USF @ Pilots 2/17 ...6:00 PM...

Pilots Host Second-Place USF in Nationally Televised Thursday Game

A huge weekend of University of Portland men’s basketball comes to The Bluff beginning on Thursday with a night of remembrance and battle for WCC seeding. The Pilots host San Francisco at 6 p.m. on ESPNU as the program will recognize our Ultimate Fan, Mauro Potestio. Fans are encouraged to wear bowties to the game in honor of Potestio, who watched a remarkable 898 consecutive UP games from 1949-2011 and wore his signature bowtie to nearly every game. The Pilots will then take on Santa Clara on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the regular season home finale. Portland’s four seniors will be recognized 10 minutes prior to tipoff with a Senior Night presentation.

Ticket Information
Thursday’s game is featuring a buy one get one free ticket special. 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.

Wear a Bowtie on Thursday
Help us honor our Ultimate Fan Mauro Potestio by wearing a bowtie to Thursday’s game against San Francisco at the Chiles Center. Mauro, who passed away last Saturday, is legendary for his amazing devotion to the Pilots (he attended 898 consecutive home games from 1949-2011) and for wearing his signature bowtie to nearly every game. To learn more about Mauro, his streak, and his incredible impact on Pilots athletics, check out these articles from The Oregonian, The Portland Tribune and look at a slideshow of his time here at UP.

Halftime Mile is Back!
A halftime show that was immensely popular previously at Portland is making a comeback on Thursday. Portland will host the Halftime Mile, featuring four members of the University of Portland’s track team against four runners from the University of San Francisco. Pilot sophomore sensation Trevor Dunbar, the reigning USA Junior Cross Country and 10,000-meter champion, will chase his father’s Chiles Center mile record (4:04). Fans are encouraged to line the track upstairs to cheer on the runners, or can watch the proceedings on the Chiles Center video board. OregonLive.com previewed the event.

Senior Night on Saturday
Show up early on Saturday as Portland’s four seniors will be recognized 10 minutes prior to tip-off as part of Senior Night. The quartet of Jasonn Hannibal, Kramer Knutson, Jared Stohl and Luke Sikma have put together one of the best four-year runs in school history and have achieved unprecedented success as Pilot hoopsters. The program will recognize each player and the families of all four will be on hand for the special occasion.

Canzano On-Site for BFT on Thursday
John Canzano will be hosting his Bald-Faced Truth radio show at the Chiles Center on Thursday from 3-6 p.m. The show airs Monday-Friday on 95.5 The Game on the FM dial. Check in early or tune in to catch Canzano talk about the Pilots and get on a few special guests. Canzano on Coach Reveno and the Pilots.

Game Coverage
Thursday’s game will be nationally televised on ESPNU with Mark Neely and Miles Simon calling the action. Saturday’s 5:30 p.m. game against Santa Clara will be aired on CSN Northwest and CSN Bay Area with Scott Lynn and Dwight Jaynes on the call. All Portland games will be aired live on the radio on 800 AM (KPDQ) with Bill Johnson providing the play-by-play, including a 30-minute pregame show.

Portland Briefly…
• The Pilots earned a road split last week by following Thursday’s 66-64 loss at Pepperdine with a 71-48 victory at Loyola Marymount.
• Senior F Luke Sikma scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against LMU.
• Sikma became the school’s top all-time rebounder on Thursday, passing Rick Raivio (1976-80, 910) and he now has 928 career rebounds.
• Sikma is also just three points shy of joining the 1,000-point club.
• Senior C Kramer Knutson is the Portland career leader in games started (115).
• The Pilots are fifth nationally in team 3-point percentage (.419).
• Junior G Nemanja Mitrovic is No. 2 in the nation in three-point percentage (.485) and senior G Jared Stohl is No. 17 (.435).
• Mitrovic (79) and Stohl (74) have combined to make 153 three-pointers which is tied for the highest total of any teammate duo in the nation with BYU’s Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery (153).
• UP is No. 21 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.
• Portland’s 58 wins over the last three years are the most of any three-year stretch since the Pilots joined Division I for the 1958-59 season.
• Portland is coming off of back-to-back postseason appearances and tied a school record with 21 wins last year. Head coach Eric Reveno welcomes eight newcomers to the roster, including seven true freshmen.

About San Francisco (13-12, 7-3 WCC)
• The Dons are tied for second place in the WCC standings after splitting a home stand last weekend. USF beat San Diego (61-47) and lost to No. 23 Saint Mary’s (86-68).
• The Dons post an RPI of 127, fourth best in the conference.
• USF is one of the youngest teams in Division I basketball this season with just seven years of returning Division I experience.
• Michael Williams (15.1 ppg), Rashad Green (11.6) and Perris Blackwell (10.4 ppg) lead the Dons.
• USF knocked off the Pilots by an 81-74 margin on Jan. 20 in San Francisco, snapping a four-game losing streak to Portland.

blacksheep wrote:So if they are running on the track, where can I get my halftime beer?

W W Winkie wrote:Your parents must be proud!!

blacksheep wrote:So if they are running on the track, where can I get my halftime beer?

PilotNut wrote:

blacksheep wrote:So if they are running on the track, where can I get my halftime beer?

Oh my... we have a pending crisis on our hands!

Canzano On-Site for BFT
John Canzano will be hosting his Bald-Faced Truth radio show at the Chiles Center on Thursday from 3-6 p.m. The show airs Monday-Friday on 95.5 The Game on the FM dial. Check in early or tune in to catch Canzano talk about the Pilots and get on a few special guests. Canzano on Coach Reveno and the Pilots.