Complete game notes and stats in pdf

Portland State hosts Eastern Washington this Saturday night in a Big Sky Conference basketball game at the Peter W. Stott Center. Game time is 7:05 p.m. as the Vikings and the Eagles continue the Dam Cup series that began last fall.
   
With wins over Eastern in soccer and volleyball, PSU leads the series 5-4. The Vikings lost the matchup in football, and the Eagle football team has gone on to a date in the national championship game this Friday against Delaware (for more, see DAM CUP below).
   
But, this Saturday is all about basketball as PSU and EWU have their first of two meetings this season. The Vikings come off a road win at Idaho State on Sunday, 79-72. That leaves them at 8-6 on the season, 1-1 in the Big Sky. Saturday's game will be a chance to wipe away the memory of a bad performance in a Big Sky home opening loss to Northern Colorado on Dec. 29. Overall, the Vikings are 5-2 at home this year.
   
PSU leads the Big Sky in scoring (75.6 ppg) while EWU is last in scoring defense (76.7 ppg).
   
Eastern Washington is 4-9 on the season, 1-1 in the Big Sky, after beating Sacramento State then losing to Northern Colorado in home games last week. The Eagles, 0-6 on the road this year, play a non-conference game at Seattle on Thursday prior to facing the Vikings.
   
Portland State has won five in a row in the series against Eastern Washington.

WILL PHIL?
Of major note for Portland State should be the return of SR F Phil Nelson to the lineup. Nelson will begin practicing this week after suffering a broken left foot in the preseason. It marked the second time he had broken his foot in the calendar year of 2010. Nelson has missed 26 straight games (the last 12 of 2009-10 and all 14 this season). Ironically, the first of the 26 games Nelson has missed was a Jan. 30, 2010 date at Eastern Washington.
   
Nelson averaged 12.9 points per game, hitting 48 three-pointers in the first 20 contests last year before going down with the injury. If Nelson responds well in practice this week - which he begins on Wednesday - he should be available for playing time on Saturday against the Eagles.

PORTLAND STATE (8-6, 1-1) vs. EASTERN WASHINGTON (4-9, 1-1)
Saturday, January 8, 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: Tied 17-17 • PSU in Portland: 10-6
Big Sky Series: EWU leads 16-14 • PSU in Portland: 8-6
Streak: PSU has won five straight in the series.

STORYLINES
• The series: The all-time series is tied at 17-17... Eastern Washington leads the Big Sky series 16-14, but Portland State has won the last five meetings, three at PSU and two at EWU... the Vikings are just 8-6 all-time against the Eagles in Portland in Big Sky games... last year's 98-75 Viking win was the largest margin of victory ever by PSU over the Eagles (23).
• Last year: Portland State swept the season series for the second year in a row and extended its winning streak over the Eagles to five... PSU won 98-75 in Portland on Dec. 5. Dominic Waters had 23 points and eight assists in the win as the Vikings shot 33-48 from the field (.688) for a new school-record shooting performance... PSU came from 14 points down in the second half to beat Eastern 85-77 on Jan. 30 in Cheney. Jamie Jones had 26 points to lead the Vikings... PSU SR G Melvin Jones scored 34 points in last year's two meetings, hitting 9-12 from three-point range in those games.
• The Eagles: Eastern Washington was 9-21 last year, 5-11 and seventh in the Big Sky Conference... the Eagles have three starters and five letterwinners returning from that team, including last year's BSC Freshman of the Year, Glen Dean... Eastern Washington was picked to place sixth this year in the Big Sky, ahead of Portland State... Head Coach Kirk Earlywine is in his fourth season at Eastern Washington and has a 36-67 record. He is 57-75 in five years of collegiate coaching... Earlywine has a 5-1 all-time record against the Vikings, 0-3 in Portland.
• This year: Eastern Washington is 4-9 this season, including 0-6 in road games... like the Vikings, the Eagles have battled injuries so far, including missing star SO G Glen Dean for seven of their 13 games... Dean is back however, and averaging 13.5 points and 4.3 assists per game... SO G Jeffrey Forbes averages 13.6 points and has made 32 three-point field goals this year... SO G Kevin Winford has made 38 three-pointers to lead the Big Sky Conference and averages 12.4 points... JR F Cliff Ederaine leads the Big Sky Conference with 8.5 rebounds per game and has 22 blocked shots... Eastern Washington ranks last in scoring defense (76.7), but makes 8.4 three-point field goals per game.

THE DAM CUP
The Portland State Vikings and Eastern Washington Eagles have begun a five-sport rivalry cup called The Dam Cup in 2010-11. The Dam Cup celebrates the friendly rivalry between the states of Oregon and Washington within the Big Sky Conference.  Saturday's basketball game will be worth two points in the Dam Cup series. Portland State currently leads the competition, 5-4.
   
The so-named rivalry refers to the four dams linking Oregon and Washington that one passes on the 339-mile drive from the Portland State campus to the Eastern Washington campus. Located along the Columbia River, they are Bonneville Dam, The Dalles Dam, The John Day Dam and the McNary Dam. 
   
The five sports competing for the cup are football, women's soccer, women's volleyball, women's basketball and men's basketball.  The purpose of the Dam Cup is to create a rivalry between Portland State University and Eastern Washington University and provide a sense of pride between alumni in the Portland and Spokane areas. Other goals include increasing attendance at events between both schools and building school spirit among each institutions' student body.
   
The winner of the Dam Cup will possess The Dam Trophy acknowledging the achievement for the following year.
   
The Dam Cup is based on a point system.  Each game played in the five sports between the two schools has a point value. Points are only rewarded for regular season contests. The annual football game is worth four points, the women's soccer match is worth one point, each women's volleyball match is worth two points for a total of four points possible, and each men's and women's basketball game is worth two points for a total of four points possible in each sport, The total points possible are 17 which means that to win the cup a school would need to win at least 9 points.

The 2010-11 Dam Cup Series
Soccer - Oct. 8, @ PSU 3, Eastern Washington 0 - PSU leads 1-0
Volleyball - Oct. 9, @ PSU 3, Eastern Washington - PSU leads 3-0
Football - Oct. 30, Eastern Washington 50, @ PSU 17 - EWU leads 4-3
Volleyball - Nov. 6, PSU 3, @ EWU 2 - PSU leads 5-4
Men's Basketball - Jan. 8 @ PSU
Women's Basketball - Jan. 8 @ EWU
Men's Basketball - Jan. 27 @ EWU
Women's Basketball - Jan. 27 @ PSU

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 21-25 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 2-0 all-time against Eastern Washington, having won the season series last year. He is 9-11 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).

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 79, IDAHO STATE 72
Pocatello, ID - Chris Harriel had a highlight-reel second half on his way to a career-high 25 points, leading Portland State to its first Big Sky Conference road win, 79-72, at Idaho State on Sunday.
   
Harriel scored 19 in the second half alone and had a late three-point flurry that iced the win for the Vikings.
   
PSU's revived three-point shooting game and career-highs from Harriel and Charles Odum, who had 21 points, improved the team's record to 8-6, 1-1 in the Big Sky.
   
The Vikings made a season-high 14-25 (.560) from three-point range. It was a welcome return for the Vikings' long-range shooting as PSU had made just 20-77 (.260) from distance in its previous four games.
   
Both teams started slow offensively, but the Vikings had the advantage of hitting four three-pointers in the opening 10 minutes for a 14-10 lead.
   
The Vikings were held scoreless the next three minutes with ISU taking a 15-14 lead. But PSU went on a 17-8 run to close out the half. Odum scored 10 of his 15 first-half points during the run.
   
Odum hit 6-8 shots in the half, including 3-4 three-pointers in leading PSU to a 31-23 lead.
   
PSU played excellent defense, holding ISU to 7-22 from the field (.318) and forcing 10 turnovers.
   
Harriel then took charge of the second half, scoring eight quick points as the Vikings pushed their lead to double digits. PSU had its largest lead at 12 points with 16:53 left, and though it grew no larger, the Vikings controlled the game the rest of the way.
   
After Idaho State closed the deficit to five points with 3:12 to play, Harriel buried three straight three-pointers to seal the win. The sophomore guard made 9-17 shots from the field overall, and a career-best 7-11 from three-point range for 25 points.
   
Said Harriel: “It was nice. It was my chance to step up and I was feeling it. I know how to shoot the ball and I was just letting it go.”
   
“Unbelieveble,” Viking Coach Tyler Geving said of Harriel. “The (three-pointer) with about a minute-and-a-half left - it was 'no, no, no'… great shot, Chris! That gave us a ten-point lead and we had the game at that point.”
   
Odum hit 8-10 shots from the field on his way to 21 points. Melvin Jones added 14 points for the Vikings.
   
For the game, PSU made 27-51 from the field (.529). More important, the Vikings hit 16-26 in the second half (.615). Odum and Harriel made 9-12 shots after halftime.
   
Idaho State shot 23-51(.451) from the field. The Bengals finished with 18 turnovers while the Vikings had only nine.
   
PSU never had an answer for 7-foot center Deividas Busma of Idaho State. The Bengal big man had 22 points and 11 rebounds. But, the Vikings held ISU's leading scorer, Broderick Gilchrest, to 2-8 shooting and eight points.
   
GAME NOTES: Harriel was the reigning Big Sky Conference Player of the Week going into the game... Head Coach Tyler Geving made another change to his starting lineup, putting SR F Tree Thomas in the post in place of JR C Nate Lozeau… the Vikings are 8-7 all-time in Pocatello in Big Sky games, the best road record at any Big Sky opponent… PSU has won 10 of the last 12 games in the series.


FAST BREAKS

HOT:
• JR G Charles Odum is 42-77 (.545) in his last eight games and has averaged 16.0 points per game.
• SO G Chris Harriel has scored in double figures 12 straight games and 13 of 14 this year. He had a new career-high of 25 points in the win at Idaho State, hitting 7-11 from three-point range.
• SR G Melvin Jones has not committed a turnover in three games as the starting point guard (97 minutes).Portland State has averaged just 10.3 turnovers in the last three games, after averaging 15.3 in the first 11 games.
• The Vikings shot 53-105 in two games last week (.505).

NOT:
• Although they won on Sunday, the Vikings have lost four of their last six, including two of three at home.
• The Vikings made only 20-34 free throws last week (.588).
• PSU is ranked 315th in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.474).

WINNING LINES 
• PSU is 5-2 at home this year... since the start of the 2007-08 season, Portland State is 38-8 at home, including 22-5 in Big Sky Conference games.
• 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 106-35 in 141 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 137-50 at home over the past 15 seasons.
• PSU is 33-17 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 38-18 including tournament games.

NEW LOOK: Head Coach Tyler Geving went with a different starting lineup again at Idaho State. It was his second change in three games. Geving started SR F Tree Thomas in the post in place of JR C Nate Lozeau. Thomas had five points and three rebounds in his first career start... since moving JR G Charles Odum into the starting lineup three games ago, he has been red-hot. Odum has scored 54 points (20-33 FG, 5-9 3-pt FG, 9-13 FT) with 13 rebounds and eight assists. Odum led the team in scoring the first two games, then had a career-high 21 points in the third game.

NO GIVEAWAYS HERE: Although Melvin Jones has had some struggles shooting in recent games, he has posted a remarkably positive stat over the last three games since taking over as the starting point guard. Jones has played 97 minutes without a turnover in those games while handing out seven assists and scoring 34 points.

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 320 free throws, making 242, an average of 17.3-22.9 shooting per game for a .756 mark (last year PSU averaged 14.4-20.1, .717)... until Sunday's game, opponents had attempted fewer FTs than the Vikings have made all year. They are now 171-245, an average of 12.2-17.5 per game for a .698 mark... as a result, PSU is beating its opponents by five points per game at the line this year.

RETURN OF THE THREE: A much-needed strong three-point shooting performance led Portland State to a 79-72 win at Idaho State on Sunday. The Vikings made a season-high 14-25 (.560) from distance in the win. That improved PSU to 6.6 threes per game and a .344 percentage this season. In the four games prior, the Vikings were just 20-77 (.260) from three-point range.... 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... 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 5-1 when outshooting opponents, 4-0 when outrebounding opponents... the Vikings are just 1-4 when failing to score at least 70 points, and 6-0 when scoring 79 points or more.

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 two new career rebounding highs (now 9). Harriel leads the Vikings with 16.1 points per game while averaging 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.6 steals. His 25-point, 7-11 three-point shooting effort at Idaho State on Sunday led the Vikings to victory.

KEEPING UP WITH MELVIN JONES: SR G Melvin Jones posted a 14-point, three-assist, no-turnover effort in the win at Idaho State. That was a welcome stat line as Joned has battled a slump in recent games, shooting just .254 over the previous four contests, and .200 from three-point range. Despite that slump, Jones is averaging 11.8 points per game, 2.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He also has a team-high 31 three-point field goals and is shooting .875 at the line.

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 7.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He is shooting .512 from the field and .714 at the line.

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 three games ago and has played even better. Odum has scored 54 points (20-33 FG, 5-9 3-pt FG, 9-13 FT) with 13 rebounds and eight assists. Odum led the team in scoring the first two games, then had a career-high 21 points in the third game... he now averages 13.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, shooting .508 from the field and .765 at the line.