complete game notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (5-3) vs. OREGON DUCKS (5-2)
Monday, December 12, 2011, 7 p.m. @ Matthew Knight Arena (12,369), Eugene, OR
Television: Comcast SportsNet (ch. 37/HD 737 in Portland) • Play-by-play: Jerry Allen • Analyst: Andy McNamara
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 6:30 p.m.
Live Video Stream: None • Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
All-Time Series: Oregon leads 8-2 • PSU in Eugene: 2-5

The Portland State Vikings look for a road win on Monday against the Oregon Ducks in a non-conference game at Matthew Knight Arena. The Vikings and Ducks meet in a 7 p.m game that will be televised on Comcast SportsNet Northwest in Portland (ch. 37/HD 737). The game also airs on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com.
    
Portland State, which lost a Saturday game to Utah Valley, 93-87, is now 5-3 on the season. The Vikings are 3-0 at home, 2-3 away from home with both victories being neutral site wins. The game with Oregon is the second in a nine-day stretch of four games, which includes a date at Oregon State as well (Dec. 18).
    
Oregon is 5-2 this season after a 74-70 win over Fresno State on Saturday in Eugene. The Ducks are 4-0 at home.    
    
The Vikings and the Ducks have no common opponents this season.
    
Portland State is in the midst of a stretch of six out of seven on the road. After the game at Oregon, the Vikings have a home game against Cal State Bakersfield (Dec. 15). PSU then travels to Oregon State (Dec. 18) and Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 22). The Vikings open conference play after Christmas on the road at Montana (Dec. 28) and Montana State (Dec. 30).

STORYLINES
• The series: Oregon leads the all-time series, 8-2, including 5-2 in Eugene... this will be the Vikings' first appearance in Matthew Knight Arena... the Ducks won a 68-49 decision at McArthur Court last season.
• PSU vs. the Pac-12: Portland State is 4-44 all-time against current members of the Pac-12 Conference. Two of those wins have come against Oregon. The Vikings have also beaten Arizona State twice (2-3). Otherwise, PSU has been whitewashed: 0-1 vs. Arizona, Cal, USC and UCLA; 0-2 against Stanford; 0-7 against Washington State; 0-9 against Washington; and 0-11 against Oregon State... PSU will play at Oregon State on Dec. 18 in the first meeting between the schools since 2002.
• Last year: Portland State played the Ducks close at McArthur Court last Dec. 5, but went stone cold over the last 10 minutes, failing to make a field goal. Oregon pulled away for a comfortable 68-49 win. The Vikings shot a season-low .296 from the field. Joevan Catron led the Ducks with a double-double (15 pts, 10 reb), while Garrett Sum added 14 points. Chris Harriel scored 12 points with nine rebounds and four assists for the Vikings.
• The Ducks: Oregon was 21-18 last year under first-year coach Dana Altman. The Ducks went 7-11 and tied for seventh in the (then)Pac-10. Three starters and five letterwinners return from that team... the Ducks have started the season at 5-2, and are led by Garrett Sim, who is averaging 13.0 points, 3.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game. Sim is shooting 59% from the field and 92% at the line this season. Forward EJ Singler averages 12.1 points and 4.4 rebounds. Playing in his first game on Saturday, transfer Devoe Joseph scored 18 points with four assists.
• Head Coach Dana Altman is in his second season Oregon. He has a 26-20 record with the Ducks. In 23 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Altman is 436-263... Altman is 1-0 all-time against the Vikings.

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 32-38 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:
    • 19-17 all-time in non-conference games, 13-21 all-time against Big Sky Conference opponents.
    • Geving is 21-9 at home. He is 11-29 on the road, including 4-2 in neutral site games.
    • Geving is 0-1 all-time against Oregon and 0-4 all-time against Pac-12 schools.

GAME WEEK ACTIVITIES
VIKINGS ON THE RADIO: All Portland State basketball games can be heard on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com. The Viking Pregame Show begins one-half hour prior to kickoff each week. Tom Hewitt does the play-by-play.
VIKINGS ON TELEVISION: Currently, Portland State has four games that are scheduled to be televised in the Portland area. They are: Nov. 11 against Denver (tape delay at 10:30) on Root Sports; Dec. 12 at Oregon on CSN; Dec. 18 at Oregon State on Root Sports; and Jan. 29 vs. Montana on Altitude/CSN. Other televised games are TBA.
VIKINGS ON THE INTERNET: 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.
TYLER GEVING WEEKLY ON 750 AM THE GAME: Viking Basketball Coach Tyler Geving can be heard every Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. on the Dave Smith Show on 750 AM The Game. Geving will review and preview Viking basketball games.

FAST BREAKS

WINNING LINES  
• Portland State's three-game winning streak came to an end at Utah Valley. It marked the first time UVU had beaten PSU in four meetings.
• The Vikings are 3-0 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 58-14 at home, including 29-11 in Big Sky Conference games.
• The Vikings are 2-3 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 114-38 in 152 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 145-53 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.

D-ING UP: Portland State has not been a strong defensive team the past few seasons. The caveat is the Vikings have always been a strong offensive team, leading the Big Sky Conference in scoring the last four years. This season, Head Coach Tyler Geving has placed an emphasis on defense and, prior to the loss at Utah Valley, it had been paying off. The Vikings were allowing just 61.0 points through seven games to rank first in the Big Sky, and the most any opponent had scored was 69 points. Aiding the effort was a +10.0 rebounding margin - which leads the Big Sky as well... Utah Valley changed that, shooting an opponent high .538 from the field and .943 at the line, and totaling 93 points... the Vikings now allow 65.0 points per game, .409 field goal shooting and .244 three-point shooting.

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 shot nearly twice as many free throws as its opponents have, and made 37% more than its opponents have attempted (PSU 149-200, .744; Opponents 81-109, .743).

PERILOUS PERIMETER: Portland State is struggling mightily from three-point range this season. And, considering how well the Vikings have done in virtually every other facet of the game, imagine where they might be with some solid three-point shooting. The Vikings made a seaosn-worst 1-14 from three-point range in a six-point loss at Utah Valley. For the year, the Vikings are only 32-138, .232. Making just 4.0 threes per game, PSU is way down from a team that has averaged at least seven per game over the last four years, while shooting .352 or better each year (and leading the Big Sky in scoring each year).

TWO DOWN, ONE TO GO: The Vikings got another player on the court at Utah Valley. JR F Renado Parker became eligible when fall term ended due to his transfer status (arriving for winter term last year). The 6-5 post made an impact right away, scoring 12 points (5-6 FG, 2-4 FT) with eight rebounds in 23 minutes... the Vikings had gotten NCAA clearance for FR G Gary Winston in game three. He averages 8.0 points and shoots 53% from three-point range... JR F Martin Whitmore has been out with an elbow injury suffered in the preseason exhibition game with Western Oregon. A strong perimeter shooter, Whitmore is expected to be back for the Cal State Bakersfield game on Thursday.

CHUCK WAGON: SR G Charles Odum has been the team-leader Coach Tyler Geving was expecting coming into the season. Odum averages a team-high 18.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 steals. He is shooting a stellar .505 from the field and .902 at the line. Odum's shooting would be even better if he could find the range from three-point distance. After hitting .395 from three-point range in 2010-11, Odum is just 4-31 (.129) so far this year. That means he is shooting 37-52 on two-point attempts, a remarkable .688 percentage. In fact, over the last six games, Odum has made 37-49 from two-point distance (.755)... season highlights:
• Odum has scored in double figures in seven games this season and has three 20-point games.
• In his last three road games, Odum is averaging 25.3 ppg.
• He was at his best at the Wyoming Jim Thorpe Classic, earning All-Tournament honors. Odum scored a career-high 27 points in a win over Louisiana Tech, then followed it with 25 points in a win over Maryland-Eastern Shore. He shot 16-28 from the field (.571) in those two games and 18-20 at the line (.900).
• Odum ranks second in scoring, third in steals and free throw percentage, and eighth in field goal percentage in the Big Sky.

INSIDE PRESENCE: Portland State's starting big men have dominated during the first eight games of the season. SR C Nate Lozeau and SR F Chehales Tapscott have combined to average 27.0 points, 17.6 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 2.4 steals per game. They are shooting 78-138 from the field (.565). Tapscott (9.6) and Lozeau (8.0) rank first and third in the Big Sky Conference in rebounding. Lozeau leads in field goal percentage (.662), and Tapscott is second in blocked shots (9).... add in JR F Renado Parker's one-game numbers and the three big men average 39.0 points and 25.6 rebounds. They shoot 83-144 (.576).
 
TAP-INS: SR F Chehales Tapscott is a double-double waiting to happen. He is averaging 13.6 points and 9.6 rebounds this season with four double-doubles... he grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in the win over Louisiana Tech - the most by a Viking in four seasons - to go with 11 points... Tapscott is doing a little of everything with 15 steals, 12 assists and nine blocked shots in seven games. Highlights this year:
• Tapscott leads the team in rebounding (9.6), blocks (9) and steals (15). He ranks second in scoring (13.6) while shooting .479 from the field and .736 at the line.
• The 6-5 forward scored six of the final eight points in a win over Seattle (11/15), 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 has four double-doubles this year to lead the Big Sky, and 10 in 32 career games at Portland State.
• Tapscott was named to the Wyoming Jim Thorpe Classic All-Tournament team (11.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg, five assists, four blocks, four steals).
• Tapscott ranks first in rebounding, second in blocked shots and sixth in scoring in the Big Sky.

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 .662 from the field (43-65) to lead the Big Sky Conference. He is averaging 13.4 points and 8.0 rebounds (7th and 3rd, respectively, in the Big Sky). Those numbers are up dramatically from 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds last year.
• Lozeau has posted three double-doubles (four career).