PILOTS WIN OVER DENVER 72-62 at the CHILES CENTER

[/b][b]Whew!

The young men pulled it together in the 2nd half. I have to agree with Tom Koffer(SP) and Jason Brough it was the most animated I have heard Rev cheer for the Pilot's in a game. He was exhorting the crowd to make some noise in the 2nd half. The tiny student section did their best but Rev got the regular folks out of their seats during a crucial scoring run in the 2nd half.

Congrats men, now take down UDub!



MesaPilot1

glad for the win, looking to UW next! GO PILOTS!

Totally spaced that the game was early. I was just sitting around the house doing nothing too...coulda listened. Good win for the guys. Looking at the boxscore a pretty balanced effort, Seven guys between 7 and 12 points. Luke with 10 boards and TJ with 8 assists. Hopefully they have shaken off that 2 game funk.

Listening to the postgame interview with Rev on the way home, I was impressed to learn that Denver was actually third nationally in adjusted (true?) field goal percentage coming in. A good win against a solid team. Too bad about the lack of student support (though the two rows standing did make some good noise considering the numbers). I've never seen Rev actually try to pump up the crowd like he did today.

The students who did come were nice and energetic.

I thought the Pilots did well today. They were facing a Princeton-style offense that was really efficient for a while. Not only is Denver a great shooting team, they also are 3rd in Mid-Majordom in points per possession, an indication their offense is quite efficient. I like how the Pilots became a little more deliberate in turn and made sure to take quality shots. They also kept their turnovers down which also limited Denver's possessions.

Actually, Denver's offense looked a bit TOO deliberate. They got into their offense, would get a guy free for an open shot. (a couple times unmarked near the basket) and the guy who was open would pass back outside.

They ran the clock out a couple times doing that.

Good to get things turned around today vs. a very solid DU team. Kudos to Kramer and Luuuuuke Sikma for great games!

Rev was really fired up today, rallying the team, rallying the fans, riding the refs... it was great!

Speaking of the fans, it wasnt a great turn out but it was louder than it ever was vs. PSU. Congrats to the students and fans for creating a much better envirnoment today... Wally was into it... the dance team was into it... students were yelling and chanting... the alumni side was on their feet and vocal often... the fans realized when the team needed them to step up and help on defense! good showing, Pilots!

Now lets take it to the Huskies next weekend...!

I didn't see the game, but, looking at the box score it looks like our free throw shooting was slightly better (75%) and our perimeter defense showed up in the second half...which is encouraging.

http://www.portlandpilots.com/custompages/Basketball-M/2009-10/pormbb09.htm

Washington lost by 8 to a good ranked Georgetown team, and this next game will be interesting. If we play good defense, Washington might be relying mostly on Thomas and Pondexter for scoring. If that happens and we play great transition defense, I like our chances. But, we have to bring our A-game.

Thomas definitely won't foul out in 10 minutes like he did as a freshman...so at the very least we'll be treated to a battle of the mighty mights in TJ vs. Isiah...2 point guards shorter than 5'10 who can both dunk and set up their teammates. I look forward to that.

Our perimeter defense did improve in the 2nd half. There was a really good stretch around the 10 min mark where we stopped them several possessions in a row, including a block of a 3 pointer by Luke flying out at the shooter. There might have been a second block in that stretch, but I cannot remember for sure. That was the same time coach was very animated trying to get the team and the fans rooting hard. Needless to say my 2 year old was not sure what to make of me yelling Defense at the top of my lungs.