Complete notes and stats in pdf

Portland State will try to keep its home momentum going when it hosts Northern Arizona in a televised game this Saturday at the Stott Center. The Vikings host the Lumberjacks in a 5:07 p.m. game that airs live on Altitude TV. It will air tape delayed on Comcast Sports Net at 11 p.m. The game is also available on Freedom 970 AM and www.970.am with the pregame show beginning at 4:30.
   
The Vikings come off an exciting win over Weber State, the two-time defending Big Sky Champion, on Thursday night, 71-69, at Stott. PSU has improved to 10-8 on the year, 3-3 in the Big Sky. The Vikings have won their last two games at home and are 7-2 at Stott this year.
   
Northern Arizona is 10-8 this year, 2-4 in the league play. NAU is 3-7 on the road this year. After a seven-game winning streak earlier in the year, the Lumberjacks have won just three of their last nine games.
   
NAU swept the season series against the Vikings last year, but PSU won the previous six meetings.
   
Portland State (74.4 ppg) and Northern Arizona (74.2) are the top two scoring teams in the Big Sky Conference.

RESERVED SEAT TICKETS FOR SOLD AT GENERAL ADMISSION PRICES: $10/$7
For the Northern Arizona game only, reserved seats will be sold at GA prices: $10/$7. 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.

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (10-8, 3-3) vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA LUMBERJACKS (10-8, 2-4)
Saturday, January 22, 5:07 p.m. @ Peter W. Stott Center (1,500), Portland, OR
Television: Altitude TV (live)/Comcast Sports Net (taped 11 p.m.) • Play-by-Play: Rich Winter Analyst: Rashad Floyd
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.970.am • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 4:30 p.m.
Live Video Stream: www.b2tv.com • Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
All-Time Series: PSU leads 19-15 • PSU in Portland: PSU leads 13-3
Big Sky Series: PSU leads 17-14 • PSU in Portland: PSU leads 12-3

STORYLINES
• The series: Although Northern Arizona swept the season series last season, the Vikings maintain a 19-15 all-time lead and 17-14 Big Sky lead... PSU is 12-3 in Portland against the Lumberjacks in Big Sky games... NAU has won the last two games. PSU had won six in a row prior to that.
• Last year: Northern Arizona swept the season series with the Vikings although the total margin was only eight points and included two overtimes... the Lumberjacks won 93-86 in Portland on Jan. 17. PSU had won 13 straight at home, but NAU shot a school-record .717 from the field in the game, and outrebounded the Vikings, 30-19. Cameron Jones scored 24 points for the 'Jacks. Dominic Waters scored 26 and Phil Nelson had 20 for the Vikings... the 'Jacks won a double-overtime contest on Feb. 18 in Flagstaff. Jones scored 26 points and NAU shot .500 from the field. The Vikings made only 5-20 three-pointers, and 20-35 free throws. Waters had 29 points and six assists for the Vikings.
• The Lumberjacks: Northern Arizona was 14-14 last season, 8-8 in the Big Sky Conference, placing fifth... two starters and nine letterwinners return from that team. Included is guard Cameron Jones, a first-team All-Big Sky Conference performer. Jones had 50 points, hitting 20-32 shots, against the Vikings in two games... Head Coach Mike Adras is in his 12th year at Northern Arizona. He has a 182-158 record. Adras is 10-14 all-time against Portland State.
• This year: The 'Jacks are led once again by Cameron Jones, who is leading the league with a 19.9 scoring average... Stallon Salvidar is tops in the Big Sky with 5.9 assists per game... Gabe Rogers averages 11.8 points and shoots .511 from three-point range... Shane Johannsen shoots a league-leading .735 from the field... Northern Arizona shoots a league-best .489 from the field and .445 from three-point range, but a surprisingly poor .658 at the free throw line... NAU also leads in rebounding margin (+5.1).

THE VIKINGS ON TELEVISION
Portland State is 17-30 in games televised in the Portland area since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97. That includes a 9-5 home record and 8-25 road record. PSU is 1-1 on TV this year (losing to Oregon, and winning at Idaho State).
   
The Vikings are 7-2 in the Altitude/Big Sky Conference Game of the Week over the last four seasons, including 4-1 at home, 3-1 on the road.

FREEMAN WILLIAMS WILL BE ON HAND FOR THIS WEEK'S GAMES
His picture is on the wall, and Viking legend Freeman Williams will be in the house once again when the Vikings host Northern Arizona.
   
Williams is featured on the west wall mural in the Stott Center, along with his retired number 20. A Viking from 1974-78, Williams was the second all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I history with 3,249 career points (behind only Pete Maravich). He was a first team All-American in 1978 on the same roster with Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.
   
Williams, a 6-4 guard, was a prolific scorer, who holds 13 Portland State records and played six seasons in the NBA. He once scored 81 points in a game, and scored 35 or more on 41 occasions! Williams led the nation in scoring in 1976-77 (39.6 ppg) and 1977-78 (35.9 ppg).
   
Williams also played a cameo role as Duck Johnson in the film, White Men Can't Jump.
   
Currently an assistant basketball coach at the high school he attended, Manual Arts in Los Angeles, Williams is in town with a documentarian who is producing his story.
   
Williams attended Thursday night's win over Weber State - the first Viking game he has seen since the 1990s - and sat courtside next to another Viking legend, Mouse Davis. Williams was introduced and warmly received by the crowd, was interviewed by the Portland Tribune, on the halftime radio broadcast, signed several autographs and had several pictures taken.

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 earlier in January to interview 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.

GIVING HIS BIG SKY BEST: JR G Charles Odum has been red-hot lately and tearing up the Big Sky. In six Big Sky games, Odum averages a team-best 17.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He is shooting .672 from the field and .688 from three-point range.  Odum has led the team in scoring three times and twice set a new career-high. Most recently, Odum scored a career-high 24 at Montana (1/15)... Odum was averaging 12.7  points in non-conference games.

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 committing just five turnovers in seven games... the Viking teams has committed just 69 turnovers in those games (9.8). PSU had been averaging 15.3 turnovers per game prior to that.

BIG SKY LEADERS: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in scoring (74.4)... SO G Chris Harriel has the most consecutive double-figure scoring games (16) among all Big Sky players... Charles Odum leads the league in shooting in conference games (.672)... JR F Chehales Tapscott has the most double-doubles in the conference this season (5).

A TREE GROWS IN PORTLAND: SR F Tree Thomas has scored 31 points (12-17 FG) in his last two games and raised his scoring average to 8.2 per game this year. Thomas is now shooting .505 from the field and .780 at the line. He averages 9.7 points and shoots .611 in Big Sky Conference games.

VIKINGS REWIND: PORTLAND STATE 71, WEBER STATE 69
    Portland, OR - In the span of two minutes, an unlikely hero sparked the Portland State Vikings to a Big Sky Conference win over Weber State. Dane Johnson had just five points, but made a big impact, in a 71-69 PSU win at the Stott Center.
    In addition to the points, Johnson - who played only nine minutes - had two assists and two steals. Each number had a big impact on the momentum of the game.
    Weber State used the three-pointer to gain a first-half edge. The Wildcats made 7-13 from distance and 14-26 (.538) overall in the half to lead 37-33 at halftime. PSU made just 14-34 (.412) but had 10 offensive rebounds and 20 points in the paint to stay close.
    Wildcat Scott Bamforth hit 4-4 three-point field goals to bruise the Vikings for 12 points in the half.
    The Vikings battled to stay within reach through the first 10 minutes of the second half. Then Johnson ignited a Viking rally to finally gather the lead. Twice in the space of one minute, Johnson made steals and started a fastbreak. Both times, he found Charles Odum for a lay in on the other end. On the first play, Odum was fouled and added a free throw. Those five points sparked a 7-0 run and PSU led 53-50 at the 9:38 mark. A moment later, Johnson hit driving layin and PSU was ahead 55-50.
    A Melvin Jones three-pointer extended the run to 12 straight and Portland State led 58-50 with 8:02 to play. During the run, the Vikings held the Wildcats without a point for four minutes.
    But Weber State battled back and had the game tied 60-60 with less than five minutes to play. Enter Dane Johnson once again. The junior guard hit a three-pointer to break the tie with 4:18 left in the game.
    It got a little scary for the Vikings when Bamforth hit a three-pointer with 59 seconds left, closing the gap to 70-69. PSU ran the clock on the next possession, but a little too far. A shot clock violation turned the ball over with 24 seconds to play. Weber State tried to make a play at the end, but Lindsay Hughey traveled with four seconds left.
    Jones added a free throw for the Vikings and Weber State was unable to get a shot away before the final horn.
    Johnson hit both shots he attempted and had the two big steals. His contribution was not lost on Coach Tyler Geving.
    “Dane did a great job the first half of the season. He hasn't played a lot the last few games, but you never know when your number is going to get called. You come out and practice hard every day. It came down to Dane today. He was the defense on the run we made,” said Geving.
    Odum led four Vikings in double figures with 16 points on 7-11 field goals. Jones added 15 points, hitting 4-8 three-pointers. Tree Thomas continued his fine play, making 5-7 shots and tallying 13 points. Chehales Tapscott led the Vikings with 11 rebounds.
    Bamforth paced Weber State with 20 points and six assists. He hit 6-7 three-pointers in the game. Hughey added 15 points.
    PSU shot 50% in the second half, while WSU dropped to 46%. Most important, the Vikings committed only seven turnovers.
    The Viking win stopped a two-game losing streak and a three-game Weber State winning streak. PSU improved to 10-8 on the season, 3-3 in the Big Sky and tied for fourth with Weber State.
    GAME NOTES: There was a remarkable stretch of six minutes and 14 seconds without a deadball in the first half. It was finally interrupted when Weber State called a timeout… JR C Nate Lozeau sat out with a sprained left ankle suffered at Montana last Saturday… Chris Harriel kept his league-leading streak of double-figure scoring games going at 16 in a row… the Vikings are 7-2 at home this year.