Complete release and stats in pdf

Portland State will continue its home-heavy month of December with a game this Thursday against George Fox University. Game time is 7:05 p.m. with the contest airing on Freedom 970 AM and www.970.am.
   
The George Fox game is one of six at home during December, including five of the Vikings' next seven contests. PSU also hosts Cal State Fullerton on Sunday in a 2:05 p.m. game. The Vikings have won four straight home games dating to last season.
   
Portland State (4-2) will try to bounce back from its poorest offensive performance in three years following a 68-49 loss at Oregon on Sunday. The Vikings shot just .296 from the field and scored the fewest points in 103 games. The loss ended a three-game winning streak.
   
George Fox, an NCAA Division III school, is 1-4 this season. The Bruins lost to Pacific Lutheran in their last outing, 74-51, on Friday.
   
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 Thursday's 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 (4-2) vs. GEORGE FOX BRUINS (1-4)
Thursday, December 9, 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: Portland State leads 1-0
Streak: Portland State has won four straight home games dating to last season.

STORYLINES
• The series: Portland State and George Fox have met only one time previously, Jan. 13, 1978, at PSU. On that evening, Viking legend Freeman Williams scored 66 points in a 124-81 rout of the Bruins. It was the third-highest scoring game of his storied career.
• Speaking of the 70s: There is no truth to the rumor that Portland State radio play-by-play man Tom Hewitt was guarding Freeman Williams on that January night nearly 33 years ago. However, Hewitt did star for the George Fox during that era (1973-77) and is now a member of the Bruins Athletics Hall of Fame. Hewitt ranks ninth all-time in assists at GFU and once scored 36 points in a game at Alaska Anchorage.
• The Bruins: George Fox University is an NCAA III member of the Northwest Conference located in Newberg, OR, with a campus just 24 miles from PSU... the Bruins were 13-14 last season, including 9-7 in the NWC.. two starters and eight letterwinners return from that team.
• Bruins off to 1-4 start: The Bruins are only 1-4, but they can score with a 77.2 average. Four players average in double figures, including Mike Taylor (19.0), Rich Smith (16.6), Stephen Wisely (16.4) and Cole Whitehurst (14.0). Smith averages a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game and Wisely averages 4.6 assists.
• Head Coach Mark Sundquist: Now in his 11th season at George Fox, Sundquist has compiled a 104-152 record. He was the Northwest Conference Coach of the Year in 2004-05.

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 17-21 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 has never faced George Fox. He is 9-11 all-time in non-conference games, including 2-0 against lower division schools.
   
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).

COMING UP: SUNDAY VS. CAL STATE FULLERTON
The Vikings host Cal State Fullerton of the Big West Conference on Sunday in a 2:05 p.m. game. The Titans are 3-5 this season and have a game at Arizona on Thursday. CSF leads the all-time series, 4-2, but PSU won the last meeting on Nov. 23, 2008, 76-75, at the Stott Center.

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.

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: OREGON 68, PORTLAND STATE 49
Portland State never found its touch while Oregon finally was able to resulting in a 68-49 non-conference win for the Ducks at McArthur Court on Sunday... the Vikings shot just .296 for the game, including 8-27 from the field in each half. Oregon shot .415 for the game, but were 15-32 in the second half for a .469 mark... PSU's 49 points are the fewest in 103 games dating back to a 69-48 loss to #2 UCLA in the first game of the 2007-08 season... PSU trailed 27-22 at halftime and got as close as 44-41 with 10:04 left to play on a Melvin Jones three-pointer. But the Ducks went on a 18-3 run over the next five minutes to take command of the game at 62-44... Chris Harriel had 12 points and a career-high nine rebounds for the Vikings.

FAST BREAKS
WINNING LINES 
• PSU is 2-0 at home this year... the Vikings have won four straight home games dating to last season.
• The Vikings are 2-2 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.
• Since the start of the 2007-08 season, Portland State is 35-6 at home, including 22-4 in Big Sky Conference games.
• PSU has gone 103-33 in 136 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 134-48 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).

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 154 free throws, making 120, an average of 20.0-25.7 shooting per game for a .779 mark (last year PSU averaged 14.4-20.1, .717)... meanwhile opponents have attempted fewer FTs than the Vikings have made (67-103), an average of 11.2-17.2 per game for a .650 mark... free throws were particularly important against Seattle as the Vikings struggled with their second-half shooting (.333), but made 21-27 at the stripe and 26-32 overall (.813).

THE RANKING: Portland State is 11th in the nation in free throw percentage through Sunday's game at .779 as a team... SO G Chris Harriel ranks 34th in the nation at the line with a .900 mark (27-30).

SHOOTING GOES SOUTH: The Vikings began last week leading the league in shooting with a .481 mark from the field. Two games later, PSU is shooting just .436 and ranked seventh in the league. PSU shot only 26-64 (.406) in a win over Seattle on Wednesday. Then, a paltry 16-52 (.296) at Oregon on Sunday. The combined mark for the week was only 42-116 (.362).

MISSING THE THREE: The Vikings are averaging 5.8 three-point field goals per game and shooting .333 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 5.8 made per game is the lowest rate since 2004-05 and the .333 mark is the lowest since 2006-07. In fact, the Vikings led the Big Sky in three pointers in 2007-08 and 2008-09... PSU was just 8-34 from long range in two games last week (.235)... 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.

AND THEN THERE WERE NINE...: Portland State dressed just nine healthy players for last week's games. JR G Terry Coleman did not suit up due to a lower left leg injury. His status for this week's games are questionnable. 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 remains out with a left foot injury. He will be re-evaluated this week. It is hoped he can return later this month.

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. Jones has answered the call, averaging 14.2 points per game, 2.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He also has a team-high 16 three-point field goals and is shooting .864 at the line. His scoring is up 2.4 points over last year and his assists are up 1.0 over last year.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
• Melvin is averaging 23.0 points in two home games.
• He now has seven 20-point games in his career.
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... Jones had 18 points, six assists and five rebounds in a win over Lamar (11/20)... scored 23 points (7-14, 4-10, 5-6) in a win over Seattle (12/1).

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 six games, Harriel has already set two new career scoring highs (now 23) and two new career rebounding highs (now 9). Harriel leads the Vikings with 14.8 points per game while averaging 5.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.8 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.
• Harriel ranks 34th in the nation with a .900 free throw percentage.
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)... had 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals in a win over Seattle (12/1)... had 12 points, a career-high nine rebounds and four assists at Oregon (12/5).

GREAT TAP-SCOTT!: JR F Chehales Tapscott has been as big an impact player as Head Coach Tyler Geving expected through six games. The former NWAACC Player of the Year from Clackamas CC is averaging 10.8 points, a team-high 7.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
• Chehales leads the Vikings with two double-doubles in six games.
• Tapscott was named All-Tournament at SMU with 31 points, 21 rebounds and seven assists in three games.
BIG GAMES
• Tapscott had 19 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in the Vikings' win over Lamar (11/20)... posted 12 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals in a win over Seattle (12/1).

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 10.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, shooting .442 from the field and .760 at the line for the Vikings despite not having a start.
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.
BIG GAMES
• Scored a season-high 17 points against SMU (11/19).. had 13 points, five assists and four rebounds in a win over Lamar (11/20).

LONDON CALLING: SR F Paul Guede has been a solid defender for the Vikings and efficient on the offensive end as well, averaging 5.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and shooting .435 from the floor 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.
BIG GAMES
• Had 10 points, including the game-winning three-pointer with five seconds left in an 83-81 win over Pepperdine (11/12)... scored nine points with seven rebounds and a steal in the win over Seattle (12/1).

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 .595 from the field through six games (22-37) and is averaging 7.5 points per game... the 6-10 post grabbed a season-high eight rebounds at Oregon (12/5).

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 16 minutes per game, Tree is averaging 8.3 points per game while shooting .474 from the field and .778 at the line. That is a big upgrade from last year's 3.9 points per 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 9-9 in the 18 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.