Portland-Montana State, December 20

by PurplePrideTrumpet Fri Dec 19, 2014 8:26 pm

The Bobcats will be 3-7 and on a 2-game losing streak going into tomorrow night. Their wins have all come at home, with two blowouts against Texas-Arlington and South Dakota School of Mines, and a 68-60 win over Utah Valley. Their closest loss was 53-55 at South Dakota last night. They've also had two guarantee games, at UCLA (113-78) and Kentucky (86-28 Shocked

)

Michael Dison (12.7), Marcus Colbert (12.5), and Stephan Holm (11), all guards, are the leading scorers. With only one player, Eric Norman getting more than 5 rebounds a game the Pilots look to have a size advantage, so hopefully some of the bigs can have good games and get some momentum going into the conference season.

Opponents are shooting .455 from the field, forcing 13.6 TOs, and averaging 72.9 points against MSU, so the Pilots should do well if they can put in a good defensive effort as they have done most games this year.

by DoubleDipper Fri Dec 19, 2014 10:11 pm

Really no sense in saying UP is favored by 11 as the Pilots were favored last year by 17 before losing at home, 73-69.....and that was with Kevin Bailey IN the lineup, scoring 26 points, and Rhino having a double-double with 15 and 15!

UP came into last year's game with the same D-1 record they enter this game, 6-3, with losses to Oregon St., Michigan St., and a 2 OT loss to North Texas (State tongue

)

In 2012 the Pilots were favored by 4 when they arrived in Bozeman, but flew back to Portland after being blown out by 19 points. Kevin and Thomas each had 13 in that game.

So, bottom line.....anything can happen, but if the Pilots step up the defense and continue to push the ball in the final 5 minutes they should be rewarded....but anything can happen!! Rolling Eyes

I scouted MSU on the road (on TV) against a very good Wyoming team and, although they lost by 9, they were in the game the entire way and are very dangerous.

With the UP students on vacation, the Athletic Department has invited all kids through the 6th grade to attend for FREE!

by pilotdad1 Fri Dec 19, 2014 10:57 pm

The dreaded MSU game, I remember them well (unfortunately). The Bozeman game was brutal, made for a long drive back.

DD you are right, defense will be the key. If UP can keep pressure on the guards and force the Bobcats to set up their offense from 23 out I think we win by 15. The big 3 are playing well, protecting the rim and will control the paint.

It would be nice if we could hit some 3's and get some confidence back. Bobby, Bryce and Tyson need to get some momentum going because the conference season is coming right up. Some home cookin is in order. All three are scorers, we have seen them kill it from deep and I know they will start getting hot again tomorrow. I called it, make a note.

Go Pilots!

by Guest Sat Dec 20, 2014 9:23 am

A loss tonight would be, well . . .
Portland-Montana State, December 20 Ledge10

by newpilotfan Sat Dec 20, 2014 1:55 pm

up7587 wrote:A loss tonight would be, well . . .

by DoubleDipper Sat Dec 20, 2014 2:19 pm

up7587 wrote:A loss tonight would be, well . . .

Well, as we said to each other before going off to fly combat missions in Vietnam, "Can I have your stereo?" Twisted Evil

by Guest Sat Dec 20, 2014 8:35 pm

I know there's still half of the second half left, but I think it's safe to say the Montana State curse has been busted.

by PurplePrideTrumpet Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:21 pm

pilotdad1 wrote:The dreaded MSU game, I remember them well (unfortunately). The Bozeman game was brutal, made for a long drive back.

DD you are right, defense will be the key. If UP can keep pressure on the guards and force the Bobcats to set up their offense from 23 out I think we win by 15. The big 3 are playing well, protecting the rim and will control the paint.

It would be nice if we could hit some 3's and get some confidence back. Bobby, Bryce and Tyson need to get some momentum going because the conference season is coming right up. Some home cookin is in order. All three are scorers, we have seen them kill it from deep and I know they will start getting hot again tomorrow. I called it, make a note.

Go Pilots!

Let's see:

MSU was .367 from the field, .294 from 3.

Win by 15? Check. And the final margin was actually bigger than the score at halftime. No letting up.

The big 3: 12 points from VDM, 10 from Gerun, 8 from Barker, 7 from Hartwich, and 6 and a game high 8 rebounds for Todd (not many rebounds to be had when you're making so many of your own shots and the other team doesn't even take many because they turned it over 14 times).

Three point shooting: Tyson 3-5, Pressley 3-6 (and 17 pts total), Sharp 2-6. Team: 10-20. Any guys who needed a little confidence probably got it tonight.

So yes, I think you called it. Geez and DD will have your winnings at the PN luxury box.

by pilotdad1 Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:44 pm

Considering its the Christmas season I am hoping for something really nice from those two!

by Guest Sat Dec 20, 2014 11:02 pm

Double digit minutes for 3 freshmen tonight, including 23 minutes for Jason Todd, and 14 each for Taylor and Tyson. Plus, Jason Todd was the post-game radio interview, and it was the best interview ever! Laughing

(#mancrush)

Coach Herb Brown was also interviewed, and it was fun to hear him; first time for me. He likes the team, says they are coachable and play hard, and have good chemistry.

by **PilotNut** Sun Dec 21, 2014 12:06 am

Balanced Effort Leads Pilots to Rout of Montana State

Attached radio highlights courtesy of Sports 910 KMTT with Bill Johnson on the call

On the Web: www.portlandpilots.com/news/2014/12/20/MBB_1220143716.aspx

PORTLAND, Ore. – Junior guard Bryce Pressley scored a team-high 17 points as the Portland Pilots cruised to an 87-60 victory over the Montana State Bobcats Saturday night at the Chiles Center. Portland had ten players score four or more points and four reach double figures on the night.

Portland sophomore point guard Alec Wintering dished out 11 assists in just 23 minutes of action. Senior center Thomas van der Mars added 12 points and freshman guard D’Marques Tyson chipped in 11 off the bench.

Senior forward Volodymyr Gerun had another efficient game with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. He added four rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and three steals. Freshman guard Jason Todd finished with six points, a season-high eight rebounds and three assists.

After a slow start that saw the Bobcats (3- take a 9-4 lead, Portland 13-1 run midway through the first half to gain a double digit lead. That margin would grow to 50-29 on a pair of free throws by freshman Gabe Taylor just before halftime.

The margin would get no closer than 17 in the second half and the Pilots (8-3) would lead by as much as 29 points late.

Portland shot 55 percent from the field, made 10-of-20 three-pointers and 11-of-15 free throws. The Pilots also had 25 assists and just 10 turnovers.

Montana State finished at 37 percent overall, 5-for-17 from beyond the arc and 19-of-24 at the foul line. The Bobcats had 11 assists and 14 turnovers. Portland also outrebounded Montana State by a 31-26 margin.

Portland was without leading scorer Kevin Bailey (foot) for the fourth straight game and he will be re-evaluated weekly.

The Pilots will have a quick turnaround and then close out the non-conference schedule on Monday afternoon with a 2 p.m. tip-off against Lewis & Clark at the Chiles Center. Kids 6th grade and younger will receive free admission. Portland will open West Coast Conference play next weekend at San Diego on Saturday and then travel to BYU for a Dec. 29 matchup in Provo, Utah.

Newspaper Box Score

Montana State vs Portland
12/20/14 7:00 PM at Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center)
At Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center)

PORTLAND 87, MONTANA STATE 60

MONTANA STATE (3-
ROBISON, Danny 8-11 5-10 24; BROWN, Terrell 3-9 4-4 11; GREEN, Zach 2-10 4-4
8; NORMAN, Eric 1-4 4-4 7; BRUMWELL, Blake 2-2 0-0 4; COLBERT, Marcus 1-9
2-2 4; PRICE, Quinn 1-1 0-0 2; FISHER, Bradley 0-0 0-0 0; FRENCHWOOD, Joey
0-2 0-0 0; DISON, Michael 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-49 19-24 60.

PORTLAND (8-3)
PRESSLEY, Bryce 4-6 6-6 17; VAN DER MARS, Thomas 6-11 0-0 12; TYSON,
D'Marques 4-7 0-0 11; GERUN, Volodymyr 4-5 2-2 10; BARKER, Riley 4-7 0-0 8;
HARTWICH, Philipp 3-3 1-3 7; TAYLOR, Gabe 2-7 2-2 6; SHARP, Bobby 2-7 0-0 6;
TODD, Jason 2-3 0-2 6; WINTERING, Alec 2-4 0-0 4; ZUBIZARRETA, Aitor 0-0 0-0
0; LIVINGSTON, Max 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-60 11-15 87.

Montana State................. 29 31 - 60
Portland...................... 50 37 - 87

3-point goals--Montana State 5-17 (ROBISON, Danny 3-5; BROWN, Terrell 1-3;
NORMAN, Eric 1-2; COLBERT, Marcus 0-3; FRENCHWOOD, Joey 0-2; DISON, Michael
0-1; GREEN, Zach 0-1), Portland 10-20 (TYSON, D'Marques 3-5; PRESSLEY, Bryce
3-4; TODD, Jason 2-3; SHARP, Bobby 2-6; WINTERING, Alec 0-1; BARKER, Riley
0-1). Fouled out--Montana State-None, Portland-None. Rebounds--Montana State
26 (ROBISON, Danny 7), Portland 31 (TODD, Jason . Assists--Montana State
11 (COLBERT, Marcus 3; FRENCHWOOD, Joey 3), Portland 25 (WINTERING, Alec
11). Total fouls--Montana State 20, Portland 24. Technical fouls--Montana State-None, Portland-None. A-1602

by Geezaldinho Sun Dec 21, 2014 1:09 am

pilotdad1 wrote:Considering its the Christmas season I am hoping for something really nice from those two!

DD tells me it's so big it won't even fit into the PN luxury box.

Think it's a pony?

by NoPoNeighbor Sun Dec 21, 2014 1:10 am

Now that's how it SHOULD go when we play Montana State!

Nice to see such balance on offense, and to see some good outside shooting. Especially from Pressley. Sharp still hasn't found his touch. He was hitting shot after shot in warm-ups, but come game time he isn't quite locked-in.

And even though VDM made 6-11, he missed a few short jump hooks that we've come to expect him to make. Shooting the ball, he just doesn't seem to have the same touch and confidence that he did for much of last season. At least once tonight, Rev pulled him out of the game after he missed an easy shot, even though he had just gone in. I don't remember seeing Rev use that coaching strategy too much, but I liked it. If Thomas is missing shots he should make, we have the depth to get someone else in there instead. As Rev said on Twitter this week, the margin of error for this team is slim. We cannot afford to be missing multiple shots from within 5 feet.

Two nice surprises from tonight: Barker's mid-range shooting, and Todd's all-around play.

by Guest Sun Dec 21, 2014 2:24 am

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:Michael Dison (12.7), Marcus Colbert (12.5), and Stephan Holm (11), all guards, are the leading scorers.

Dison was scoreless in 12 minutes, only took one shot. Colbert had 4 points in 24 minutes, hitting only 1 of 9 from the field. Holm did not travel due to a head injury.

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:Opponents are shooting .455 from the field, forcing 13.6 TOs, and averaging 72.9 points against MSU, so the Pilots should do well if they can put in a good defensive effort as they have done most games this year.

Good prediction.

by newpilotfan Sun Dec 21, 2014 8:39 am

If we can take care of business on Monday it'll be nice going into conference play with 2 big confidence boosters.

by DoubleDipper Sun Dec 21, 2014 11:30 am

Lot's of positives last night....without looking at the stats:

Alec is the engine that makes this team go....without his cool head, his vision and distribution, and his shot selection, this Pilots team could be struggling instead of thriving and improving.

The positive of KB being out is of course the early emergence of Jason and D'Marquez....both of whom are playing well above what we have come to expect of freshman for the most part. Jason is quickly becoming the all-around player (and postgame interview) and D'Marquez can obviously light it up on any given night.

Gabe's fundamentals are above those we've seen of most freshmen post players....and he's getting minutes....something most posts to not get as freshmen. He missed some shots last night, but I really like the way he uses the backboard for his shots and his shot selection.

Phillip! If last evening's play was any indication of things to come, he could have a very good future. Admittedly it was against much smaller competition than he'll have to face in the WCC, but watching and hearing him bark out directions while on defense was very impressive.

Bottom line....with Alec and the Four Freshmen, the future looks a lot better than I would have expected 6 weeks ago. Although last night's win was not against great competition, having lost to MSU two years running after being favored, it was a confidence booster for the players and fans, it kept up7587 from ledge leaping, and it gave 12 basketball players a chance to compete and showcase their talent before WCC play begins in 6 days.

by **PilotNut** Sun Dec 21, 2014 11:46 am

NoPoNeighbor wrote:Now that's how it SHOULD go when we play Montana State!

Exactly. I don't know if we learned much about the Pilots last night... MSU was pretty bad. It was good to see Thomas hit some shots after missing several early. Bobby Sharp still seems out of sorts... at least he made a pair. Jason Todd continues to impress.

by NoPoNeighbor Sun Dec 21, 2014 12:33 pm

KB seemed to be in really low spirits last night, sitting on the end of the bench. This whole experience must be gut-wrenching for him. Based solely on his demeanor, I wouldn't think that his return is imminent.

by **PilotNut** Sun Dec 21, 2014 12:38 pm

I did notice that he was in what appeared to be regular shoes, and the couple times I tried to look, I didn't notice any obvious limping. I will hope it was just him being bummed knowing he was going to be out for the game and the L&C game. Or maybe he was already thinking about Christmas break....? Neutral

by DoubleDipper Sun Dec 21, 2014 12:57 pm

I spoke with KB...honestly, his spirits are fine, but he's just not sure when he'll be back on the court. He said he was enjoying seeing D'Marquez and Jason get significant minutes. He is such a TEAM guy, I believe he was sincere in his positive attitude about seeing others get his playing minutes.

He's been working on some upper body agility and strength exercises and a doing a lot of stretching.

Home tonight with family....hoping for chance to play against USD.

by Guest Sun Dec 21, 2014 2:05 pm

DoubleDipper wrote:Bottom line....with Alec and the Four Freshmen, the future looks a lot better than I would have expected 6 weeks ago. Although last night's win was not against great competition, having lost to MSU two years running after being favored, it was a confidence booster for the players and fans, it kept up7587 from ledge leaping, and it gave 12 basketball players a chance to compete and showcase their talent before WCC play begins in 6 days.

Hey! With all this time teetering on the ledge, maybe I'll get one of these for Christmas!
Portland-Montana State, December 20 Flying11

by wrv Sun Dec 21, 2014 2:28 pm

Happy to see us thump someone rather than having the favor bestowed on us. I agree with the assessment of Wintering’s importance as a guiding, steady hand for the team. Barker now definitely feels free to shoot when open inside the arc, at the elbow, whatever.

The freshmen looked good to a man. Thing about Todd is he rebounds so well for his height—we have had a few rebounders like that in the past . . . and what a poor call the drive to the hoop in the open court on Todd was: it sure appeared the MSU player was moving and that Todd did everything he could to avoid contact.Tyson left alone at the three point line is a weapon . . .Taylor looks smooth and a capable rebounder and defender . . . Hartwich is going to block a few shots before he is done.

What are the odds of future Pilots 6’9” or taller having home addresses outside the U.S.?

Go Pilots.

Portland-Montana State, December 20

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