a pair of blocked shots and three steals to go with 2.8 rebounds per game.

BALANCE IS KEY
• The Pilots were expected to have a balanced scoring attack this season and the first four games have shown just that with four players averaging double figures.
• Minutes have also been pretty evenly distributed among the ten primary rotation players with each averaging at least 11.6 minutes per game.

BUILDING A WINNING ROSTER
• The Portland coaching staff focused on building the 2025-26 roster with experienced players from winning programs and Portland's five transfers fit the bill.
• Junior transfers Garrett Nuckolls and Cameron Williams were the top two scorers for Trinity Valley JC, which won the JUCO Division I national title last year.
• Riley Parker was a starter and team captain for St. Francis, which won the Northeast Conference Tournament to reach the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
• Senior F Matúš Hronský spent three years with Duquesne and played in two NCAA Tournament games in 2024, while sophomore C James O'Donnell was a key contributor for San Francisco, who won 25 games and played in the NIT.
• Additionally, Portland's three true freshmen all played for high level clubs or have national team experience: Timo George prepped at IMG Academy in Florida, Joel Foxwell played with pros in the Australian NBL and NBL1, while Dante Censori-Hercules competed at Hodan Prep, which has multiple alums playing in the NBA.

ABOUT THE RETURNERS
• Portland returns six players from last year's roster, three of which redshirted.
• Mikah Ballew averaged 4.9 points as a true freshman in 31 games.
• Senior C Jermaine Ballisager Webb started eight games and appeared in 29 total. He averaged 4.3 points and 1.8 rebounds while shooting 64 percent from the field, including 9-of-13 from three-point range.
• RS-sophomore G Kelson Gebbers played 19 games and averaged 1.7 points and 1.1 rebounds.
• Carlin Briggs, NaVaughn Long and Preston Lee each utilized their redshirt season. Briggs is returning from a knee injury and working his way back into playing shape. Long made his debut against Willamette and recorded two rebounds with a pair of assists. Lee also debuted against the Bearcats and scored five points with a steal.

STAFF UPDATE
• Portland added two new assistant coaches to staff this offseason in Mark Berokoff and Anthony Separovich, while Decclan Mclean was promoted to an assistant coach after serving two years as a graduate assistant.
• Berokoff brings vast experience to the bench with more than 400 career wins along with multiple state and national championships as a head coach. Berokoff most recently served four seasons as head coach at NAIA Oklahoma City University.  He led Randall University to three national titles and five national semifinals appearances in nine years (2012-21) at the National Christian College Athletic Association Division II level while serving as both head coach and athletic director.
• Separovich and Mclean are Australians that have helped solidified a strong pipeline for the Pilots Down Under. Separovich served as the AUSA Hoops Program and Recruiting Director from 2022-25. He was instrumental in recruiting, mentoring and guiding boys and girls players from Australia to earn college scholarships in the U.S. More than 500 student-athletes represented AUSA in AAU Tournaments across the U.S. in 2025. He helped place more than 100 student-athletes at U.S. colleges over the past three years, including a record 50 in 2024.

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
• Portland's current roster features players from seven different countries including nine international student-athletes.
• The Australian pipeline continues to flow with four Pilots hailing from Down Under: Riley Parker, James O'Donnell, Carlin Briggs and Joel Foxwell.
• Throughout his five-year tenure with the Pilots, Legans has had nine different Aussies on the roster and 21 total international players from 12 different countries.

NATIONAL TEAM DUTY
• Four different players have been regular representatives on their home country's national teams either at the youth or senior level.
• Jermaine Ballisager Webb (Denmark) played on youth national teams from U15 on and represented the Senior National Team this Summer at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers. He averaged 10.8 points and 4.8 rebounds over four games as Denmark secured a qualifying spot.
• Timo George (Netherlands) helped the Netherlands U20 National Team to a fourth-place finish at the 2024 FIBA EuroBasket where he averaged 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He also represented the Netherlands at the U18 European Championships in 2023.
• Matúš Hronský (Slovakia) represented Slovakia at the 2021 U20 European Championships where he averaged 15.8 points in five games. Hronský also played for Slovakia's Senior National Team at the 2021 World Cup where he scored eight points in four games.
• Dante Censori-Hercules (Canada) also trained this Summer with the U-19 National Team.

ABOUT CAL STATE FULLERTON (1-3, 0-0 BIG WEST)
• The Titans (1-3) have D-I losses to Wyoming (92-82), Cal (93-65) and Pacific (85-73).
• Bryce Cofield (13.3) leads five Fullerton players averaging double figures.
• Head coach Dedrique Taylor is in his 13th season at the helm.
• Fullerton leads the all-time series by a 10-7 margin (H: 4-4, A: 2-6, N: 1-0)
• Last Meeting: Fullerton 79, Pilots 64 – Dec. 29, 2018 in Fullerton, Calif.

ABOUT NORTHERN COLORADO (3-0, 0-0 BIG SKY)
• The Bears (3-0) defeated Pepperdine on the road in overtime (88-81) on Saturday, while their two other wins came against non-D-I opponents.
• Zach Block (16.0) leads three players averaging double figures, while former Pilot G Vincent Delano adds 7.0 per game.
• Head coach Steve Smiley is in his sixth season at the helm.
• The all-time series with Portland is tied at 2-2 (H: 2-0, A: 0-2, N: 0-0)
• Last Meeting: Northern Colorado 81, Pilots 73 – March 17, 2010 in Greeley, Colo.

ABOUT ST. THOMAS (3-2, 0-0 SUMMIT LEAGUE)
• The Tommies (1-3) have wins against Army (83-76), Green Bay (80-61) and SE Missouri State (84-72) with their two losses coming against WCC opposition: Saint Mary's (84-58) and Washington State (81-71).
• Nolan Minessale (21.6) leads three St. Thomas players averaging double figures.
• Head coach Johnny Tauer is in his 15th season at the helm.
• This is the first meeting between the Tommies and Pilots.

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.
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