WCC Tourney: #8 Pilots vs. #9 Lions, Wednesday, 6pm

Portland Pilots (11-20, 4-12) vs. LMU Lions (8-22, 1-15)

Date: Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Tip-off: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Las Vegas, Nev.
Arena: Orleans Arena
Television: BYUtv
Radio: 800 AM
Overall Series: 42-46
At UP: 26-16
At LMU: 14-25
At Neutral: 2-5
Last: POR 69, LMU 60 (Feb. 7, 2013 at Portland)

WCC TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
• Portland faces Loyola Marymount in the first round on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The winner advances to face No. 5 seeded San Francisco on Thursday at 6 p.m.
• Wednesday and Thursday’s games will be televised live on BYUtv, while all Portland games are available on True Talk 800 AM with a 30-minute pregame show.


ABOUT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
• The Lions (8-22, 1-15 WCC) have lost 15 straight games which began with Portland’s 68-64 victory at Gersten Pavilion on Jan. 12.
• LMU dropped a 73-70 decision to BYU on Saturday, despite a game-high 24 points from junior PG Anthony Ireland.
• Ireland is second in the WCC in scoring at 20.6 ppg.
• Senior F Ashley Hamilton averages 12.9 points and 6.9 rebounds, while junior G Ayodeji Egbeyemi adds 10.6 per game
• Max Good is in his fifth season as head coach with the Lions.
• Good and the Lions were picked to finish fourth in the WCC by the league’s head coaches in the preseason poll.


PORTLAND-LMU SERIES NOTES
• The Pilots swept the season series with a 68-64 win at LMU on Jan. 12, followed by a 69-60 win on Feb. 7 in Portland.
• LMU leads the all-time series by a 46-42 margin.
• The Lions are 4-2 all-time in WCC Tournament contests over Portland, including 1-0 since the event moved to Las Vegas.
• LMU defeated the Pilots 72-68 in the 2011 Second Round.


PILOTS AT THE WCC TOURNAMENT
• Portland is 10-24 all-time at the WCC Championships and 3-4 in Las Vegas.
• Head coach Eric Reveno is 4-6, advancing to the semifinals in 2009 and 2010.
• Portland’s lone WCC Tournament Championship came in 1996.

PilotNut wrote:Hey, at least I can GUARANTY that we will not be playing on Wednesday next year!!

PilotNut wrote:The Pilots have been playing better of late, but LMU has not folded up shop on the season. They will be hungry for some success, for sure.

WCC tournament: No. 8 seed Pilots open play against Loyola Marymount
By Nick Daschel, Special to The Oregonian
March 05, 2013 at 11:01 AM, updated March 05, 2013 at 11:04 AM

Portland Pilots (12-20, 4-12)
What: West Coast Conference tournament
When, where: Wednesday-Monday, Orleans Arena, Las Vegas
TV/radio: BYU TV Wednesday-Thursday; ESPNU Friday, ESPN2 Saturday, ESPN Monday; KPDQ (800)

Of note: Portland is the No. 8 seed, of nine teams, and opens tournament play at 6 p.m. Wednesday against Loyola-Marymount (8-21, 1-15). If the Pilots win, they’ll advance and play No. 5 seed San Francisco at 6 p.m. Thursday. Win again, and Portland plays Friday against No. 4 seed Santa Clara. The tournament semifinals are Saturday, with the championship game at 6 p.m. Monday. Gonzaga (29-2, 16-0) is the top seed, and defending champion Saint Mary’s (26-5, 14-2) is No. 2. … Portland swept the season series from Loyola-Marymount, and split against San Francisco. … Last year, the Pilots won their WCC opener, then lost in the second round to the Dons 87-66. … In order for UP to claim the tournament title, it would have to win five consecutive games over a six-day period as the No. 8 seed. … Portland’s best finish in the WCC tournament during coach Eric Reveno’s seven-year tenure was the 2009 semifinals, where it lost to Saint Mary’s … The Pilots finished last in the WCC in scoring (61.2 points) and sixth in scoring defense (68.6 points). Portland’s best finish in a WCC team statistical category was blocked shots, where it was second (4.0 per game). … Junior forward Ryan Nicholas led the Pilots in scoring (12.8 points) and rebounds (8.7) this season. Nicholas was second in the WCC in rebounds behind San Francisco’s Cole Dickerson … Sophomore post Thomas van der Mars was fourth in the WCC in field goal percentage (.539).

Women’s tournament: Portland (10-19, 5-11) is the No. 7 seed, and opens play at 2:30 p.m. Thursday against Santa Clara. If the Pilots win, they’ll face Saint Mary’s at 2:30 p.m. Friday in the tournament quarterfinals. The women’s tournament runs in conjunction with the men in Orleans Arena. The championship game is 1 p.m. Monday. Gonzaga is the No. 1 seed.

dholcombe wrote:Wrong thread sir. This is the game thread. The fire everyone thread is waiting for you to start it.

Pilots Rally Late Before Falling to LMU at WCC Championships

LAS VEGAS, Nev. --- The University of Portland Pilots rallied to cut a late 11 point deficit to three points, but ran out of gas in the final minute as the Loyola Marymount University Lions prevailed 65-54 in the first round of the West Coast Conference Championships at the Orleans Arena. The Pilots finish the season at 11-21, while LMU improves to 9-22 and advances to face San Francisco in the second round.

Sophomore guard Kevin Bailey led all scorers with 21 points and shot a blistering 8-of-11 from the field, while junior forward Ryan Nicholas nearly recorded a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds. The loss marks the final career game for Pilots senior point guard Derrick Rodgers.

Portland shot 43 percent overall and outrebounded LMU 31-30, but turnovers proved the difference as the Pilots committed 19 turnovers to 11 for the Lions. LMU outscored Portland 22-6 in points off of turnovers.

LMU maintained a slim advantage throughout the first half until a jumper by Bailey put the Pilots ahead for the first time at 27-26 with 4:20 remaining in the half. The Lions came right back and took a 34-30 lead into the locker room despite Portland shooting a solid 53 percent for the half.

Clinging to a 41-39 lead with 14 minutes left in the second half, the Lions went on a 13-4 run over the next seven minutes to take a commanding 54-43 lead with less than seven minutes remaining. Portland stormed back and cut the lead to three with 1:58 remaining as Bailey and Nicholas combined for nine points, but clutch baskets by Ashley Hamilton and Godwin Okonji put the game out of reach.

Sophomore center Thomas van der Mars scored eight points, while freshman guard Bryce Pressley tallied five.

For the Lions, Hamilton had 21 point and eight boards, while Anthony Ireland was the only other player in double figures with 12.

PilotNut wrote:LMU outscored Portland 22-6 in points off of turnovers.