Complete notes and stats in pdf

The Portland State Vikings will spend Thanksgiving weekend in Laramie, WY where they will play in the three-day Wyoming Jim Thorpe Classic. The Vikings (2-1) will face host Wyoming (2-1) on Friday (6 p.m. PT), Louisiana Tech (1-1) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. PT) and Maryland-Eastern Shore (1-3) on Sunday (2:30 p.m. PT). All three games will air on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com. The pregame shows will begin one-half hour prior to tip-off each day.
    
Wyoming will play at Tuesday night game, hosting South Dakota. Maryland Eastern Shore also plays Tuesday at Kansas State. Louisiana Tech is off until Friday's tournament games.
    
The tournament begins a stretch of seven of the last nine non-conference games on the road for Portland State. PSU returns for a home game on Dec. 3 against Walla Walla University (5:05 p.m.). That is part of a doubleheader with the Viking women (2 p.m. vs. Nevada).

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (2-1) vs. WYOMING COWBOYS (2-1)
Friday, November 25, 2011, 6 p.m. PT @ The Arena-Auditorium (15,004), Laramie, WY
The Wyoming Jim Thorpe Classic
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 5:30 p.m.
Live Video Stream: None • Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
All-Time Series: Wyoming leads 1-0

STORYLINES
• The series: Portland State and Wyoming have met only once previously, that was a 104-58 win by the Cowboys in Laramie on Dec. 29, 2001... Portland State is 15-36 all-time against current members of the Mountain West Conference.
• The Cowboys: Wyoming is coming off a 10-21 season. The Cowboys were 3-13 and placed ninth in the Mountain West Conference. Two starters and six letterwinners return from that team. Francisco Cruz, a 6-3 guard, averaged 10.0 points and 3.3 rebounds last year. Afam Muojeke averaged 7.7 points and 2.4 rebounds.
• In The Family: Former Wyoming Head Coach Heath Schroyer was fired mid-season last year. He was also Portland State's former Head Basketball Coach (2002-05). Wyoming Director of Athletics Tom Burman was also a former Portland State Athletics Director (2000-06). Burman hired Schroyer at both schools.
• Head Coach Larry Shyatt is in his second stint with the Cowboys. He led the program to a 19-9 season in 1997-98. Shyatt is 91-94 in his seventh season as a head coach. He has never faced the Vikings.

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (2-1) vs. LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS (1-1)
Saturday, November 26, 2011, 3:30 p.m. PT @ The Arena-Auditorium (15,004), Laramie, WY
The Wyoming Jim Thorpe Classic
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 3 p.m.
Live Video Stream: None • Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
All-Time Series: Louisiana Tech leads 1-0

STORYLINES
• The series: Portland State and Louisiana Tech have met just once previously, a 63-50 win by the Bulldogs on Dec. 20, 1980 in Portland... the Vikings are 17-28 all-time against current members of the Western Athletic Conference.
• The Bulldogs: Louisiana Tech has opened the season at 1-1, with a win over Mississippi College and a loss to Texas-Arlington. Trevor Gaskins is averaging 19.5 points and 6.5 rebounds through two games. The Bulldogs have hit 20 three-point field goals... LT was 12-20 in 2010-11, 2-14 and ninth in the Western Athletic Conference. Three starters and six letterwinners return from that team.
• Head Coach Michael White is in his first season with Louisiana Tech and first season as a collegiate head coach.

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (2-1) vs. MARYLAND-EASTERN SHORE HAWKS (1-3)
Sunday, November 27, 2011, 2:30 p.m. PT @ The Arena-Auditorium (15,004), Laramie, WY
The Wyoming Jim Thorpe Classic
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 2 p.m.
Live Video Stream: None • Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
All-Time Series: Portland State leads 2-0

STORYLINES
• The series: Portland State and Maryland-Eastern Shore have met twice previously, with the Vikings winning both times. PSU picked up an 80-61 win at UMES  in 2003, and an 89-44 win vs UMES at the Stott Center in 2004... the Vikings are 7-1 all-time against members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
• The Hawks: Maryland-Eastern Shore was 9-22 last season, 5-12 and 10th in the MEAC. Three starters and four letterwinners return from that team... the Hawks are currently 1-3 with a game at Kansas State on Tuesday... Louis Bell averages 14.0 points to lead the Hawks, and has made 14-25 (.560) three-pointers this season.
• Head Coach Frankie Allen is in his fourth year at Maryland-Eastern Shore. He has a 28-69 record with the Hawks. In 23 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Allen is 251-263.

VIKING HEAD COACH TYLER GEVING
Tyler Geving is in his third season as Head Coach and seventh season overall with the Portland State program. Geving has a 29-36 record with the Vikings. He was 13-19 in 2009-10 and led PSU to the Big Sky Tournament semifinals. In 2010-11, his Vikings were 14-16 overall.
    
Geving is a 1996 graduate of Central Washington and has been in collegiate coaching for 17 years.
    
The third-year Head Coach is assisted by Andy McClouskey (2nd year, Oregon State, 1982), Eric Harper (7th year, Central Washington, 1995) and Anthony Owens (3rd year, Great Falls, 2006). Former Viking player Mickey Polis is the Director of Operations (3rd year, Portland State, 2009).
    
Geving's record breakdown:
    • 16-15 all-time in non-conference games, 13-21 all-time against Big Sky Conference opponents.
    • Geving is 20-9 at home. He is 9-27 on the road, including 2-2 in neutral site games.
    • Geving has never faced any of the three opponents in the Wyoming Jim Thorpe Classic.

RECENT GAME: TAPSCOTT HITS GAMER, VIKS BEAT HAWKS, 66-65
Portland, OR - The Portland State Vikings routed the Linfield Wildcats, a Division III school, 101-64, at the Stott Center on Monday night.
    
The win improved PSU to 2-1 on the season heading into the three-day Wyoming Jim Thorpe Classic over Thanksgiving weekend.
    
The teams set a fast tempo early and the Vikings' were the beneficiaries with their superior athleticism. An 11-0 run midway through the first half created the separation the Vikings needed.
    
PSU went on to a 50-28 halftime lead after shooting .529 from the field. The Vikings outrebounded the Wildcats 22-12 in the half, getting 14 combined from Chehales Tapscott and Nate Lozeau. Tapscott also had 14 points at halftime.
    
The lead grew into the 30s in the second half before the Vikings settled for the 37-point win.
    
Tapscott had 19 points and eight rebounds in just 20 minutes of action, hitting 8-10 from the field. Charles Odum scored 16 points in just 19 minutes. Lozeau recorded his second straight double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, making 6-8 shots.  
    
The Vikings shot .521 from the field and outrebounded Linfield, 43-33. PSU had 25 points off 16 Linfield turnovers.
    
Zach Anderson scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds as Linfield dropped to 1-2 on the year.
    
GAME NOTES: FR G Gary Winston played in his first game as a Viking after getting clearance from the NCAA due to his transfer status. Winston was ready to go, scoring 13 points with a game-high six assists… the last time Portland State eclipsed 100 points was the third game of last season, a 102-98 victory over Lamar. The last time PSU had 100 in the Stott Center was a Feb. 22, 2007 in a win against Sacramento State.

FAST BREAKS

WINNING LINES  
• The Vikings have won four in a row against Linfield over the past 10 seasons.
• The Vikings are 2-0 at home this year... PSU was 10-5 at home in 2010-11, 4-4 in Big Sky home games... over the last five seasons, PSU is 57-14 at home, including 29-11 in Big Sky Conference games.
• The Vikings are 0-1 on the road this season... the Vikings were 4-11 on the road in 2010-11, including 2-0 in neutral site games... PSU was 1-7 in Big Sky road games.
• PSU has gone 113-38 in 151 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 144-53 at home over the past 16 seasons.
• PSU is 37-27 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 42-28 including tournament games.

C-NOTES: Portland State scored 101 points against Linfield, making it exactly one season since its previous 100-point effort - a 102-98 win over Lamar in last year's third game. It was the first 100-point game at the Stott Center since a 100-73 win over Sacramento State on Feb. 22, 2007. It was the second 100-point game under Head Coach Tyler Geving... PSU is 78-6 all-time in 100-point games and has not lost one since a 129-114 defeat to UNLV in 1975-76... only two of PSU's 100-point games were overtime contests.

INSIDE PRESENCE: Portland State's big men have dominated during the first three games of the season. SR C Nate Lozeau and SR F Chehales Tapscott have combined to average 31.6 points, 20.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. They are shooting 36-63 from the field (.571).
 
NATE'S NOTES: SR C Nate Lozeau scored a career-high 19 points at Denver. He followed that with 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in the win over Seattle... Lozeau then had another career high with 12 rebounds against Linfield. Highlights this year:
• Lozeau is shooting .667 from the field (18-27) while averaging 15.3 points and 10.0 rebounds.
• Entering this weekend's play, he has posted two double-doubles (three career).

TAP-INS: SR F Chehales Tapscott scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds at Denver... he followed that with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Seattle. In that game, Tapscott scored six of the final eight points, bringing PSU back from a seven-point deficit with 1:39 to play. He hit the game-winning shot with 4.6 seconds to play... Tapscott posted 19 points (8-10 FG) with eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 19 minutes against Linfield. Highlights this year:
• Tapscott leads the team in scoring (16.3), rebounding (10.3), blocks (5) and steals (7). He is shooting .500 from the field and .765 at the line.
• Tapscott has two double-doubles this year, and eight in 27 career games at Portland State.

WELCOME TO THE SHOW: FR G Gary Winston had to sit out the Vikings' first two games while the NCAA confirmed his transfer status to Portland State. He originally signed with Idaho, but ended up attending Walla Walla CC last year and did not play basketball. The NCAA gave him clearance late last week and Winston took little time making an impact. He posted 13 points, hitting three three-pointers, and handed out six assists with two steals in the win over Linfield.

CHUCK WAGON: SR G Charles Odum is gaining momentum after a slow start in the first game of the season. The second-team All-Big Sky performer is averaging 15.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, has four steals and is shooting .950 at the free throw percentage. Season highlights:
• Odum has scored in double figures in all three games this season.

SIXTH MAN SUCCESS: JR F Michael Harvey has started his Portland State career well, averaging 19.3 minutes per game. Harvey is averaging 4.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per game while shooting .500 from the field.

ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO: The Vikings had been without three key players during the first two games. Those three would possibly have been the first three off the bench if available. That changed on Monday against Linfield when FR G Gary Winston was given clearance by the NCAA and became eligible to play... the Vikings still need two more players to have the depth that Coach Tyler Geving needs and desires. JR F Martin Whitmore is out indefinitely with an elbow injury suffered in the preseason exhibition game with Western Oregon. Whitmore provides much-needed perimeter shooting for the Vikings... also missing is JR F Renado Parker, who will not be eligible until the end of fall term due to his transfer status (arriving for winter term last year). He is likely to be able to play on Dec. 10 vs. Utah Valley.

FREE IS A GOOD PRICE: For the second year in a row, Portland State is doing a great job of getting to the free throw line. So far, PSU has made more free throws than its opponents have attempted this season (PSU 53-73, Opponents 22-31).

2011-12 SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL
• SR C Nate Lozeau posted a career-high 19 points in the Vikings' 69-61 loss at Denver (11/11).
• SR F Chehales Tapscott hit a short jump shot in the lane with 4.6 seconds left to beat Seattle, 66-65 (11/15). Tapscott brought PSU back from a 65-58 deficit with 1:39 to play. He scored six of the final eight points, and had 12 points and 11 rebounds in the game. SR C Nate Lozeau added 13 points and 11 rebounds.
• Five Vikings scored in double figures as PSU reached 100 points for the first time in 30 games, downing Linfield, 101-64 (11/21). SR F Chehales Tapscott had a game-high 19 points (8-10 FG), while SR C Nate Lozeau scored 14 with a career-high 12 rebounds.

2011-12  SEASON NOTES
VIKINGS SIGN PROSSER EARLY: Portland State men's basketball coach Tyler Geving announced the signing of Lamont Prosser on Nov. 8 to a National Letter of Intent for the 2012-13 academic year. Prosser is currently a sophomore forward at Sheridan (WY) Junior College.
    
Prosser, 6-8, 255-pounder from Fort Wayne, IN, was a second team All-Region 9 selection last season at Sheridan. In 34 games, he averaged 12.2 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting .542 from the field.
    
“Lamont is a big low-post presence,” said Geving. “Losing (senior starting center) Nate Lozeau (next year), Lamont is a guy that can step right in to that role and play at the Division I level. He is a proven back-to-the-basket player. I am excited about his height, size and ability to play with his back to the basket.”
    
“Coach (Anthony) Owens did a great job of recruiting Lamont and building a relationship with him and his family.”
    
Prosser will give the Vikings quality size in 2012-13 as they will lose Lozeau and top rebounding forward Chehales Tapscott to graduation.