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Portland Pilots (9-17, 2-12 WCC) vs. Pacific Tigers (9-18, 3-11 WCC)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 16 2017
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Video: TheW.tv
Radio: 910-ESPN Portland
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Tickets: PortlandPilots.com/Tickets

GAME INFORMATION
The Pilots return home to open a four-game homestand starting on Thursday night against the Pacific Tigers at 7 p.m. at the Chiles Center. The game will feature former Portland Trail Blazers Terry Porter and Damon Stoudamire on the sidelines coaching against each other for the first time in Portland. The game will be aired live on TheW.tv with Travis Demers and Bill Krueger on the call. All Pilot games will have radio coverage on 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT) with Jason Swygard calling the play-by-play. Coverage starts 30 minutes prior to tip-off and will have a complete post-game show.
 
TICKETS AND PROMOTIONS
Tickets for all remaining Pilot home games are available at PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or by calling the Pilot Box Office at (503) 943-7525. A special Family 4-Pack is available for upcoming individual games against Pacific (Feb. 16) and San Francisco (Feb. 18). Use Promo Code 'FAM4' and receive four tickets, four hot dogs, four sodas and four orders of popcorn for just $40. Thursday night will feature the annual Halftime Mile as members of Portland's men's track and field team will race at halftime on the Chiles Center indoor track. Saturday's game against San Francisco will feature a pregame Brew Fest in the Chiles Center Plaza starting at 5 p.m. that will feature select adult beverages as well as locally crafted sausages for purchase.

LAST GAME
LMU 66, Pilots 60: Portland committed a season-high 30 turnovers and despite a 27-14 disadvantage in points off of turnovers, the Pilots had chances to tie the game late. Walk-on Xavier Hallinan gave Portland a boost off the bench and made consecutive layups to pull the Pilots within three at 59-56 with 2:59 remaining. The Pilots had two open looks at three-pointers to tie the game on consecutive possessions, but both rimmed out. LMU iced it with a three-pointer for a 62-56 lead with 42 seconds left. Hallinan was key in keeping the Pilots close. He came on for the last four minutes of the first half with the Pilots struggling to handle pressure and settled the team down. LMU lead 32-26 at the half and were up 52-38 with 8:36 remaining, but Portland used an 18-7 run to close the gap. Portland's defense was solid and held LMU to 38 percent shooting overall along with 21 turnovers. The Lions capitalized by attempting 21 more field goals than the Pilots, who finished at 43 percent overall. Rashad Jackson scored a team-high 15 points for the Pilots, while Jazz Johnson finished with 12. Gabe Taylor grabbed a game-high and career-best 13 rebounds.

PILOT QUICK HITS
• Portland's losing streak moved to 12 games following road losses to No. 20 Saint Mary's (51-41) and LMU (66-60) last week.
• Freshman C Joseph Smoyer suffered a knee injury in practice last week and is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
• UP was dealt a major setback when an MRI confirmed that senior PG Alec Wintering suffered a torn ACL on Jan. 19 at San Francisco. He will miss the rest of the season.
• Wintering was among the conference and national leaders in a variety of statistical categories and litters Portland's all-time charts. He concludes his career as the all-time leader in FT's made, second in assists and steals, and fifth in scoring.
• The Pilots have struggled offensively since the season-ending injury to Wintering. Portland has been held under 65 points in all eight games since his loss.
• Jazz Johnson has reached double figures in all 26 games this season. He ranks third in the WCC in FT percentage and seventh in both scoring and three-point percentage.
• Wintering and Johnson had comprised the highest scoring teammates in the WCC (36.4), the No. 9 scoring backcourt in the nation and No. 15 scoring tandem overall at the time of Wintering's injury.
• Portland's 53-45 win over Oregon State on Dec. 18 was the first against a Pac-12 opponent since the 2009-10 season (Oregon and UCLA) and snapped a four-game losing streak to the Beavers.
• The Pilots are 2-2 in games decided in the final possession. Portland defeated UTRGV in triple OT on a layup by Jazz Johnson and beat South Dakota on a Gabe Taylor three-pointer. Portland lost to Portland State and then LMU on shots in the closing seconds.
• Portland's four-player 2017 recruiting class has been ranked No. 17 nationally by The Hoop Scoop, tops among all mid-majors.
• First-year head coach Terry Porter took over the program in April and hired an experienced collegiate staff to support his transition in long-time Pac-12 assistants Bob Cantu (USC) and Ben Johnson (WSU).
• The Pilots return five of their top six scorers from last year's team that finished 12-20 overall and 6-12 in the WCC. The Pilots were picked eighth in the WCC Preseason Poll.
• Porter welcomes five newcomers to the roster in true freshmen Andre Ferguson, Alec Monson, Malcolm Porter and Joseph Smoyer, as well as sophomore transfer Franklin Porter (Saint Mary's). Malcolm and Franklin Porter are redshirting the 2016-17 season.
 
ABOUT PACIFIC
The Tigers (9-18, 3-11 WCC) have lost eight of their last nine games under first-year head coach and Portland native, Damon Stoudamire. Last week, Pacific defeated San Diego (61-58) before losing to Santa Clara (64-47). Pacific had two common non-conference opponents as the Pilots, losing at UCLA (119-80) and Cal State Fullerton (78-77). The Tigers are led by Ray Bowles (12.9) and T.J. Wallace (12.5), while Anthony Townes is grabbing a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game. Pacific was predicted to finish seventh in the WCC Preseason Poll.

FORMER BLAZERS FACE OFF
In a rare meeting between former NBA players now coaching college, the city of Portland will see two former Portland Trail Blazer greats on the sidelines Thursday night. Terry Porter's jersey is retired by the Blazers, while Pacific head coach Damon Stoudamire grew up in the city and played seven seasons for the team from 1998-05.

HALLINAN THRIVES IN RARE OPPORTUNITY
Sophomore walk-on Xavier Hallinan made the most of his opportunity on Saturday by playing a career-high 21 minutes and making plays late against LMU. Hallinan, a former two-sport standout in football and basketball at Central Catholic HS, had played a total of seven minutes this season and 25 total minutes as a freshman. With the Pilots struggling to handle LMU's pressure, head coach Terry Porter called on Hallinan late in the first half and he responded with great poise. Porter played Hallinan 18 second half minutes where he made a pair of layups late to pull the Pilots within one possession.

SMOYER OUT FOR THE SEASON WITH KNEE INJURY
The injury bug continues to bite the Pilots as promising freshman post Joseph Smoyer suffered a knee injury last week in practice and is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season.

PILOTS ADD GAME VERSUS WALLA WALLA
Portland will host Walla Walla University on Monday, Feb. 20 at 5 p.m. and admission will be free for all fans. The game was added to replace the postponed game at Boise State on Dec. 10 due to travel issues. UP will return to Boise State next season to make up that contest. Walla Walla is an NAIA member of the Cascade Collegiate Conference.

COACHES VS. CANCER 3-POINT CHALLENGE
The Portland coaching staff participated in the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers initiative earlier this year. The Pilots are also one of more than 200 schools nationwide participating in the Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge. Visit www.PortlandPilots.com/Challenge or www.3pointchallenge.org for more information on how to donate.

JACKSON STEPS UP
Sophomore G Rashad Jackson has started the last eight games and is averaging 10.0 points since moving into the rotation. He has scored double figures in four of those games, including a career high 15 points against both Gonzaga on Jan. 23 and at LMU on Feb. 11.

LINEUP ADJUSTMENTS
After using the same starting lineup for eight straight games heading into the Jan. 12 game against Saint Mary's, head coach Terry Porter has been forced to mix up the rotation due to various injuries. In addition to Wintering, Phillip Hartwich missed the Jan. 14 game versus LMU with a concussion. Jarrel Marshall has battled a high ankle sprain and missed 13 games. Porter has used eight different starting lineups over the last 13 games. Jazz Johnson and Gabe Taylor are the only players to start every game this year.

WINTERING SUFFERS SEASON-ENDING KNEE INJURY
Senior PG Alec Wintering suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Jan. 19 game at San Francisco. An MRI confirmed a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) that will end Wintering's collegiate career. He had successful surgery completed on Feb. 8 in Portland. The Charlotte, N.C. native was a four-year starter for the Pilots, among the school's career leaders in a variety of statistical categories and has been a team captain each of the last three seasons. Wintering finishes his career with 568 total assists, five shy of the school record held by Pilot Hall of Famer and former NBA standout Darwin Cook. He also ranks second all-time in steals (177), fifth in points (1,548) and games started (110), fifth in three-point percentage (.401) and is the school's career leader in free throws made (499). He holds the school single season records for assists (187, 2014-15) and minutes played (1,064, 2014-15). His scoring average increased every year on The Bluff as he averaged 14.1 points and 5.2 assists overall for his career. Wintering was among the national leaders in scoring, assists, steals and minutes per game this season. He ranked in the top three of each of those categories in the West Coast Conference.

JOHNSON THRIVING IN BREAKOUT ROLE
Sophomore G Jazz Johnson played primarily the backup point guard role last year, and will now take on a greater share of point guard minutes with Wintering out. Johnson thrived in starting alongside Wintering and is second on the team and seventh in the WCC in scoring (15.7) and shooting 44 percent from the field, 41 percent from three-point range and 81 percent at the foul line. He is third in the WCC in free throw percentage and seventh in three-point percentage. Johnson was an elite prep scorer at Lake Oswego High School, setting the prestigious Les Schwab Invitational scoring record after averaging 35.5 points per game at the tournament his senior season.

OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES
Portland entered its Jan. 5 game at Santa Clara ranked third in the WCC in scoring at 77.8 points per game. The Pilots then recorded back-to-back season lows in scoring with 42 points at Santa Clara and 33 against Saint Mary's. Portland has struggled to adjust to the loss of Wintering offensively. With Wintering in the lineup, the Pilots scored 65 or less points in just 5-of-18 games. Portland has been held under 65 in each of the eight games since his injury.

TAYLOR BLOSSOMING IN EXTENDED ROLE
Gabe Taylor was named the WCC Player of the Week on Dec. 19 after leading the Pilots to wins over South Dakota and Oregon State. Taylor buried the game-winning three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left against South Dakota for an 85-82 Pilot win. It was his second straight game-winner as he also tipped in a rebound to give the Pilots a 90-89 double overtime win with two seconds left on Dec. 5 against UTRGV. Taylor recorded his first double-double against South Dakota (22 points, 11 rebounds) and has thrived under new coach Terry Porter. He has reached double figures in scoring 16 times in 25 games and has scored 20 or more points four times this year. Taylor also grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds on Feb. 11 at LMU.

PORTLAND VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
Portland is now 7-63 all-time against Associated Press Top 25 opponents following Thursday's loss at Saint Mary's. The Pilots have lost eight straight games against ranked teams, and have never defeated a top 10 opponent. The Pilots last win against a ranked opponent came against then-No. 18 Gonzaga, 82-73, on Jan. 9, 2014. Portland's win over Minnesota at the 2009 Anaheim 76 Classic snapped an 11-game losing streak against ranked opponents.

RECRUITING CLASS RANKED NO. 17 NATIONALLY
The HOOP SCOOP ranked Portland's 2017 recruiting class No. 17 nationally after the fall signing period, tops among all mid-majors nationally. First-year head coach Terry Porter and his staff secured four commitments in the fall with three incoming freshmen and a junior college transfer. According to the HOOP SCOOP's rating system, all four Portland commits are rated among the Top 300 signed players in the nation, while freshmen-to-be Tahirou Diabate (6-10, F, Niigate, Japan) and Taki Fahrensohn (6-5, G, Auckland, N.Z.) crack the Top 100 individually. JoJo Walker (6-1, PG, Santa Maria, CA) and JC transfer Austin Stone (6-9, F, USC Salkehatchie) also received high marks. Portland will also welcome current redshirts Franklin and Malcolm Porter to the rotation next season. The HOOP SCOOP referenced Portland's ability to identify quality international recruits as one of the main reasons that the Pilots have secured an elite recruiting class. Diabate (Japan by way of Mali), Fahrensohn (New Zealand) and JoJo Walker (California by way of Puerto Rico) all will bring international experience to The Bluff.

EXPERIENCED STAFF
Terry Porter indicated his desire to find an experienced coaching staff to help support his transition to the college game and he loaded up with a pair of big name assistants. Bob Cantu, a former USC interim head coach, associate head coach and long-time assistant coach with the Trojans and UTEP, has more than 20 years collegiate coaching experience at various levels. He has coached under four NBA Coaches, coached 14 NBA players and five NBA First Round Draft picks, while helping five teams reach the NCAA Tournament. Considered one of the top recruiters in the nation, Cantu helped land the No. 1 overall class in 2007 at USC. Ben Johnson also has extensive Pac-12 coaching experience and 24 years working the sidelines during his coaching career. Johnson was with Dick and Tony Bennett at Washington State during the program's most winning years. He has coached and recruited four NBA players, including NBA Lottery Pick Klay Thompson. Johnson also brought a pair of Australian National Team players to Wazzu in Brock Motum and Aron Baynes. He helped WSU to the Sweet 16 in 2008 and was also a standout player for Dick Bennett at UW-Green Bay. He helped the Phoenix to the 1991 NCAA Tournament and a pair of NIT appearances. Porter rounded out his coaching staff with a familiar face to Pilot fans in Kramer Knutson. A four-year starter for Portland from 2007-11, Knutson led the Pilots to a top-25 ranking and a program-best 60 wins over his final three seasons. Knutson served as Director of Basketball Operations for Portland last year after a four-year professional playing career in Europe.

EARLE M. CHILES RECOGNITION
Earle M. Chiles, the lead donor in building the Chiles Center and a generous philanthropist to the University and various other causes, passed away in late-June. The University of Portland honored Earle and the Chiles Foundation with a pregame ceremony prior to its Feb. 2 home game against Santa Clara. All Pilot Athletics teams are wearing an 'EMC' patch on their uniforms this season in remembrance of Mr. Chiles.

TERRY PORTER ERA ARRIVES
Porter, a 17-year NBA veteran and two-time NBA All-Star, spent most of his pro career with the Trail Blazers where he helped lead Portland to a pair of NBA Finals and had his jersey retired. Porter also served as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns, in addition to various assistant coaching positions throughout the league. He was named head coach of the Pilots on April 1, 2016.

PORTER INKS FOUR DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
Portland signed four prospects during the early signing period, three incoming freshmen and a junior college transfer:
- JoJo Walker (Santa Maria, Calif./St. Joseph HS). The 6-1, 170-pound point guard was the CIF Southern Section Division 5A Most Valuable Player after leading St. Joseph High School to the 2016 CIF title. He earned All-Area MVP honors while averaging 18.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
- Taki Fahrensohn (Auckland, New Zealand/Auckland Grammar School). A 6-5, 180-pound combo guard, Fahrensohn averaged 33.6 points over seven games at the 2016 New Zealand Secondary Schools Basketball National Championships. He is a member of the New Zealand Junior Tall Blacks, the country's national youth team.
- Tahirou Diabate (Niigate, Japan/Teikyo Nagaoka HS). At 6-10, 215 pounds he averaged 31 points and 18 rebounds per game last season and helped lead his team to the Okinawa Cup, Japan's High School National Championships. He and was named the Most Valuable Player of the event after leading the tournament in points and rebounds.
- Austin Stone (Lake Wylie, S.C./Clover HS/USC Salkehatchie). The 6-9, 225-pound post was a late bloomer to the game and has become a force down low at the Junior College level. Stone will enroll as a junior next fall.