The Pioneer men's basketball team came into the season as the unanimous pre-season pick to finish first in the Northwest Conference. The team spent six weeks ranked in the national top-25, peaking at 19th in the weekly DIII Hoops poll.

The Pioneers' pre-Conference schedule was once again challenging, featuring two Division I opponents. The Pioneers went to Stockton to face the University of the Pacific Tigers. After leading for much of the first half, the Pioneers trailed by just four at the break, 37-33. The Tigers dominated the second half, cruising to their victory on the home court. It was a different story in the Pioneers' second meeting with a DI opponent. Taking on cross-town Portland State in a game played at the Rose Garden, the home arena of the NBA's Portland Trailblazers, the PSU Vikings held a 32-20 lead at the half. The Pioneers refused to go away. Back-to-back three pointers by Mark Robinowitz (senior, Portland, Ore.) suddenly knocked the Portland State lead down to single digits, 50-42 with 6:12 remaining. With Portland State unable to get an defensive stop, the Pioneers cut the lead to six, 54-48, on a Robinowitz jumper with four minutes remaining. The nailbiter of a game went down to the wire. Thomas Tillery (senior, Portland, Ore.) was fouled on a layup, giving him another and-one opportunity, which he converted to makes it a one point game, 61-60 PSU with :16 seconds left on the clock.  The Pioneers pressured the inbounds pass. Portland State got the ball across the midline only to have the ball stripped away by Gene Rivera (senior, Kahului, Hawaii) with seven seconds left in the game. The Pioneers raced down court, setting for the final shot. With the game clock expiring, they got the ball into the hands of Joey Toboni (senior, San Francisco, Calif.) who threw up a desperation three from the left corner that did not go through. Portland State escaped with the 61-60 victory. 

After blowout victories in their holidy tournaments, the Pioneers entered the Conference season poised to win their second Conference title in two years. A pair of close-games with the Willamette Bearcats, an overtime homecourt loss to the Puget Sound Loggers, and a buzzer-beater by the Pacific Lutheran Lutes, ended up costing the Pioneers that opportunity. They finished with a 9-7 record in the NWC, in a four-way tie for third place. They lost out on a post-season berth via the tiebreaker, with the Willamette Bearcats going to the tournament instead.

Guard Thomas Tillery and Mark Robinowitz each reached the 1,000 point milestones of their careers. Thomas Tillery graduates with 1,040 points. Robinowitz has 1,060. Forward Gene Rivera ends his career as the Pioneers' all-time leader in blocked shots. In just two seasons with the Pioneers, Rivera logged 94 blocked shots. He lead the NWC with 43 in the 2007-08 season. He was also seventh in rebounding with 6.4 boards per game.

A pair of talented newcomers made their debuts, giving Pioneer fans a glimpse of the future of this team. Tyson Papenfuss (junior, Clackamas, Ore.) was second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.9 points per game. He also led the NWC in shooting efficiency, making 60.2% of his field goal attempts. Josh Kollasch (sophomore, Tucson, Ariz.) was an offensive and defensive threat, averaging 7.4 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game in a season limited by injury.

Click here to find individual game recaps and other news from the 2007-08 season.