Complete notes and stats in pdf

With fewer oars in the water than usual, Portland State will attempt to right the ship on Saturday night against Sacramento State. The Vikings are still missing Chehales Tapscott and Nate Lozeau, leaving them with nine healthy players, as they take on the Hornets at the Stott Center. Game time is 7:05 p.m. It can be heard on Freedom 970 AM or www.970.am.
    
PSU is reeling after a 65-51 loss at Eastern Washington on Thursday. That gives the Vikings four losses in their last five games, some of which can be attributed to persistent injuries (see INJURY BATTLE below). With just 110 points in their last two games, Portland State has its lowest-scoring back-to-back games this season. The Vikings had been averaging in the high 70s all season, but have averaged just 63.2 points over the last five games.
   
Now 10-10 on the season, 3-5 in the Big Sky Conference, the Vikings will host a Sacramento State team it has dominated over the years. PSU has won the last seven meetings - all by 12 points or more - including the last four at the Stott Center. The Vikings are 7-3 at home this season.
   
Meanwhile, Sacramento State has won two in a row for the first time this year, beating Eastern Washington and Idaho State in its last two games. The Hornets are 5-15 this season, 2-7 in the Big Sky Conference.  They had lost nine straight prior to winning their last two.
   
Sac State is 0-10 on the road this year. They have also lost four overtime games, three on the road.

INJURY BATTLE CONTINUES FOR VIKING TEAM
Nobody is going to feel sorry for the Vikings but they continue to fight an unending battle with injuries. The latest Vikings to go down are JR C Nate Lozeau and JR F Chehales Tapscott. The loss of a pair of inside players has made the Vikings particularly thin in the post. PSU has nine healthy bodies available this week. PSU has lost 28 player games to injury this season, but figures to lose several more in the coming weeks.
   
PSU was without SR F Phil Nelson for the first 14 games of the season (after losing him for the last 12 of last year) as he recovered from a twice broken foot. Nelson has played in the last six games, coming off the bench, but is still trying to get in game shape. He is averaging just 3.8 points and shooting 19% from the field.
   
JR G Terry Coleman has struggled with ankle and lower leg injuries all year and has missed nine games as a result.
   
Lozeau suffered a severe left ankle sprain at Montana on Jan. 15 and has missed the last three games. He is not expected to return until next week. He has averaged 6.3 points and 2.5 rebounds this season.
   
Tapscott injured his right knee at the end of the Jan. 20 win over Weber State. He had cartilage damage and underwent surgery on Wednesday. Tapscott, who has averaged 11.7 points and 8.2 rebounds, may be able to return in about three weeks.

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (10-10, 3-5) vs.  SACRAMENTO STATE HORNETS (5-15, 2-7)
Saturday, January 29, 2011, 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 21-9 • PSU in Portland: PSU leads 14-1
Big Sky Series: PSU leads 20-8 • PSU in Portland: PSU leads 13-1

STORYLINES
• The series: Portland State holds a 21-9 advantage in the all-time series, and 20-8 lead in the Big Sky series... PSU has swept the season series seven times in 14 seasons... the Vikings are 14-1 against the Hornets in Portland... PSU has won the last seven meetings between the teams, all by 12 points or more... PSU has won four straight in Portland.
• Last year: Portland State's 94-66 win over Sacramento State last year in the Stott Center was the biggest Viking win ever over the Hornets (28 points). Jamie Jones and Dominic Waters each scored 26 points in that game. Jones added 15 rebounds and five blocked shots. PSU made 13 three-pointers and outrebounded the Hornets 43-25 in the win... it was closer during a February meeting in Sacramento, but the Vikings prevailed 76-62. Five Vikings scored in double figures including a career-high 12 from Alonzo Brandon on 4-7 three-pointers. Paul Guede had 11 points and seven boards. A 36-25 rebound advantage again made a difference.
• The Hornets: Sacramento State was 9-21 last season, 3-13 and ninth in the Big Sky Conference... two starters and three letterwinners return from that team... Head Coach Brian Katz is in his third year at Sacramento State. He has a 16-63 record. Katz is 0-4 all-time against Portland State.
• This year: The Hornets have been a hard-luck team again, going 5-15 with four overtime losses. Sacramento State had lost nine in a row, but now have their first two-game winning streak this year... Sacramento State ranks last in the league in scoring at 62.5 points per game while shooting .411 from the field, .315 from three-point range and .674 at the line... SR G Sultan Toles-Bey is the Hornets' top player, leading the Big Sky in minutes played at 36.8 per game. He scores 12.3 points per game and averages 4.7 assists per game. Toles-Bey also leads the team in three-pointers (39) and steals (31)... John Dickson averages 11.1 points and 4.2 rebounds.

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 23-29 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 2-0 against Sacramento State. He is 11-15 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.
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.

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 on a date to be announced, likely one day during the week of January 31.
   
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.

POWER OUTAGE: Portland State has had a power outage on two levels recently. First, the Vikings have lost two of their three inside players with injuries to JR F Chehales Tapscott and JR C Nate Lozeau. Second, the Vikings have averaged only 55 points and shot .380 in their last two games, and 63.2 points and .414 in their last five (four of which are losses). Prior to that PSU spent most of the season averaging in the high 70s, shot .452 from the field, and led the Big Sky in scoring. The Vikings now average 72.4 points per game and shoot .443 overall.

A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE: Despite losing four of five games and dropping to 10-10 this year, the Vikings are still two games ahead of last season's pace. In 2009-10, the Vikings were 8-12 after 20 games, 13-19 overall. 

NO GIVEAWAYS HERE: Moving JR G Charles 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 six turnovers in nine games... the Viking team has committed just 98 turnovers in those games (10.9). PSU had been averaging 15.3 turnovers per game prior to that.

A NEED FOR GUEDE: With JR F Chehales Tapscott out indefinitely, SR F Paul Guede becomes a key player for the Vikings. In two games in the starting lineup, Guede has totaled 13 points, 13 rebounds and four steals. That is 6.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. In his 18 previous games off the bench, Guede was averaging 3.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.9 steals.

GIVING HIS BIG SKY BEST: JR G Charles Odum has been red-hot lately and tearing up the Big Sky. In eight Big Sky games, Odum averages a team-best 17.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He is shooting .634 from the field, .706 from three-point range and .667 at the line in Big Sky games. Odum has led the team in scoring five times and twice set a new career-high. Most recently, Odum scored a career-high 24 at Montana (1/15), and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds against Northern Arizona (1/22)... Odum was averaging 12.7 points in non-conference games... Odum averages 14.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, shoots .547 from the field, .478 from three-point range and .729 at the line for the season.

HALF-NELSON: It is understandable that SR F Phil Nelson is not up to par yet after returning from a twice-broken foot. In his first six games, Nelson has played 20 minutes a night, made just 7-36 shots and averaged 3.8 points and 2.5 rebounds. However, with JR C Nate Lozeau and JR F Chehales Tapscott now out indefinitely, Nelson's production is needed more than ever... his long-awaited return came on Jan. 8 against Eastern Washington. 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 had 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 on Jan. 6, and is admittedly rusty and not in game condition.