| 17 February 2011
The Portland Pilots have been nearly perfect at home this season, and tonight they’ll get a chance to improve to 13-1 in the Chiles Center.
With only four games remaining before the WCC Conference Tournament, every victory is crucial as the 2nd and 5th place teams are currently only separated by a total of two games.
For the seniors on the team, this will mark the second to last game at home of their collegiate careers, with the matchup on Saturday night against Santa Clara being the finale. It’s been a memorable four years, and an experience that Luke Sikma is proud to have been a part of.
“I was really one of [Eric Reveno’s] first recruits. Me, Jared (Stohl), Kramer (Knudson), you know, we were really his first class where he could recruit us for a full year," Sikma told Beyond the Beat.
"We were also the last class to have a losing season, so we still know what it feels like. That’s why it makes things like [the Gonzaga loss] sting, but Coach has done a great job of recruiting the right guys and in terms of getting us to play hard and play smart and come out and play our best ball every time, I think that he’s done a great job.”
If Reveno can win at least two of the final four games of this season, it will mark the second straight twenty-plus win year for the school. When you consider that when Sikma was a freshman the Pilots only won nine games total, it’s impressive to see the program being turned around in such dramatic fashion.
And Reveno’s not just bringing in more wins; he’s also helping bring the fan insanity in the Chiles Center back to life. Sikma couldn’t agree more when it comes to Reveno’s contributions to the Pilots.
“Getting the whole UP community fired up. From a whole program perspective, granted I haven’t been in any other ones, the turnaround from that first year has been really remarkable," added Sikma.
But before the Pilots can reflect back on this year’s achievements, they need to attempt to get past the San Francisco Dons and close out the conference season with a bang.
USF is currently tied for second place in the WCC with a 7-3 conference record and also holds bragging rights over the Pilots this season, as the teams’ first meeting resulted in a 81-74 win for the Dons.
Tonight will also be especially meaningful, as Ultimate Fan Mauro Potestio will be recognized. The school has encouraged fans to wear bow ties to the game in honor of Potestio, who watched an incredible 898 consecutive UP games from 1949-2011 before passing away last Saturday. He wore his signature bow tie to nearly every game.
photo: portlandpilots.com
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