Portland @ Gonzaga - Wednesday at 8:00 (ROOT)

I didn't mean to make it sound like I came here to call people out it's just that sometimes the articles that get posted don't get much traffic and I love reading what these guys post. Especially guys that cover the WCC. in order for them to keep writing articles very much traffic

that last little bit didNt make any sense because othe voice recognition and I am on my phone so I cannot edit the post for some reason

adoptedzag wrote:that last little bit didNt make any sense because othe voice recognition and I am on my phone so I cannot edit the post for some reason

Knew what you meant/mean....got it!

Well, this is going south fast. GU can't miss.

More students at BWW than a couple games ago at Chiles.

And now including the dance team with Pom poms.

I think the feed must be broken or something. It has the zags killing us.

I guess this teaches us for beating them.

NoPoNeighbor wrote:I guess this teaches us for beating them.

We do seem to have their attention.

Guys looking a lot better this half, and Zags aren't hitting. Hope we have 5 players left to finish. May need John B and Tanner R before this is done.

Pilots have pulled within five points. I am loving the fight the Pilots are bringing in the second half.

Fortunes changed when these kids came in

UP is up three!!!

lookout now! We've got a game

Well, they gave it a hell of a shot. Proud of them.

And we win on combined score  

Great HEART by the Pilots tonight. Never dreamed this would be close when down 22.

Keep playing like that against GU, and maybe someday they'll storm the court in the Kennel after beating UP.

My goodness, what a 2nd half for the Pilots! I am really proud of the guys coming out with FIRE after the break, mostly without van der Mars and Bailey.   

It would have been epic to pull this one out, but the fouls finally caught up, and Stockton finally hit a few shots.

If we can consistently play like the 2nd 20 minutes from here on out... we will do just fine. *if*...

PilotNut wrote:My goodness, what a 2nd half for the Pilots!  I am really proud of the guys coming out with FIRE after the break, mostly without van der Mars and Bailey.    

It would have been epic to pull this one out, but the fouls finally caught up, and Stockton finally hit a few shots.

If we can consistently play like the 2nd 20 minutes from here on out...  we will do just fine. *if*...

Definitely hope we don't have to face you for the rubber match in vegas, that's for sure.

Down 22 against a Top 25 team, Zags on fire, in an impossible gym for opponents, massive foul trouble... and we damn near get the win.

Incredibly proud of the heart shown by the guys tonight - you really can't ask for anything more. We ran out of gas at the end, but absolutely no reason to hang our heads. This is a good basketball team. Inconsistent at times, but a team we can be proud of.

You better believe Gonzaga wants absolutely no part of us in Las Vegas.

Stockton was a 21% 3-pt shooter coming into this one...3-for-4 tonight including a couple huge ones down the stretch. The game plan (again) was clearly to play off him and this guy just happened to hit some at key moments.

Tonight kind of encompassed the whole season for the Pilots. We've seen good Pilots (Gonzaga, BYU, Princeton) and we've seen bad Pilots (Montana State, North Texas). We saw both teams tonight in the two halves - good Pilots came up for the second half. This board will say the Pilots made adjustments on D, Gonzaga's board will say the shots just stopped falling.

Either way, one hell of an effort to come all the way back from a 23-point deficit to make a game of it. Tough place to play in, tough opposition, tough refereeing - fouls were 25-12, free throws were 34 attempts to Portland's 14 and the boys kept battling. Full credit to the Pilots for showing some major stones in this one.

Well, we beat them 3 out of 4 halves. But that first half tonight was a nightmare.

The win over Gonzaga at home was the most excited I've ever been after a UP game. The win over BYU was the most awestruck I've ever been after a UP game. Tonight is the most proud I've ever been after a UP game. What an incredible comeback. Forget that it's "Gonzaga" for a moment, and think about that fact that the Pilots game back from a 17-point halftime deficit on the road , against a top-25 opponent. to take the lead in the final 5 minutes.

Yes, from there things slipped away. A top tier team might have been able to put the Zags away once it gained the lead. Portland is not there yet. But they are darn close. What a fight it was. I don't know what this game portends for the rest of our season, but I think it says good things about the future of Pilot basketball. Gonzaga is on notice.

There are some who will say a loss is a loss. But if we can turn this loss into the confidence builder that it should be, and dominate at home next weekend against LMU and Pepperdine, it will be well worth taking the heartbreaking loss tonight.

Losing at GU by 30 points tonight would not have left me feeling hopeful about the rest of the season. But the way we fought back and took control of our own destiny tonight makes me think we can be be a dangerous team in the conference down the home stretch this season, and next season too.

Pilots made 5 more 2's, 16 to 11. Made 1 less 3pt, 8 to 9. But made 12 less FTs, 10 to 22. That first charging call on Kevin was a tough call, so was the foul on Bobby against Pangos driving to the hoop. Maybe the blocking call on Ryan. Couple silly fouls by Pilots. Otherwise, it was a tough physical game, too bad to see Pilots come out on the wrong end, but I don't feel the refs decided the game.

Post game comment from Rev I think we can all agree with.

"My general take is pretty disappointing," Reveno said. "I think we've proven we can play with a lot of people, including Gonzaga. I'd like for us to be a little more consistent."

ESPN LINK

Next two are the last home games, LMU on Thursday the 13th, and Pepperdine on Saturday the 15th (at 1PM again?!   ). Let's get those, and then finish with some strong road performances.

One last thought - this Pilots team is a treat to watch. Fun, entertaining, talented, and unselfish. Inconsistent as all heck, but never dull.

Also, I have been one to harp on the Pilots' slow starts in the second half this season so I need to laud their efforts tonight coming out of the break. 12-3 run for UP to get to within eight was a huge part of the comeback.