Complete Notes and Stats in pdf

The Portland State Vikings make their annual trip through the state of Montana this week, facing the Montana State Bobcats and Montana Grizzlies in Big Sky Conference action. The Vikings play at MSU on Thursday in a 6:05 p.m. PT game. Then on Saturday, PSU plays in Missoula in a 6 p.m. game. Both contests can be heard on Freedom 970 AM and www.970.am and seen via live stream at www.b2tv.com.
   
PSU (9-6, 2-1) stands in fourth place in the Big Sky Conference after beating Eastern Washington at home on Saturday, 74-58. The Vikings will have a chance to move up in the standings as they face the Big Sky's second-place tied teams. Montana is 11-5, 3-1 this season, while Montana State is 9-7, 3-1.
   
Road wins have been hard to come by for the Vikings this year as have Big Sky wins in Montana over the previous 14 seasons (see GETTING A WIN... below). But, PSU won its last road game at Idaho State and takes a modest two-game winning streak on the road this week.
   
Montana State had won three straight games prior to a loss at league-leading Northern Colorado (4-0) on Saturday. The Bobcats have a perfect 6-0 home record.
   
Although Montana also lost at Northern Colorado last week, the Grizzlies have won six of their last seven games and have the best overall record in the Big Sky at 11-5. The Griz are 7-1 at home this year and have proven to be the best defensive team in the league as they lead the league in every major defensive category.

GETTING A WIN IN THE BIG SKY STATE ISN'T EASY
Winning a Big Sky basketball game in the state of Montana has been tough to say the least for the Vikings. PSU is 3-11 at Montana, 3-12 at Montana State (including last year's tournament game win) all-time in the Big Sky state. The Vikings have accomplished a sweep of the two schools just one time in 14 seasons - 2007-08 when the Vikings won 96-68 at Montana State, then 108-56 at Montana late in the season.
   
The Vikings lost last year at Montana State in the regular season, 77-71. However, they came back to get a 68-65 Big Sky Tournament quarterfinal win in Bozeman. PSU's last win at Montana was 2007-08.
   
Portland State is 9-34 all-time in games at Montana State (4-17) and Montana (5-17).

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (9-6, 2-1) vs. MONTANA STATE BOBCATS (9-7, 3-1)
Thursday, January 13, 2011, 6:05 p.m. PT @ Worthington Arena (7,250), Bozeman, MT
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.970.am • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 5:30 p.m. PT
Live Video Stream: www.b2tv.com • Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
All-Time Series: MSU leads 24-17 • PSU in Bozeman: 4-17
Big Sky Series: MSU leads 18-4 • PSU in Bozeman: 3-12

STORYLINES
• The series: Montana State leads the all-time series, 24-17 and the Big Sky series, 18-14... PSU has won all three meetings between the teams in Big Sky Tournament games - including the title game in 2008-09 in Ogden, UT... PSU is just 4-17 all-time in Bozeman and 3-12 all-time in Bozeman in Big Sky games... the Vikings are also 3-0 all-time in overtime games between the schools.
• Last year: Montana State won the regular season series against the Vikings only to have sixth-seeded PSU knock the third-seeded Bobcats out of the Big Sky Tournament... MSU won 77-71 in Bozeman on Jan. 8 behind Bobby Howard's 18 points. PSU shot .522 from the field and got 24 points from Dominic Waters, but commited 20 turnovers... on Feb. 13, the Bobcats beat PSU, 79-71, in the Stott Center as Howard had 22 points and eight rebounds. MSU shot .520 from the field and .815 at the line. Waters scored 21 for PSU... the Vikings got revenge on Mar. 6 in the Big Sky quarterfinal played in Bozeman. A Melvin Jones' three-pointer with 3.7 seconds to play gave PSU a 68-65 win. Jones scored 17 points and Julius Thomas tied a career-high with 19 points.
• Big Bad Bobby: Montana State SR F Bobby Howard was a thorn in the Vikings' side last year, totalling 56 points and 20 rebounds in the three meetings (18.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg), hitting 21-37 FGs and 10-12 FTs. Howard was a first team All-Big Sky Conference selection... SR F Erik Rush had 45 points and 21 rebounds in the three games (15.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg) last season.
• The Bobcats: Montana State was 15-14 last season, 10-6 and third in the Big Sky Conference... two starters and four letterwinners return from that team... fifth year Head Coach Brad Huse leads the Bobcats. He has a 64-62 record on MSU, including 4-7 against the Vikings... in 13 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Huse is 248-132.
• This year: Montana State is 9-7 overall, 3-1 in the Big Sky... PSU and MSU have three common opponents: Cal State Fullerton, Seattle and Northern Colorado. The Vikings are 2-1 against the group, while the Bobcats are 1-2... Erik Rush averages a team-leading 15.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game... Bobby Howard is averaging 15.2 points and 6.9 rebounds to lead the team... MSU shoots only .423 from the field and .633 at the free throw line. But the Bobcats lead the league in three-pointers made (8.8 pg) and average the fewest turnovers per game (12.1).

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (9-6, 2-1) vs.  MONTANA GRIZZLIES (11-5, 3-1)
Saturday, January 15, 2011, 6 p.m. PT @ Dahlberg Arena (7,500), Missoula, MT
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.970.am • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 5:30 p.m. PT
Live Video Stream: www.b2tv.com • Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
All-Time Series: UM leads 25-20 • PSU in Missoula: 5-17
Big Sky Series: UM leads 17-11 • PSU in Missoula: 3-11

STORYLINES
• The series: Montana leads the all-time series, 25-20, and the Big Sky series, 17-11... the two teams have never met in a Big Sky Tournament game... PSU is 5-17 all-time Missoula, 3-11 in Big Sky Conference games... the Grizzlies swept last year's season series and have won the last three meetings... PSU's last win in Missoula came on Mar. 1, 2008 (108-56) and marked the Vikings largest point total in a Big Sky game and largest margin of victory ever against a Division I opponent.
• Last year: Montana swept the season series with the Vikings... the Grizzlies shot .582 from the field and commited only three turnovers in a 90-58 win on Jan. 9 in Missoula. Anthony Johnson had 20 points for the winners and Brian Qvale scored 19. Phil Nelson scored 16 points for Portland State... Johnson scored 22 in an 81-76 win over the Vikings on Feb. 12 in Portland. Jamie Jones had 26 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots in the game for PSU.
• The Grizzlies: Montana was 22-10 last season, going 10-6 and taking the fourth seed in the Big Sky Conference. The Grizzlies went on to beat Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado and Weber State to win the Big Sky Conference Tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005... two starters and five letterwinners return from that team... Head Coach Wayne Tinkle is in his fifth year at Montana and has an 81-58 record. He is 4-4 all-time against the Vikings.
• This year: Montana is 11-5 this season, 3-1 in the Big Sky Conference... the Vikings and Grizzlies have four common oppoents: Cal State Fullerton, Nevada, Portland and Northern Colorado. PSU is 1-3 against those teams. UM is 2-3 (having beaten Fullerton twice)... Will Cherry leads the team with 16.2 points and 4.2 assists per game. He also averages a league-best 3.2 steals per game... 7-footer Brian Qvale averages 13.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and a league-best 3.2 blocked shots per game while shooting .603 from the field... Montana leads the league in scoring defense (60.2), scoring margin (+8.2), field goal percentage defense (.399), blocked shots (4.9), steals (7.5).

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 22-25 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 1-2 against Montana State and 0-2 against Montana. He is 10-11 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).

MELVIN JONES WILL BE FEATURED IN “AMERICAN STORY”
SR G Melvin Jones is the subject of what will be a nationally-recognized feature on NBC's Today Show. Reporter Bob Dotson, who produces a regular feature called “American Story” on The Today Show, was in town last weekend to follow Melvin, his family and their unique story. The feature will appear on the Today Show later this month on a date to be announced.
   
Jones has already been featured on the front page of the Seattle Times and in the Portland Tribune for his inspiring story. Jones has risen up from a high school student on a path to failure to an Academic All-Conference level student at Portland State while excelling in the sport of basketball. He has done so with the assistance of his adoptive mother, Jennifer Annable, former high school coach, Kasey Poirrer, and their family.

FAST BREAKS
WINNING LINES 
• PSU is 6-2 at home this year... since the start of the 2007-08 season, Portland State is 39-8 at home, including 23-5 in Big Sky Conference games.
• PSU has won six straight games over Eastern Washington.
• The Vikings are 3-4 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 107-35 in 142 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 138-50 at home over the past 15 seasons.
• PSU is 34-17 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 39-18 including tournament games.

GOOD STARTS: Since moving into the starting lineup four games ago, JR G Charles Odum has been red-hot. Odum has scored 69 points (25-39 FG, 6-11 3-pt FG, 13-20 FT) with 15 rebounds, 13 assists and seven steals. Odum led the team in scoring the first two games, then had a career-high 21 points in the third game... PSU is 3-1 with Odum in the starting lineup where he averages 17.3 points.

NO GIVEAWAYS HERE: Moving Odum into the starting lineup has meant moving SR G Melvin Jones over to the point from his more comfortable shooting guard role. Jones has responded by playing 131 minutes  and committing just two turnovers. His assist-to-turnover ratio is 8/2, and he has averaged 12.0 points.

BIG SKY LEADERS: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in scoring (75.5) and three-point field goal defense (.322)... in conference-only statistics, PSU leads in three-pointers made (9.0) and three-point field defense (.290)... JR G Charles Odum leads the Big Sky in field goal percentage in league games (.690)... SO G Chris Harriel has the most consecutive double-figure scoring games (13) among all Big Sky players. Harriel also leads the league in three-pointers made in conference games (3.3 pg)... JR F Chehales Tapscott has the most double-doubles in the conference this season (5).

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 347 free throws, making 260, an average of 17.3-23.1 shooting per game for a .749 mark (last year PSU averaged 14.4-20.1, .717)... until last week opponents had attempted fewer FTs than the Vikings have made all year and it is still virtually even. They are now 181-262, an average of 12.0-17.5 per game for a .691 mark... as a result, PSU is beating its opponents by five points per game at the line this year.

HOW ABOUT A HAND FOR THE DEFENSE: Portland State's up-tempo style means the Vikings will naturally give up more points than most teams. As a result they rank eighth in scoring defense (73.9) in the Big Sky.  However, the defense is much improved over last year when it gave up 79.2 points per game. Moreover, the Vikings held Eastern Washington to just 58 points and a season-opponent low .308 field goal percentage. That marked the fourth time this year PSU has held an opponent in the 50s compared to just once last season. Not coincidently, the Vikings are 4-0 in those games.

RETURN OF THE THREE: A much-needed strong three-point shooting performance led Portland State to a 79-72 win at Idaho State on Jan. 2. The Vikings made a season-high 14-25 (.560) from distance in the win. In three Big Sky games, the Viking are averaging 9.0 made per contest and .403 percentage. With the return of SR F Phil Nelson, the Vikings hope to replicate that stat the rest of the way... PSU's three-point shooting has been down from recent years when the Vikings were regularly among the top long-range shooting teams in the Big Sky Conference. The Vikings led the Big Sky in three pointers in 2007-08 and 2008-09. PSU had been averaging just 6.2 three-pointers made and .326 percentage in non-conference games.

HALF-NELSON: SR F Phil Nelson made his long-awaited return to the hardwood last Saturday night. Nelson had missed 26 straight games after breaking his left foot twice.  Nelson broke his foot late last January, missing the final 12 games of the season. He has been averaging 12.9 points and had 48 three-point field goals through 20 games. Nelson reinjured the foot on Nov. 8 and missed the first 14 games of this year. PSU went 13-13 in the 26 games Nelson had missed since Jan. 30... Nelson began practicing last Thursday, and is admittedly rusty and not in game condition. He was limited to two-minute stretches against Eastern Washington.  Though he had just three points, one rebound and one steal in 16 minutes, his presence on the floor forced the Eagles to be accountable for him and took some pressure off his teammates... prior to coming off the bench against Eastern Washington, Nelson had started the previous 53 games off his Viking career. PSU is 31-22 in those games and 32-22 overall in games he plays.

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 three new career scoring highs (now 25) and three new career rebounding highs (now 12). Harriel leads the Vikings with 16.1 points per game while averaging 5.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 steals. His 25-point, 7-11 three-point shooting effort at Idaho State (1/2) led the Vikings to a road victory. He followed it up with a 16-point, 12-rebound, three-assist, three-steal game in the win over Eastern Washington.
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 was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 27, after averaging 18.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.0 assists in a pair of games (six-point loss to Nevada, 20-point win over Utah Valley).
• Chris ranks fourth in scoring, 15th in rebounding, eighth in free throw percentage, sixth in three-point field goals made and second in steals in the Big Sky Conference.

KEEPING UP WITH MELVIN JONES: SR G Melvin Jones keeps rolling along, now spending most of his time as the Viking point guard. Jones has just two turnovers in four starts at the point. He is averaging 11.9 points and 2.7 assists per game this season. He also leads the team with 34 three-point field goals and .854 free throw shooting.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
• Melvin is averaging 14.1 points in eight home games.
• He has seven 20-point games in his career, two this season.
• Jones ranks 16th in the Big Sky in scoring, 13th in assists and fourth in three-point field goals.

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 12.7 points, a team-high 8.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He is shooting .500 from the field, .720 at the line and has a team-leading 12 blocked shots.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
• Chehales leads the Vikings and the Big Sky Conference with five double-doubles.
• The junior forward ranks 11th in scoring, second in rebounding, and eighth in field goal percentage in the Big Sky. He has led the team in rebounding in 11 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 was definitely heating up quickly for the Vikings. As a result, the 6-foot, 205-pounder was moved into the starting lineup four games ago and has played even better. Odum has scored 69 points (25-39 FG, 6-11 3-pt FG, 13-20 FT) with 15 rebounds, 13 assists and seven steals. Odum led the team in scoring the first two games, then had a career-high 21 points in the third game... he now averages 13.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, shooting .524 from the field, .421 from three-point range and .747 at the line.
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 six times and has three 20-point games.
• Odum ranks ninth in scoring, sixth in field goal percentage and seventh in assists in the Big Sky Conference.

HOT:
• JR G Charles Odum is 47-83 (.566) in his last nine games and has averaged 15.8 points per game. In league games, he is 20-29 shooting (.690) to lead the Big Sky and averages 17.3 points.
• SO G Chris Harriel has scored in double figures a league-best 13 straight games and 14 of 15 this year.
• SR G Melvin Jones has committed just two turnovers in four games as the starting point guard (131 minutes). Portland State has averaged just 10.3 turnovers in the last four games, after averaging 15.3 in the first 11 games.

NOT:
• The Vikings have made only 38-61 free throws in league games (.623).
• JR C Nate Lozeau has just four points and three rebounds in his last four games.
• PSU has been outrebounded by nearly eight per game in three Big Sky contests.

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 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.
• SO G Chris Harriel posted a career-high 25 points in leading the Vikings to a 79-72 win at Idaho State (1/2). Harriel hit 7-11 from three-point range in the game as PSU made a season-high 14-25 from distance (.560). JR G Charles Odum added a career-high 21 points, hitting 8-10 from the field, 3-4 from distance and 2-2 at the line.
• SO G Chris Harriel and JR F Chehales Tapscott each had double-doubles in leading the Vikings to a 74-58 win over Eastern Washington (1/8). Harriel posted 16 points and 12 rebouds, while Tapscott added 12 points and 12 rebounds in the win. PSU held EWU to just .308 shooting from the field in beating the Eagles for the sixth straight time.