Nevada December 27

UP Looks to Stay Perfect at Chiles Center Monday vs. Nevada
12/26/2010 12:07:22 PM
Complete Release I GameCentral I Tickets

Portland Pilots (10-3) vs. Nevada Wolf Pack (3-9)
December 27, 2010 • 7:00 PM • Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center - 4,852)
Radio: 800 AM (KPDQ)
Live Video/Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: Portland leads 23-19
Last Meeting: Nevada 78, Portland 69 (Dec. 28, 2009 at Nevada)

This Week in Pilots Hoops…
The Portland Pilots (10-3) look to improve to 7-0 at the Chiles Center this year as they host the Nevada Wolf Pack (3-9) on Monday at 7 p.m. Portland has won six of its last seven games, with the lone loss coming on at then-No. 21 Washington. Nevada has played a tough schedule and lost four games by three points or less.

Ticket Information
Tickets for all Portland home games are available through all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com, over the phone at (800) 745-3000 or in-person at the Pilot Box Office. The Box Office will also be open one hour before tip-off for walk-up sales.

Game Coverage
Monday’s game will have a free online video stream at PortlandPilots.com. All Portland games will be aired live on the radio in the Portland market on 800 AM (KPDQ) with Bill Johnson providing the play-by-play, including a 30-minute pregame show. The feed will be simulcast online at PortlandPilots.com.

Portland Briefly...
• The Pilots improved to 6-0 at the Chiles Center with an 88-79 win over Boise State on Dec. 22. Nemanja Mitrovic scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Pilots.
• The Pilots have not trailed yet this season at the Chiles Center and have led by 13 or more points in all six wins. UP is 31-4 at the Chiles Center since the beginning of the 2008-09 season.
• Portland leads the nation in team three-point percentage (.454).
• Nemanja Mitrovic (37) and Jared Stohl (39) have made the most three-pointers of any teammates in the nation (76).
• Luke Sikma is leading the WCC and is 10th in the nation in rebounding (10..
• Stohl led the nation in three-point percentage last season (.478) and could become the first player in NCAA history to do it two years in a row. He is 39-for-83 this season (.470).
• Portland is ranked No. 15 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 (Dec. 20).
• The Pilots are rated No. 36 nationally according to RealTimeRPI.com as of Dec. 26.
• Stohl was named to the 10-player WCC Preseason All-Conference Team.
• Portland returns one starter from last year’s 21-11 squad (Kramer Knutson) along with Sikma and Stohl, both All-WCC honorable mention honorees last season.
• Head coach Eric Reveno returns with his staff for their fifth season together at Portland. He is the third longest tenured head coach in the WCC.

About Nevada
• The Wolf Pack (3-9) dropped a 90-60 decision at Washington last Wednesday, following a 79-73 home win against Portland State two days earlier.
• Another common opponent between the Pilots and Wolf Pack was Montana. Nevada defeated the Grizzlies in Reno to open the season, 81-66.
• Four of Nevada’s losses have come by three points or less, including a 78-75 loss to Arizona State.
• Indiana transfer Malik Story leads the Wolf Pack at 13.3 points per game. Dario Hunt adds 12.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
• Duke transfer Olek Czyz became eligible and has played in the last three games (7.0 ppg).
• Nevada was picked third in the WAC Preseason Poll by both the coaches and media.
• Head coach David Carter is in his second year at the helm and former Pilot assistant coach Keith Brown is back for his second year with Nevada.
• Portland leads the all-time series between the two schools by a 23-19 margin. Last year the Wolf Pack took a 78-69 decision in Reno.

You've..got..to hit..your free throws

You've..got..to hit..your free throws

up7587 wrote:Hard to believe Nevada has only 3 wins.

One reason the University of Portland men's basketball team puts a high priority on defense is because the Pilots know there are going to be nights when the offense doesn't click.

Monday was one of those nights.

The Pilots needed every ounce of defense they could muster to overcome some second-half shooting woes and hang on down the stretch for a 66-62 non-conference victory over the Nevada Wolf Pack before a crowd of 2,071 at the Chiles Center.

Nemanja Mitrovic matched his career high with 22 points to lead four Portland players in double figures as the Pilots (11-3) extended their winning streak to four games and improved to 7-0 on their home court.

Kramer Knutson added 11 points and Luke Sikma had 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Pilots, who won despite shooting 37 percent (20 for 54) from the field, 30.4 percent (7 for 23) from three-point range, and 70.4 percent (19 of 27) from the free-throw line.

Five of Portland's misses at the free-throw line came during the final 4:20 and helped the Wolf Pack (3-10) rally from a 54-42 deficit to within two, 64-62, on Deonte Burton's lay-in with 18.6 seconds remaining.

Nevada's Malik Story stole the ensuing inbound pass from Portland's Tim Douglas to give the Wolf Pack hope, but Story ended up firing an air ball from three-point range that Sikma snared with six seconds remaining.

Sikma got the ball to Mitrovic, who was fouled and made two free throws with 1.7 seconds left to seal the win.

"It was good to find different ways to win," Pilots coach Eric Reveno said. "We sort of scraped it together. We got rebounds when we needed rebounds, we made free throws when we needed free throws, and we stopped turning it over when we needed to not turn it over. It was a lot of little things."

The Pilots got off to a great start, going 5 for 7 from three-point range and jumping to a 14-2 lead with 15:55 to play in the first half.

But then the Pilots starting to struggle at the offensive end and went to the half leading 29-21 behind a defense that had held the Wolf Pack 8-for-26 shooting (30.8 percent) from the field, including 0 for 6 from beyond the arc.

"Give Nevada credit, because we came out shooting lights out," Reveno said. "They called timeout, got their post-Christmas feet under them a little bit on the road and we didn't get an open shot for awhile there."

After the Wolf Pack crept within five, 44-39, the Pilots went on a 10-3 run capped by Mitrovic's pull-up jumper in the lane that extended the lead to 54-42 with 4:27 left.

Nevada, which started the game 0-for-12 from three-point range, then hit four from long range in the closing 3:25, but it was too little, too late for the team from the Western Athletic Conference.

“We just went a little cold in the second half,” said Mitrovic, who finished 8 for 15 from the field and 4 for 9 from three-point range. “We came out pretty hot and we were hitting a lot of shots, and then in the second half shots that we normally make weren’t going down.

“We had to change the way we were attacking them, because Nevada changed the way they were guarding us. It just went a little differently than it usually does, but it wasn’t anything that we were too worried about.”

Dario Hunt led the Wolf Pack with 21 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, while Story added 13 points and Deonte had 11 points, five assists and three blocked shots.

Portland’s defense, though, was the difference in the game.

“The proof is in the fact that if we didn’t defend like we did, we wouldn’t have won,” Reveno said. “Offensively, because we didn’t turn it over that much, with only nine turnovers, I felt the offense got us just enough.

“But the defense had to step up, because the offense wasn’t exactly clicking.”

Said Mitrovic: “A great win. On paper, Nevada’s record doesn’t really speak to how good of a team they are. And especially when we weren’t playing as well as we wanted to, for us to get a gritty win like that was really good for us.”

jake wrote:One small question for those of you more familiar with the Pilots than I am. in both the Boise St. game and the game last night I was not impressed with Sikma's inbounding ability under pressure. I love Sikma as a player, but does anyone else think he might not be the best choice to inbound when there is heavy backcourt pressure? In my opinion it's either the inbounder or the guys not getting open because the handling of backcourt pressure is one area I think the Pilots could/should improve on moving forward.

Pilots Hold off Nevada, Improve to 11-3 Overall

PORTLAND, Ore. --- Junior guard Nemanja Mitrovic equaled his career-high of 22 points for the second consecutive game and the Portland Pilots held off a late rally by the Nevada Wolf Pack for a 66-62 win Monday night at the Chiles Center. Portland struggled from the field and shot just 37 percent, but led for all but 22 seconds in the game as the team improved to 7-0 on their home court before an announced crowd of 2,071.

The Pilots (11-3) surrendered their first lead of the season at home as the Wolf Pack scored the first two points on a jumper by Dario Hunt, but a Jared Stohl three-pointer gave Portland the lead 22 seconds later and the Pilots would never give it back.

The Wolf Pack (3-10) made four consecutive three-pointers in the closing minutes after missing their first 12 attempts from beyond the arc. Malik Story drilled three straight triples and another trey by Olek Czyz with 37 seconds remaining made it 62-60. Pilot freshman Tim Douglas made two free throws, but a runner by Deonte Burton made it 64-62 with 20 seconds left. Portland turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds play, but the Pilots forced Story to take a difficult three-pointer and collected the rebound. Mitrovic ran the clock down to 1.7 seconds before being fouled and icing the game with two more free throws.

Portland missed eight free throws in the second half, including five in the final 2:34 to make the game interesting. The Pilots, who entered the game leading the nation in three-point percentage at 45.4 percent, drilled 5-of-7 to start the game and then went just 2-for-17 the rest of the way.

Defensively, the Pilots held Nevada to 38 percent shooting for the game.

Senior center Kramer Knutson added 11 points for the Pilots, while Luke Sikma and Stohl added 10 each.

Hunt finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds to pace the Wolf Pack. Story added 13 points, while Burton and Czyz chipped in 11 each.

Portland will return to the Chiles Center to host the Utah Utes on Friday at 4 p.m. Tickets are still available through all Ticketmaster outlets and online at www.ticketmaster.com.

NOTES: Jared Stohl moved into sole possession of second place in WCC history with 287 three-pointers … the Pilots improved to 7-0 at the Chiles Center this season and have led by double digits in all seven wins … Portland has trailed for only 22 seconds in their seven home victories … the nine turnovers by UP matched a season low … the 11-3 start is tied for the third best in school history.

Newspaper Box Score

Nevada vs Portland

12/27/10 7:00 PM at Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center)

At Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center)

PORTLAND 66, NEVADA 62

NEVADA (3-10)

Hunt, Dario 8-13 5-7 21; Story, Malik 5-14 0-0 13; Burton, Deonte 4-10 3-5

11; Czyz, Olek 5-10 0-0 11; Evans, Jerry, Jr. 0-6 4-4 4; Finn, Jordan 1-3

0-0 2; Conner, Derrell 0-0 0-0 0; Panzer, Kevin 0-1 0-0 0; Nyeko, Patrick

0-0 0-0 0; Elliott, Devonte 0-2 0-0 0; Baldwin, Illiwa 0-1 0-0 0. Totals

23-60 12-16 62.

PORTLAND (11-3)

MITROVIC, Nemanja 8-15 2-2 22; KNUTSON, Kramer 4-4 3-5 11; SIKMA, Luke 3-10

4-5 10; STOHL, Jared 3-10 1-3 10; DOUGLAS, Tim 0-4 5-8 5; BARKER, Riley 2-2

0-0 4; HANNIBAL, Jasonn 0-2 2-2 2; RODGERS, Derrick 0-2 2-2 2; WATERFORD,

Eric 0-5 0-0 0; RILEY, Tanner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-54 19-27 66.

Nevada........................ 21 41 - 62

Portland...................... 29 37 - 66

3-point goals--Nevada 4-17 (Story, Malik 3-8; Czyz, Olek 1-4; Finn, Jordan

0-1; Panzer, Kevin 0-1; Burton, Deonte 0-3), Portland 7-23 (MITROVIC,

Nemanja 4-9; STOHL, Jared 3-9; DOUGLAS, Tim 0-2; RODGERS, Derrick 0-1;

WATERFORD, Eric 0-2). Fouled out--Nevada-None, Portland-None.

Rebounds--Nevada 39 (Hunt, Dario 14), Portland 35 (SIKMA, Luke .

Assists--Nevada 11 (Burton, Deonte 5), Portland 15 (STOHL, Jared 4;

MITROVIC, Nemanja 4). Total fouls--Nevada 21, Portland 14. Technical

fouls--Nevada-None, Portland-None. A-2071