University of Portland Athletics : Damon Stoudamire, Pacific Visit the Pilots in Meeting of Former Blazers

Portland Pilots (6-12, 0-5 WCC) vs Pacific Tigers (8-10, 3-2 WCC)
Date:
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center)
TV: ROOT Northwest, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, AT&T SportsNet Southwest, NBC Sports Bay Area+
Video: TheW.tv (out of market), ESPN3 (out of region)
Radio: 910 ESPN-Portland
Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Tickets:PortlandPilots.com/Tickets
Series: PAC leads 24-12 (H: 8-7, A: 3-17, N: 1-0)
Last Meeting: Pacific 76, Pilots 65 (Feb. 16, 2017 at Pacific)

GAME INFORMATION
The University of Portland Pilots continues West Coast Conference play by hosting the Pacific Tigers on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Chiles Center. The matchup will feature former Portland Trail Blazers standouts Terry Porter and Damon Stoudemire facing off on the sidelines. Tickets start at $5 for kids and $10 for adults. For more information, visit PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or by call/text the Pilot Box Office at (503) 943-Go-UP.
GAME COVERAGE
Saturday's game will be televised live on ROOT Sports Northwest with Tom Glasgow and Francis Williams on the call. It will also be streamed on both TheW.tv and ESPN3. All Pilot games will have live radio coverage on 910 ESPN-Portland (KMTT) beginning 30 minutes prior to tip-off with play-by-play voice Jason Swygard calling the action.

PORTLAND NOTES
• Portland was defeated by No. 14 Gonzaga on Thursday in Spokane by a 103-57 margin. Freshman G Marcus Shaver Jr. scored a team-high 16 points off the bench to lead the Pilots.
• Last week Portland pushed upstart San Diego to overtime on Thursday before losing and then dropped a 70-68 heartbreaker at Santa Clara on Saturday. Freshman F Tahirou Diabate moved into the starting lineup for both games and averaged 14.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots.
• Portland's two seniors have risen up the UP charts this season. Philipp Hartwich broke the school career record for blocked shots earlier this year. He is leading the WCC in blocks per game (2.7) and his 49 swats this year are already second in single-season school history. He is six shy of that record. Hartwich also ranks third in the league in rebounds (8.6).
• Senior G D'Marques Tyson also is second place in UP history for career three-pointers made (218).
• Sophomore G/F Josh McSwiggan is leading the Pilots in scoring at 13.1 points per game and has reached double figures 14 times thus far.
• Portland has been on fire from three-point range this season. The Pilots are second in the WCC in three-point percentage (.388) and third in threes made per game (8.6). Four Pilots are among the Top 15 in the WCC individually in percentage led by McSwiggan, the conference leader at 47.8 percent.
• Terry Porter's 2017 recruiting class was ranked No. 10 nationally by HoopScoop. The class was the highest rated in the WCC and No. 2 nationally among mid-majors. Nine newcomers comprised the class with seven freshmen and two junior college transfers.
• Portland has a diverse roster featuring players from 13 different states or countries. There are three native Oregonians, but no other state or territory with more than one player on the roster. Internationally, Portland has players from Mali, New Zealand, Germany and England.
• The Pilots signed 6-8 post Josh Phillips (Huntington Beach, Calif.) to a NLI during the early signing period.
• Portland took an August foreign tour to England and went 3-1 on the trip. The Pilots defeated 2017 British Basketball League runner-up Newcastle on a buzzer-beater by Franklin Porter, dropped a buzzer beater to BBL Champions Leicester, and posted two comfortable wins against academy teams.
• Xavier Hallinan returned to the Portland roster over winter break. Hallinan was a walk-on for two years and played significant minutes down the stretch last season, starting the last six games. He will sit out this season, but can practice with the team.
ABOUT PACIFIC
• The Tigers (8-10, 3-2 WCC) have posted consecutive wins against BYU (67-66) and San Diego (74-70). Pacific's only two losses in league play have come against WCC favorites Gonzaga and Saint Mary's
• Transfers Roberto Gallinat (12.6), Miles Reynolds (12.2) and Jahlil Tripp (10.1) pace Pacific in scoring.
• Pacific owns a 24-12 edge in the all-time series with the Pilots. The teams split the season series last year with each side winning at home, while Portland is 8-7 against Pacific all-time at home.
• Head coach Damon Stoudemire returns to his home city of Portland where he grew up and played a number of seasons professionally with the Trail Blazers.
DIABATE SURGES IN RETURN TO STARTING LINEUP
Freshman F Tahirou Diabate was re-inserted into the starting lineup last week and responded with his two best games of the season. Against San Diego on Thursday he scored the team's first six points and matched a season-high with 13 points. He got off to another fast start with the opening six points Saturday night at Santa Clara and finished with career highs of 15 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.

SHAVER JR. CONTINUES SCORING SURGE
Whether its starting or coming off the bench, freshman G Marcus Shaver Jr. has provided Portland with consistent scoring. The Phoenix, Ariz. native scored a game-high 16 points off the bench at Gonzaga on Thursday and has reached double figures in eight of the last night games.

McSWIGGAN OFF TO FAST START
Josh McSwiggan has led the Pilots in scoring eight times this year, reached double figures in 14 of 18 games, and is averaging a team-high 13.1 points per game. The Loughborough, England native had a circuitous route to Portland. After committing to UTEP and sitting out his freshman season, he transferred to Casper College (Wyoming) and had a solid 2016-17 campaign. Portland assistant coach Bob Cantu, who recruited McSwiggan to UTEP, kept in touch helped garner his commitment to the Pilots. McSwiggan was then able to return to his roots and play in his hometown in front of friends and family when Portland took a foreign tour to England in August.
THREE-POINT THREATS
Portland is second in the WCC in three-point percentage (.388) and third in three-pointers made per game (8.6). The Pilots have made nine or more triples in 10 games this year. Four Pilots are in the top 15 of the WCC, led by league-leader Josh McSwiggan (1st, .474) and D'Marques Tyson (ninth, .413).
HARTWICH SETS RECORD, CONTINUES BREAKOUT SEASON
Senior C Philipp Hartwich broke the school career record for blocked shots on Dec. 19 against Hartford. The Cologne, Germany native swatted three attempts and passed Thomas van der mars (121, 2011-15) for the top spot on the charts. He now has 135 and counting. Hartwich averaged 1.4 points and 3.0 rebounds through his first three years on The Bluff, but is averaging 5.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots this year. He has recorded his first three career double-doubles, leads the WCC in blocked shots, and is third in rebounding. His 49 blocked shots this year are already second in single-season school history behind Tim Frost (55, 2000-01).
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The Pilots feature one of the youngest rosters in the nation. Portland has 10 underclassmen with eight freshmen and two sophomores. Freshman PG JoJo Walker has started all 18 games this year. Freshman G Marcus Shaver Jr. has scored 15 or more points seven times this season, while freshman F Tahirou Diabate averaged 14.0 points against San Diego and Santa Clara last week.

WALKER RESILIENT
Freshman PG JoJo Walker is from Puerto Rico and still has many family and friends that have been impacted by the hurricane season. Walker left Puerto Rico to gain greater basketball exposure and opportunities when he was a freshman in high school and settled in Santa Maria, Calif. What was originally supposed to be a short stint, but he developed such a connection with his host family and friends that he ended up staying all four years at St. Joseph High School. Despite only getting back to Puerto Rico a couple weeks per year, Walker's entire biological family still calls Carolina, Puerto Rico home. His mother, father, and grandfather were able to get off the island and visit JoJo in Portland in early October and were also at the PK80 Tournament, along with his Santa Maria, Calif. host family. The Pilots were able to use the NCAA Natural Disaster Exemption to host an exhibition game against Eastern Washington on Oct. 29 that raised nearly $3,000 for Red Cross efforts benefitting Puerto Rico relief.
DIVERSE ROSTER WITH INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
Portland has a diverse roster featuring players from 13 different states or countries. There are four native Oregonians, but no other state or territory with more than one player on the roster. Internationally, Portland has players from Mali, New Zealand, Germany and England. States represented include Hawaii, Arizona, California, South Carolina, Ohio, Idaho, Washington and the US territory of Puerto Rico. Freshman Tahirou Diabate is from Mali, but has lived in France, the Canary Islands, and Japan and speaks five languages: Bambara (native), English, French, Spanish and Japanese.
TYSON CLIMBING UP CHARTS
Senior G D'Marques Tyson is the leading returning scorer for the Pilots after averaging 8.5 points per game a year ago. Tyson, a three-point specialist, ranks second all-time in three-pointers made at Portland (218). He passed Casey Frandsen (211, 2000-04) after drilling five three-pointers against Sacramento State on Dec. 21 and now trails only Jared Stohl (336, 2007-11). Tyson is also No. 6 in career three-point percentage (.408).
IT'S ALL IN THE FAMILY
Sophomore G Franklin Porter and freshman G Malcolm Porter are both coming off of redshirt seasons and in 2017. Franklin transferred to UP after playing one season at Saint Mary's, while Malcolm signed with the Pilots after graduating from Jesuit High School. Both players are also sons of Portland head coach Terry Porter. They are one of 30 brother tandems on the same team this year at the NCAA Division I level.

RECRUITING CLASS RANKED NO. 10
Terry Porter put together a nine-player 2017 recruiting class that one publication has been ranked as the No. 10 in the nation. In his first full recruiting cycle, Porter and his staff were recognized by HoopScoop.com to have the top class in the WCC and No. 2 class nationally among mid-major schools. Three of those newcomers will redshirt the 2017-18 season - Crisshawn Clark due to NCAA transfer rules after coming to Portland from Pitt, Takiula Fahrensohn is coming off of knee surgery, and Hugh Hogland is redshirting to focus on development.
ENGLAND FOREIGN TOUR IN AUGUST
Portland went on a foreign tour to England in August and finished with a 3-1 record. The Pilots defeated 2017 British Basketball League runner-up Newcastle on a buzzer-beater by Franklin Porter, dropped a buzzer beater to BBL Champions Leicester, and comfortable defeated a pair of academy teams during the trip. In addition to the games and tours in London, the team was able to get 10 extra days of practice on campus. Visit PortlandPilots.com/LondonTour for complete details on the trip.
PILOTS INK ATHLETIC BIG DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
Portland signed Josh Phillips (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison HS) to a NLI on the first day of the early signing period, head coach Terry Porter announced. Phillips (6-8, 190) will join the Pilots as a freshman in the fall of 2018. Porter and the Portland coaching staff targeted a 2018 post this summer and Phillips caught the staff's attention immediately. He earned All-Sunset League First Team honors and helped Edison post a 23-5 overall record and 9-1 mark in the Sunset League. The team advanced to the second round of the CIF Southern Section 2017 Boys Basketball Division I-AA Championships. 'Josh impressed us with his ability to make multiple effort plays consistently as we evaluated him in the recruiting process,' Porter said. 'He has good size, length and athleticism, a great motor, and the tremendous desire to defend and rebound. His shot blocking ability will translate right away and he is always doing the little things that helps winning programs. He will bring a unique skillset to our frontline next year.'
PILOTS IN THE PROS
A total of 11 former Pilots are currently playing professionally overseas: Alec Wintering (Araberri, Spain), Ray Barreno (Panteras de Aguascalientes, Mexico), Thomas van der Mars (Kalev/Cramo Tallinn, Estonia), Volodymyr Gerun (FC Barcelona B, Spain), Bryce Pressley (Palencia, Spain), Nemanja Mitrovic (Araberri, Spain), Nik Raivio(Legnano, Italy), TJ Campbell (Turk Telekom, Turkey), Luke Sikma (ALBA Berlin, German), Taishi Ito (Toyota Alvark, Japan) and Pooh Jeter (Tianjin Gold Lions, China).