Complete game notes and stats in pdf

After a successful trip to the Southern Methodist Invitational, the Portland State Vikings begin the month of December with five of eight non-conference games at home. A sixth December home game comes on Dec. 29 when the Vikings open Big Sky Conference play.
   
Bringing home a modest two-game winning streak, the Vikings (3-1) host Seattle University (2-6) this Wednesday at the Stott Center. Game time is 7:05 p.m. The game can be heard on Freedom 970 AM and www.970.am. A live video stream is available at www.b2tv.com and live stats are online at www.GoViks.com.
   
Portland State will attempt to avenge a pair of losses to the Redhawks in 2009-10. Included was an 80-77 loss on Super Bowl Sunday at the Stott Center when Aaron Broussard hit a last-second three-pointer for the win. The Vikings also lost to the Redhawks in Seattle on Mar. 2, 93-80.
   
Following Wednesday's game, the Vikings travel to Eugene for a date with the University of Oregon. The Sunday contest will be one of the last games played in fabled McArthur Court. It tips off at 3 p.m. and can be seen on Comcast Sports Net (ch. 37/HD 737) in the Portland area.
   
PSU hosts two home games next week, facing George Fox (Dec. 9) and Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 12).

OUR TOWN, YOUR TEAM TOY DRIVE
As part of the Our Town, Your Team Campaign that Portland State Athletics has undertaken in 2010-11 (www.goviks.com/index.aspx?path=our_town&), there will be a Toy Drive at the Dec. 1st and 9th men's basketball games and the Dec. 2nd women's basketball game.  Fans bringing an unwrapped toy will receive a FREE general admission ticket to the game that night. The Toy Drive will benefit the PSU Student Parents Organization, The Sunshine Division, and other organizations benefiting children.

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (3-1) vs. SEATTLE REDHAWKS (2-6)
Wednesday, December 1, 2010, 7:05 p.m. @ Peter W. Stott Center (1,500), Portland, OR
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.970.am • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 6:30 p.m.
Live Video Stream: www.b2tv.com • Live Stats: www.GoViks.com

All-Time Series: Seattle leads 7-5 • PSU in Portland: 3-1
Streak: The Redhawks have won two in row.

STORYLINES
• The series: Portland State and Seattle have renewed the series the past two seasons as the Redhawks have made a return to NCAA Division I basketball. The Vikings won both meetings in 2008-09. The Redhawks won both meetings in 2009-10... in all, Seattle leads the series 7-5, including 6-0 in Seattle... PSU is 3-1 in Portland and 2-0 in neutral site games.
• Last year: Seattle swept the season series, winning 80-77 in Portland on Feb. 7, and 93-80 in Seattle on Mar. 2... in the two wins, Seattle outrebounded Portland State by a combined 96-56... Redhawk Aaron Broussard hit a three-point field goal with 0.5 seconds left to beat the Vikings in the first game. Broussard had 21 points, seven rebounds, six steals in the win. The Vikings shot .508 from the field but committed 24 turnovers. Seattle won the battle of the boards, 46-33. Julius Thomas scored 19 points and had six rebounds for PSU... Melvin Jones scored 22 points for the Vikings in the loss in Seattle. Charles Garcia scored 20 points with 10 rebounds, while Cervante Burrell added 18 points and seven boards. Seattle shot .550 from the field and outrebounded the Vikings 50-23. PSU shot only .410.
• The Redhawks: Seattle University is an NCAA I Independent. The Redhawks were 17-14 last season. Three starters and five letterwinners return from that team. Top returners include guard Cervante Burrell, and forwards Aaron Broussard and Alex Jones.
• Redhawks start year at 2-6: Seattle is 2-6 after eight games this season, allowing 84.8 points per game. The Redhawks host Montana State on Monday night... Seattle has wins over Oregon State and Navy. Most recently, the Redhawks lost at UC Davis, 80-58... Sterling Carter averages 14.6 points and has made 21 three-point field goals to lead the Redhawks. Broussard is averaging 13.8 points and a team-best 8.8 rebounds per game. Burrell averages 11.6 points and 3.1 assists.
• Head Coach Cameron Dollar: After several years as an assistant at the University of Washington, the Redhawks' Head Coach begins his second season at Seattle. He is 19-20 with the Redhawks, but 2-0 against the Vikings.

COMING UP: TELEVISION ADDED FOR VIKINGS vs. DUCKS
Portland State travels to face the University of Oregon for the first time in four seasons this Sunday. Oregon (4-2) hosts the Vikings in a 3 p.m. game.
   
The Dec. 5 game at Oregon will be one of the last games at fabled McArthur Court in Eugene. It will also be televised in the Portland area. Oregon, through the Oregon Sports Network, will televise the game on Comcast Sports Net (Channel 37/HD 737).

RADIO BROADCAST CHANGE FOR VIKINGS vs. PILOTS
Portland State's Dec. 18 game with the University of Portland will air on Freedom 970's sister station, 750 AM KXL and www.kxl.com. The move to KXL for one game is to provide a stronger signal for the intra-city rivalry game between the Pilots and the Vikings. Tip-off is scheduled at 7:05 p.m. at the Peter W. Stott Center. The pregame radio show with Tom Hewitt begins at 6:30 p.m. All other Viking basketball games will air on Freedom 970 AM and www.970.am.

VIKING COACH TYLER GEVING
Tyler Geving is in his second season as Head Coach and sixth season overall with the Portland State program. Geving has a 16-20 record with the Vikings. He was 13-19 in 2009-10 and led PSU to the Big Sky Tournament semifinals. Geving is a 1996 graduate of Central Washington and has been in collegiate coaching for 16 years.

Geving is assisted by Andy McClouskey (1st year, Oregon State, 1982), Eric Harper (6th year, Central Washington, 1995) and Anthony Owens (2nd year, Great Falls, 2006). Former Viking player Mickey Polis is the Director of Operations (2nd year, Portland State, 2009).

GAME WEEK ACTIVITIES
VIKINGS ON RADIO: All Portland State basketball games can be heard on Freedom 970 AM and www.970.am. The Viking Pregame Show begins one-half hour prior to tipoff with Tom Hewitt calling all the action.
VIKINGS ON TV: Portland State has three regular season games scheduled to be televised in the Portland area. Two are on Comcast Sports Net: Dec. 5 at Oregon (3 p.m.) and Jan. 2 at Idaho State (1:05 p.m.), while one will be on Altitude TV: Jan. 22 vs. Northern Arizona (6:05 p.m.).
INTERNET STREAMING: Live streaming video of all Portland State home and Big Sky Conference games can be seen free at www.b2TV.com. Live stats for Portland State home games are at www.GoViks.com.

VIKINGS REWIND: PSU GOES 2-1 ON THE SMU INVITATIONAL
Portland State went 2-1 in the preseason Southern Methodist Invitational, Nov. 19-21, in Dallas, and finished in second place. The Vikings lost the opener to host SMU, 69-53, then defeated Lamar, 102-98, and UC Riverside, 69-58.
   
JR G Charles Odum led the Vikings with 17 points and seven rebounds against SMU. PSU got off to a slow start, trailed all the way, and shot just .409 from the field.
   
PSU bounced back the next day with an explosive offensive performance in the win over Lamar. The Vikings shot 61% in the first half, scoring 59 points, and built an 11-point lead against the Cardinals. PSU hung on in the second half for the four-point win. For the game, the Vikings shot .548 from the field, .500 from three-point range and .757 at the line.
   
SO G Chris Harriel had a career-high 23 points and seven rebounds, leading five Vikings in double figures. JR F Chehales Tapscott added an impressive double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. SR G Melvin Jones scored 18, Odum added 13, and JR C Nate Lozeau scored 12 points for the Vikings.
   
On the final day, Portland State rallied from a halftime tie to beat UC Riverside with relative ease. The Vikings held the Highlanders to just 7-28 field goals in the second half (.250) after UCR made 16-28 in the first half (.571). An early second half 20-6 run by PSU sealed the win. The Vikings shot .520 for the game.
   
Harriel was again the leader for PSU, scoring 18 points with four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Lozeau scored a dozen, while Odum and SR F Tree Thomas each scored 10 points.
   
Harriel and Tapscott were named to the All-Tournament team.

SOUTHERN METHODIST INVITATIONAL RESULTS
SMU: 2-1
Portland State: 2-1
Lamar: 1-2
UC Riverside: 1-2

Friday, Nov. 19
Lamar def. UC Riverside 90-75
SMU def. Portland State 69-53

Saturday, Nov. 20
Portland State def. Lamar 102-98
UC Riverside def. SMU 73-69 (ot)

Sunday, Nov. 21
Portland State def. UC Riverside 69-58
SMU def. Lamar 102-70

SMU INVITATIONAL All-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP: Papa Dia, SMU
Phil Martin, UC Riverside
Robert Nyakundi, SMU
Chris Harriel, Portland State
Kendrick Harris, Lamar
Chehales Tapscott, Portland State

FAST BREAKS

WINNING LINES 
• PSU is 1-0 at home this year... the Vikings have won three straight home games dating to last season.
• The Vikings are 2-1on the road this season, including 1-1 in neutral site games... PSU was 5-15 in road games in 2009-10, including 2-6 in Big Sky road games.
• Since the start of the 2007-08 season, Portland State is 34-6 at home, including 22-4 in Big Sky Conference games.
• PSU has gone 102-33 in 135 games at the Stott Center since the 1996-97 season. Including home games at Memorial Coliseum (12-6) and the Rose Garden (19-9), the Vikings are 133-48 at home over the past 15 seasons.
• PSU is 32-16 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 37-17 including tournament games.
• Portland State is 22-22 all-time in overtime games, including 0-2 last season.
• The Vikings are 2-14 against nationally-ranked teams since reinstating the program and joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97. That includes wins each of the last two years over ranked teams (Gonzaga in 2008-09, Portland in 2009-10).

SHOOTING 'EM UP: Portland State shot .548 and .520 from the field in wins over Lamar and UC Riverside. For the season, the Vikings are shooting .481 as a team to lead the Big Sky Conference... PSU is also shooting .380 from three-point range (27-71) and a healthy .769 at the free throw line.

FREE IS A GOOD PRICE: It's early in the season, but the Vikings are making frequent trips to the free throw line thanks in part to the slashing styles of SO G Chris Harriel, JR F Chehales Tapscott, JR G Charles Odum, and the physical play of SR F Tree Thomas. The Vikings have shot 104 free throws, making 80, an average of 20-26 shooting per game... meanwhile opponents have attempted fewer FTs than the Vikings have made (52-79), an average of 13-19.8 per game... PSU shoots .769, while the opponents shoot .658.

KEEPING UP WITH MELVIN JONES: With the loss of SR F Phil Nelson for the time being, the play and leadership of SR G Melvin Jones becomes all the more important for the Vikings. Through four games, Jones is averaging 13.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. His scoring is up 1.5 points over last year and his assists are up 1.8 over last year.
BIG GAMES
• Melvin had a game-high 23 points, hitting 6-11 FGs, 5-9 3-pt FGs, 6-6 FTs, in a win over Pepperdine (11/12). He added five assists and two rebounds in his sixth career 20-point game... Jones had 18 points, six assists and five rebounds in a win over Lamar (11/20).

CHRIS-TMAS COMES EARLY: The play of SO G Chris Harriel has been an early Christmas present for Vikings Head Coach Tyler Geving. While the coach knew his talented sophomore was much improved, he probably didn't count on quite this much production. In four games, Harriel has already set two new career scoring highs and a career rebounding high. Harriel leads the Vikings with 15.5 points per game, while shooting .457 from the field, .471 from three-point range and .870 at the line. Harriel also averages 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.5 assists... Harriel was named All-Tournament at the SMU Invitational after averaging 15.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, shooting 13-26 from the field, 7-13 from three-point range and 13-15 at the line. He also had six assists and five steals.
BIG GAMES
• Harriel scored 16 points, grabbed six rebounds and made two steals in the season-opening win over Pepperdine (11/12)... posted a career-high 23 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists in a victory over Lamar (11/20)... had 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals in beating UC Riverside (11/21).

GREAT TAP-SCOTT!: JR F Chehales Tapscott has been as big an impact player as Head Coach Tyler Geving expected through four games. The former NWAACC Player of the Year is averaging 11.5 points, a team-high 7.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Tapscott was named All-Tournament at SMU with 31 points, 21 rebounds and seven assists in the three games.
BIG GAMES
• Tapscott had 19 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in the Vikings' win over Lamar (11/20).

MINI-MICROWAVE: JR G Charles Odum has a game reminiscent of former Detroit Pistons star Vinnie Johnson (aka The Microwave) in both game and physique. In fact, in a role as the Vikings' sixth man, Odum definitely heats up quickly. He had 40 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the Vikings three games at SMU, hitting 13-23 FGs, 3-8 3-pt FGs and 11-15 FTs while playing less than 25 minutes per game... for the season, Odum ranks fourth on the team in minutes (21.8) even though he has not started a game. The 6-foot, 205-pounder averages 10.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting .560 from the field and .733 at the line.

LOZEAU=HIGH PERCENTAGE: JR C Nate Lozeau has been a solid addition to the team this season after being a redshirt in 2009-10. Lozeau has shot .630 from the field through four games (17-27) and is averaging 8.8 points per game... the 6-10 post was 6-7 in the win over Lamar and 6-7 in the win over UC Riverside.

A TREE GROWS IN PORTLAND: The other half of the post tandem for the Vikings this season has been SR F Phillip “Tree” Thomas. In just 17 minutes per game, Tree is averaging 9.8 points per game while shooting .519 from the field and .786 at the line. That is a big upgrade from last year's 3.9 points per game.

LONDON CALLING: SR F Paul Guede has been a solid defender for the Vikings and efficient on the offensive end as well, averaging 6.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and shooting .533 from the floor, .400 from three-point range and .833 at the line. The London, England native also hit a game-winning three-pointer with five seconds left in the Vikings' 83-81 win over Pepperdine (11/12). Guede had 10 points, two rebounds and two steals in the game.

WEST COAST KILLERS: With the Vikings' 83-81 win over Pepperdine of the West Coast Conference (11/12), Portland State is now 3-1 against WCC teams in Tyler Gevings' two seasons as Head Coach. PSU is 6-1 against the WCC dating to the start of the 2007-08 season, including 3-0 vs. Portland, 2-0 vs. Pepperdine, 1-0 vs. Gonzaga and 0-1 vs. Saint Mary's. Wins over #7 Gonzaga (2008-09) and #25 Portland (2009-10) came against nationally-ranked teams... the Vikings have another chance against the WCC when they play Portland again on Dec. 18 in the Stott Center.

PHIL'S FOOT: For the second time since last January, SR F Phil Nelson has suffered a broken left foot. The loss is a big one for the Vikings, as Nelson was the top returning scorer at 12.9 points and 48 three-point field goals through 20 games last year when he suffered the injury the first time. Nelson reinjured the foot on Nov. 8. It is anticipated he can return in six to eight weeks... PSU is now 8-8 in the 16 games Nelson has missed since Jan. 30... Nelson has started all 53 games he has played in as a Viking. PSU is 31-22 in those games. The Vikings also lose much-needed size on the floor as Nelson stands 6-8.

2010-11 SEASON NOTES

VIKINGS ADD THREE EARLY SIGNEES FOR 2011-12: Portland State Basketball Coach Tyler Geving has signed three student-athletes during the early signing period for the 2011-12 academic year.
    Signing National Letters of Intent are Kidus Ephrem from Portland's Central Catholic High School and Jerron Smith from Decatur High School in Federal Way, WA. Signing an Aid Agreement with the Viking program is Gary Winston, who is currently attending Walla Walla Community College.
    Ephrem, a 6-7 forward, comes from a Central Catholic program that was 16-10 last season, 11-3 in the Mt. Hood Conference.
    “Kidus has a great upside and should mature into a great player,” said Geving. “He can post up. He can step outside and shoot the three. The thing I think I like about him most is he is just starting to realize how good he can be. He has a long way to go in terms of reaching his potential.
    “It is nice to get a good local kid who wants to stay home. He comes from a good program and is well-coached.”
    Smith is a 6-4 guard who led his Decatur High School team to the state playoffs as a junior.
    “Jerron is an athletic wing who is a great scorer. He has put up big numbers ever since his freshman year in high school when he was on the varsity,” said Geving.” He has good bloodlines too. His dad, Wayne, played here, and his brother (Terrell) starts at the University of the Pacific. It is a basketball family and he is another kid who really knows how to score. As he gets stronger, his game will mature, but he definitely knows how to put the ball in the basket.”
    In fact, Jerron's father, Wayne, was Portland State's leading rebounder in 1975-76, averaging 9.3 boards per game.
    Winston is a 6-1, 185-pound guard who graduated from Walla Walla High School in 2010 and originally committed to Idaho. He changed his mind and currently is attending Walla Walla Community College. Winston was a two-time All-League performer at WWHS who was named the Cascade Division Player of the Year as a senior. Winston led the Blue Devils to the Big 9 District championship and a berth in the Washington 4A playoffs.
    “Gary was a great high school guard. He is a guy who is physically ready to step right in and play at our level. He can shoot it extremely well, has a great handle and great strength,” said Geving. “He has a great feel on the offensive end, so I am really excited we have signed him.”

SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL
• SR F Paul Guede hit a game-winning three-pointer with five seconds to play as the Vikings defeated Pepperdine, 83-81, in the season opener (11/12). SR G Melvin Jones scored 23 points, while SO G Chris Harriel (16) and SR F Tree Thomas (13) each had career-highs.
• SO G Chris Harriel scored a career-high 23 points with seven rebounds, three steals and two assists in a 102-98 win over Lamar (11/20). JR F Chehales Tapscott added a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. SR G Melvin Jones had 18 points, six assists and five rebounds as the Vikings shot a season-high .548 from the field.
• The Vikings held UC Riverside to just 7-28 from the field in the second half as they broke away from a halftime tie and beat the Highlanders, 69-58 (11/21). SO G Chris Harriel had a game-high 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.

VIKING BASKETBALL TICKETS
SEASON TICKETS
Adult Reserved: $125 with a Viking Athletic Fund contribution of $100 per seat
PSU Faculty/Staff: $100 with a Viking Athletic Fund contribution of $100 per seat
General Admission: $100 per seat

SINGLE GAME TICKETS
Adult Reserved: $15.00 • Youth (17 and under) reserved: $10.00
Adult General Admission: $10.00 • Youth (17 and under) General Admission: $7.00

Purchase tickets online at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available to the Portland State ticket office, or at the Stott Center beginning 90 minutes prior to the game.

PORTLAND STATE TICKET OFFICE
Smith Memorial Union
1825 SW Broadway, Portland State campus
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday
Call 888-VIK-TIKS • 503-725-3307