GAME NOTES: The Challenge in Music City will see the undefeated Portland Pilots take on the Murray State Racers on Friday night at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.

After knocking off Concordia and San Jose State, the Pilots comfortably defeated SIU-Edwardsville last Saturday, 75-53. Portland has yet to be defeated this season.

On Monday, the Racers were beaten for the second time this season, in an embarrassing 89-62 loss to the Xavier Musketeers. Prior to that loss, Murray State had won two straight, with its wins coming against Middle Tennessee and Brescia.

This is the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the hardwood.

In their third win of the season, the Pilots received 21 points and eight rebounds from forward Volodymyr Gerun. Guard Kevin Bailey also contributed to the victory with 12 points. Alec Wintering played well, as he scored nine points and dished out six assists. Portland shot a very respectable 47.7 percent from the field against the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars. The Pilots also dominated the rebounding battle, 44-28.

Bailey, Gerun, and Wintering have been important pieces for Portland's success this season. Bailey (18.7 ppg) and Wintering (13 ppg) are each averaging double digits and four assists per game for the Pilots. Along with pulling in an average of nine rebounds a game, Gerun has also been a consistent double- digit scorer for Portland. The Pilots are currently averaging 78.3 points per game, and will need to continue that trend if they hope to be a contender this season in the West Coast Conference.

In the loss to Xavier, Murray State guard Cameron Payne scored 23 points, pulled down seven rebounds, and dished out four assists. Forward Jarvis Williams also contributed to the scoring with 14 points. The Racers were annihilated in the rebounding battle, 56-23. Xavier also had better ball movement with a total of 23 assists, while Murray State managed just 11. Three-point shooting was also another reason for the Racers' poor performance, as they converted just four of their 17 attempts from beyond the arc.

Payne and Williams have been the lone bright spots for the Racers this season, as both are averaging just over 18 points per game. Aside from scoring, Payne has contributed with 4.8 assists and four steals per game. Williams has been a force down low, pulling in 7.5 rebounds per game. Murray State will need to shoot better from the perimeter if it wants to win more games this season, as the team has made just 19 of its 72 3-point attempts. The Racers will also need to make more than two thirds of their free throws, given that they convert just 66.7 percent of their shots from the stripe right now.

This will be Portland's first quality opponent of the season. The Racers have had three games against decent Division I teams. The Pilots' undefeated streak is about to come to an end.