Complete notes and stats in pdf

The Portland State Vikings will begin their 15th season of Big Sky Conference play this Wednesday when they host the Northern Colorado Bears at the Stott Center. Game time is 7:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Freedom 970 AM and www.970.am and can be seen via live video stream at www.b2tv.com.
   
Portland State went 7-5 in preseason games, including 5-1 at home. PSU's last outing was a 73-53 win over Utah Valley last Thursday. The Vikings have two more non-conference games coming later in the season.
   
Northern Colorado is 4-7 this season and has lost four straight games - all on the road. The Bears' best win is a 67-53 decision over Wyoming in mid-November. UNC is 1-6 in games away from home.
   
PSU leads the all-time series 11-1 and the Big Sky series 7-1 after the teams split last season.

COMING UP: VIKINGS PLAY AT IDAHO STATE ON TV THIS SUNDAY
Portland State continues Big Sky play on Sunday, playing at Idaho State in the Altitude/Big Sky Conference Game of the Week. The game airs on 1:05 p.m. PT from Pocatello, ID on Altitude TV and Comcast SportsNet (ch. 37/HD 737) in the Portland area.
   
The Vikings and Bengals split last season's series. PSU leads 24-14 all-time and 20-10 in Big Sky games.

PORTLAND STATE (7-5, 0-0) vs. NORTHERN COLORADO (4-7, 0-0)
Wednesday, December 29, 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: PSU leads 11-1 • PSU in Portland: 6-0
Big Sky Series: PSU leads 7-1 • PSU in Portland: 4-0
Streak: PSU has won six straight at home vs. the Bears.

STORYLINES
• The series: Portland State leads the all-time series, 11-1, winning the first 11 meetings. Northern Colorado ended that run last Feb. 20 in Greeley, beating PSU, 64-61... the Vikings hold a 7-1 Big Sky series advantage... PSU has never lost to the Bears at home (6-0).
• Last year: The teams split the season series with each winning on their home court... the Vikings won 85-69 last Jan. 15 at the Stott Center. Melvin Jones had a game-high 18 points, leading five Vikings in double figures. PSU shot just .419 from the field, but made 28-30 free throws and won the rebounding battle, 45-30... on Feb. 20 in Greeley, the Bears ended an 11-game losing streak to the Vikings, 64-61. The Vikings got 28 points and six assists from Dominic Waters. Chris Kaba scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Bears. UNC outrebounded PSU 41-30.
• The Bears: Northern Colorado comes off its finest Division I season, going 25-8 last year. UNC was 12-4 and placed second in the Big Sky Conference. Three starters and nine letterwinners return from that team, including second team All-Big Sky Conference selection Devon Beitzel (14.3 ppg, 68 3-pt FG).
• This year: The Bears completed their preseason schedule at 4-7 and have lost their last four games in a row. UNC is 0-6 on the road, 1-1 in neutral site games...  SR G Devon Beitzel leads the team with an 18.9 scoring average to rank second in the Big Sky Conference. He is 64-66 from the line this year (.970) to lead the nation... SR F Chris Kaba leads the Big Sky in three-point shooting (20-35, .571) while averaging 11.2 points... Northern Colorado shoots a remarkable .812 from the free throw line to rank second in the nation. The Bears were also second in the nation in three-point shooting in the last NCAA report (.440 then, .419 now).
• Head Coach BJ Hill: A former assistant coach with the Bears, BJ Hill has taken over as Head Coach this season. He replaced Tad Boyle who moved on to be head coach at the University of Colorado.

PORTLAND STATE AND THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE
Portland State begins its 15th season as a member of the Big Sky Conference in 2010-11. PSU won the 2004-05 and 2007-08 Big Sky Conference regular season titles. The Vikings have had six winning records in conference play and earned nine Big Sky Tournament berths in 12 seasons eligible, winning the 2008 and 2009 Big Sky Conference Tournament titles. PSU has been to the Big Sky Conference Tournament six straight seasons. The Vikings are 7-7 all-time in the tourney.

Although the Vikings are not eligible for the Big Sky Conference Tournament and the NCAA Tournament in 2011 due to NCAA restrictions for a low APR score, they will go after another Big Sky regular season title. PSU had a perfect 1000 APR this past year and anticipates being post-season eligible again next year.

PSU was 7-9 in the Big Sky in 2009-10, placing sixth in the conference. The Vikings won a Big Sky Tournament quarterfinal game at Montana State, then lost in the semifinals to host Weber State.

PSU is 116-112 all-time in 14 seasons of Big Sky Conference games, including Big Sky Tournament games.

VIKING HEAD 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 20-24 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 1-1 all-time against Northern Colorado, having split the season series last year. He is 8-10 all-time against Big Sky Conference opponents. Geving is 12-14 all-time in non-conference games.
   
The second-year Head Coach 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.
TICKETS: Portland State Basketball tickets are priced from $10-$15 for adults and $7-$10 for juniors and seniors. Tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com. They are also available to the Portland State ticket office, or at the Stott Center beginning 90 minutes prior to the game. The Portland State Ticket Office is located Smith Memorial Union, 1825 SW Broadway on the Portland State campus or call 888-VIK-TIKS/503-725-3307.

VIKINGS REWIND: PORTLAND STATE 73, UTAH VALLEY 53
On a less than stellar offensive night, the Vikings took advantage of their opportunities. In the end, Portland State wrapped up its preseason schedule with a 73-53 win over Utah Valley last Thursday... Utah Valley was in a giving mood, turning the ball over 18 times. Portland State turned those mistakes into 31 points. That made up for a shooting performance by the Vikings that was only .369 from the field, .296 from three-point range and .680 at the free throw line... the Viking win ended a brief three-game losing streak... the Wolverines packed it in on defense and challenged the Vikings to shoot from outside. It appeared to be a good plan as PSU was just 7-32 from three-point range in its last two games. But the Vikings built a 21-12 lead in the first nine minutes with solid defense. PSU converted six turnovers into 13 points during that span. A 13-1 run later in the half pushed the Viking lead to 35-19 with 3:55 left... PSU went into the half with a 37-23 lead. The Vikings committed just two turnovers in the half while forcing eight for 18 points. Utah Valley shot only 9-31 from the field (.310) as PSU also blocked five Wolverine shots... Utah Valley only got as close as nine on two occasions in the second half. But again, PSU forced 10 more turnovers for 13 points... Isiah Williams made a layin for Utah Valley at the 9:27 mark, closing the gap to 53-44. However, the Vikings went on a 20-9 run down the stretch to close it out... “We did a good job defensively on them, limited their second-chance points and stopped them in transition. I was pleased with our defensive effort,” said Viking Coach Tyler Geving. “I told the team that was an above-average Big Sky team (if they were in our league). For us to take care of them the way we did, I am really proud of our guys.”... the 53 points allowed by the Vikings were the fewest by a Viking opponent in 36 games... Charles Odum, making his first start of the season, scored a team-high 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds and made three steals. Chris Harriel added 14 points and five rebounds. .. Chehales Tapscott had his Big Sky-leading fourth double-double of the year with 10 points and 11 rebounds. He added two assists, two steals and two blocked shots... Portland State had season-highs of 12 steals and eight blocked shots…   the Vikings are now 3-0 all-time against Utah Valley… PSU is 5-1 at home this year.

PRESEASON REVIEW
Portland State wrapped up its preseason schedule with a 7-5 record (PSU still has two non-conference games to play this season - Feb. 19 Bracketbuster at home, and Mar. 10 at Seattle). Only Northern Arizona and Montana had better preseason records (both 8-4) than the Vikings as the Big Sky Conference opens a full slate of league games this week.
   
The Vikings were 5-7 in the preseason last year, 5-9 in non-conference games overall. The seven non-conference wins have only been bettered four times in the previous 14 seasons of Big Sky play for the Vikings. The best non-conference record was 10-5 in 2008-09.
   
So, 7-5 looks pretty good, especially considering the Vikings played without SR F Phil Nelson, considered the team's top returning player, and JR G Terry Coleman, who was expected to vie for the starting point guard spot, but has battled injuries and played in only four games. In fact, the Vikings have suited up only nine players in their last eight games (going 4-4).
   
Second-year Head Coach Tyler Geving has to be thrilled with the improvement of SO G Chris Harriel, who averaged just 3.9 points as a freshman. Harriel leads the team in scoring at 15.5 points per game, averages 5.0 rebounds and has a team-high 19 steals. Also showing big improvement are SR F Tree Thomas (7.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg) and JR G Dane Johnson (2.5 ppg, 3.5 apg).
   
Meanwhile, the Vikings have seen big contributions from three newcomers, JR F Chehales Tapscott (12.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 50% FG, 79% FT), JR G Charles Odum (12.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg) and JR C Nate Lozeau (8.1ppg, 3.3 rpg, 62% FG).
   
SR G Melvin Jones has suffered from a recent shooting slump, but still averages 12.0 points, 3.0 assists, has 27 three-point field goals and is shooting 89% at the line.
   
If the Vikings can get Nelson and Coleman back soon and making contributions, they should have a solid Big Sky Conference season.

WILL PHIL? AND FOR THAT MATTER, IS IT TERRY TIME?
The bad news for Viking basketball is that SR F Phil Nelson has missed the first 12 games of the year, and will miss two more weeks of play, which amounts to at least three more games. He is still recovering from a second break of his left foot in the preseason.
   
JR G Terry Coleman who has been recovering from a painful high ankle sprain has missed eight games. He is expected to begin practicing this week and be available for the Northern Colorado game.

FAST BREAKS
WINNING LINES 
• PSU is 5-1 at home this year... since the start of the 2007-08 season, Portland State is 38-7 at home, including 22-4 in Big Sky Conference games.
• The Vikings are 2-4 on the road this season, including 2-0 in neutral site games... PSU was 5-15 in road games in 2009-10, including 2-6 in Big Sky road games.
• PSU has gone 106-34 in 140 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 137-49 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.

NEW LOOK: Head Coach Tyler Geving went with a different starting lineup for the first time all season against Utah Valley. He replaced JR G Dane Johnson with JR G Charles Odum. The move seemed to help both players as Odum went for 17 points, seven rebounds and three steals in 30 minutes, while Johnson had five points and four assists in 21 minutes... the lineup of Johnson, SR G Melvin Jones, SO G Chris Harriel, JR F Chehales Tapscott and JR C Nate Lozeau had started the first 11 games, going 6-5, but were on a three-game losing streak... the move by Geving puts Jones in more of a ball-handling role, while Odum's offensive prowess and athleticism becomes available at the tip.

FREE IS A GOOD PRICE: 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 286 free throws, making 222, an average of 18.5-23.8 shooting per game for a .776 mark (last year PSU averaged 14.4-20.1, .717)... meanwhile opponents have attempted fewer FTs than the Vikings have made (138-202), an average of 11.5-16.8 per game for a .683 mark... PSU currently ranks seventh in the nation in free throw shooting.

MISSING THE THREE: The Vikings are averaging 6.2 three-point field goals per game and shooting .326 from distance this season. The marks are down from recent years when PSU was regularly among the top long-range shooting teams in the Big Sky Conference. The 6.1 made per game is the lowest rate since 2004-05 and the .326 mark is the lowest since 2003-04. In fact, the Vikings led the Big Sky in three pointers in 2007-08 and 2008-09... PSU is just 15-59 from three-point range in its last three games (.256)... a big part of what is missing is SR F Phil Nelson, who has yet to play this year due to a foot injury. Nelson averaged 2.4 three-pointers per game last year while shooting .387 from the arc.

A SIMPLE ANALYSIS: Portland State is 4-1 when outshooting opponents, 4-0 when outrebounding opponents... the Vikings are just 1-3 when failing to score at least 70 points, and 5-0 when scoring over 80 points.

AND THEN THERE WERE NINE...: Portland State has dressed just nine healthy players for the last eightgames. JR G Terry Coleman has not suited up due to a high left ankle sprain. Without Coleman, the Vikings are thin at point guard, needing SR G Melvin Jones to handle a lot of the duty... SR F Phil Nelson has missed the entire season with a left foot injury. That has cut down on the Vikings' size, athleticism and three-point shooting.

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 has become even more important for the Vikings. Despite a recent shooting slump, Jones has answered the call, averaging 12.0 points per game, 2.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He also has a team-high 27 three-point field goals and is shooting .885 at the line.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
• Melvin is averaging 15.3 points in six home games.
• He has seven 20-point games in his career, two this season.
• Jones ranks 19th in the Big Sky in scoring, ninth in assists and sixth in three-point field goals.

MOST IMPROVED: The play of SO G Chris Harriel makes him the easy choice for Most Improved Viking this season. While Coach Tyler Geving knew his talented sophomore would be better, he probably didn't count on quite this much production. Harriel has already set two new career scoring highs (now 23) and two new career rebounding highs (now 9). Harriel leads the Vikings with 15.5 points per game while averaging 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 steals.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
• 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.
• Chris ranks sixth in scoring, 14th in rebounding, sixth in free throw percentage and second in steals in the Big Sky Conference.

GREAT TAP-SCOTT!: JR F Chehales Tapscott has been as big an impact player as Head Coach Tyler Geving expected. The former NWAACC Player of the Year from Clackamas CC is averaging 12.8 points, a team-high 8.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He is shooting .500 from the field and .786 at the line... Tapscott has averaged 17.7 points in his last three games
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
• Chehales leads the Vikings and the Big Sky Conference with four double-doubles.
• The junior forward ranks third in the Big Sky in rebounding and has led the team in nine games.
• Tapscott was named All-Tournament at SMU with 31 points, 21 rebounds and seven assists in three games.

MINI-MICROWAVE: JR G Charles Odum is 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. As a result, the 6-foot, 205-pounder averages 12.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, shooting .474 from the field and .786 at the line... Odum made his first start against Utah Valley (12/23) and produced 17 points with seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
• Odum 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.
• Odum has led the Vikings in scoring five times and has two 20-point games.
• Odum ranks 13th in scoring, 13th in field goal percentage and 13th in assists in the Big Sky Conference.

TWO-HEADED MONSTER: JR C Nate Lozeau and SR F Tree Thomas have proven to be an effective post tandem for the Vikings this season. In a little over 36 minutes per game, they have averaged a combined 15.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots per game, while shooting .536 from the field and .722 at the line. While Coach Tyler Geving would probably want a few more rebounds out of that twosome, he has the league's third-best board man (Chehales Tapscott, 8.2) playing along side them... Lozeau has shot .616 from the field this season - third in the Big Sky - while averaging 8.1 points... Tree is averaging 7.5 points per game while shooting .800 at the line. He has improved his scoring average from last year's 3.1 points per game.

DANE'S DIMES: A bit of surprise as the starting point guard this season, JR G Dane Johnson has proven his worth, leading the Vikings in assists with 3.5 per game. Despite not starting in the last game, he handed out four dimes in 21 minutes. Johnson has a solid 42/18 assist-to-turnover ratio this year.

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. He is not expected back until after Christmas... PSU is now 12-11 in the 23 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.

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.
• PSU made 21-27 second-half free throws, and 26-32 overall in an 83-76 win over Seattle (12/1). SR G Melvin Jones led four Vikings in double figures with 23 points. JR F Chehales Tapscott had 12 points and 10 rebounds, while SO G Chris Harriel added 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
• JR G Charles Odum had a career-high 20 points, six rebounds and three assists as the Vikings routed George Fox (12/9). JR F Chehales Tapscott (18 pts, 12 reb, 3 blk) and JR C Nate Lozeau (16 pts, 10 reb, 3 st) each had double-doubles. JR G Dane Johnson added a career-high nine assists.
• Portland State came back from an 11-point deficit with 13:38 remaining to play, beating Cal State Fullerton (12/12), 93-89. The Vikings got a career-high 21 points from Charles Odum, including the Vikings final nine in the last 32 seconds when Odum made 7-7 FTs. SO G Chris Harriel hit his last six shots in the game and scored 18 of his 20 points in the second-half comeback. It was Portland State's sixth straight home win.
• PSU needed just eight non-conference games (6-2) to better its non-conference record from 2009-10 (5-9).
• JR F Chehales Tapscott scored a career-high 25 points (10-15 FG, 1-1 3-pt 4-4 FT) against Portland (12/18), adding nine rebounds and two steals. He became the fourth Viking this year to score 20 points in a game.
• The Vikings posted season-highs of 12 steals and eight blocked shots, while holding Utah Valley to 36% shooting in a 73-53 win (12/23). JR G Charles Odum, making his first start, led four Vikings in double figures with 17 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists. JR F Chehales Tapscott had his fourth double-double (10 pts, 11 reb) of the year.