complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (5-2) vs. UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES (5-4)
Saturday, December 10, 2011, 6:05 p.m. PT @ UCCU Center (8,500), Orem, UT
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 5:30 p.m.
Live Video Stream: uvu.edu/uvutv • Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
All-Time Series: PSU leads 3-0 • PSU in Orem: 1-0

The Portland State Vikings will begin an extensive road schedule during the month of December when they travel to face Utah Valley this Saturday. The Vikings and the Wolverines meet in a 6:05 p.m. PT game at the UCCU Center in Orem, UT. The game will air on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com. It is also available free via live stream at www.uvu.edu/uvutv.
    
Portland State, winner of three in a row, are now 5-2 on the season. It marks the second straight year the Vikings have gotten to 5-2 in the early season. PSU went 6-2 last year before injuries slowed the team down. The Vikings are 3-0 at home, 2-2 away from home with both victories being neutral site wins.
    
Utah Valley is 5-4 this season, including 5-0 at home. The Wolverines will play at Utah State on Tuesday prior to facing the Vikings.
    
Portland State won its last outing at home, a 102-47 decision over Walla Walla University, an NAIA Division II school. The Vikings have road losses over Denver and Wyoming this year, and neutral site wins over Louisiana Tech and Maryland-Eastern Shore.
    
The game at Utah Valley is one of nine preseason road contests. It also begins a string of six out of seven on the road overall. After the UVU game, the Vikings play at Oregon on Dec. 12. Following a home game against Cal State Bakersfield on Dec. 15, PSU travels to Oregon State (Dec. 18) and Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 22). The Vikings then open conference play after Christmas on the road at Montana (Dec. 28) and Montana State (Dec. 30).

STORYLINES
• The series: Portland State and Utah Valley will be meeting for the fourth time in history. The Vikings lead the all-time series, 3-0... PSU won 73-53 last Dec. 23 at the Stott Center... the Vikings only trip to Orem, on Dec. 1, 2007, resulted in a 60-53 overtime win... the teams have one common opponent this year; Wyoming. Both lost to the Cowboys in Laramie (PSU lost 65-51, while Utah Valley lost 74-41).
• Last year: Charles Odum led the Vikings with 17 points and seven rebounds in the Vikings' 73-53 win over the Wolverines. Chehales Tapscott added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Neither team shot well as PSU was .369 from the field and Utah Valley was .362 from the field. The difference was the Wolverines doubled up the Vikings in turnovers (18-9) and made just over half as many at the line (9-13 for UVU to 17-25 for PSU). Isiah Williams scored 26 for Utah Valley and Geddes Robinson grabbed 15 rebounds.
• The Wolverines: Utah Valley is a member of the Great West Conference. The Wolverines were 19-11 last season, 11-1 and first place in league play. Four starters and five letterwinners return from that team... guard Isiah Williams leads the team in scoring with 15.1 points per game this season. He has made 21 three-point field goals in nine games... forward Geddes Robinson is averaging a double-double with 11.6 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. He is shooting .678 from the field... the Wolverines have held opponents to .370 shooting from the field, .249 from three-point range and just 61.2 points per game.
• Head Coach Dick Hunsaker is in his 10th season with Utah Valley. He has a 172-101 record. In 18 years as a collegiate coach, Hunsaker is 339-174... Hunsaker is 0-3 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 32-37 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:
    • 19-16 all-time in non-conference games, 13-21 all-time against Big Sky Conference opponents.
    • Geving is 21-9 at home. He is 11-28 on the road, including 4-2 in neutral site games.
    • Geving is 1-0 all-time against Utah Valley.

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 three 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. 18 at Oregon State on Root Sports; and Jan. 29 vs. Montana on Altitude/CSN. Other televised games are expected to be announced later this fall.
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.
TICKETS: Tickets for all home games are available for $15 (reserved) and $10 (general admission). Youth prices are $10 and $7. Groups of 15 or more get special admission prices. To purchase tickets by phone, call 1.888.VIK.TIKS or 503.725.3307. Tickets are on sale at the PSU Ticket Office, located in Smith Memorial Student Union. Tickets are also available at the Stott Center beginning 90 minutes prior to tipoff.

RECENT GAME: VIKINGS ROUT WALLA WALLA, 102-47
    Portland, OR - Portland State routed Walla Walla University last Saturday, 102-47, for its third straight win, improving to 5-2 on the season.
    Senior center Nate Lozeau scored a game-high 18 points with nine rebounds. Lozeau made 8-10 from the field and 2-2 at the line. Senior guard Charles Odum added 17 points, four rebounds and four assists in just 19 minutes of play. Junior guard Lateef McMullan had season-highs of 14 points and four assists.
    The Wolves made five of their first six shots, then missed 10 in a row. The Vikings took the lead for good at the 15:31 mark of the first half. Odum hit a driving shot in the lane to give PSU a 13-11 advantage in the midst of a 15-0 run.
    After Walla Walla led 11-8 early, Portland State outscored the Wolves 42-11 for the rest of the half. The Vikings led 50-22 at halftime after shooting 53% from the field. Walla Walla made just 10-30 for 33%.
    Viking Coach Tyler Geving cleared the bench in the second half, giving several players big minutes. Freshman Jerron Smith dropped in 15 points with three rebounds and three assists to lead that group. All 11 Vikings available to play scored in the game.
    PSU shot .566 for the game, hitting 43-76 from the field. The Vikings outrebounded Walla Walla, 52-22. The Wolves finished 19-58 from the field for a .328 mark.
    Walla Walla dropped to 1-12 on the season. The Wolves were led by 13 points from Andrew Bailey.
    GAME NOTES: Walla Walla University is an NAIA Division II school… Head Coach Tyler Geving is now 5-0 all-time against lower division schools… the Vikings scored 100+ against both lower division schools this year, Linfield (101-64) and Walla Walla… PSU's longest winning streak in 2010-11 was three games.

FAST BREAKS
WINNING LINES  
• Portland State has won three games in a row, matching its' longest winning streak of the 2010-11 season... the longest winning streak under Coach Tyler Geving was a four-gamer, Dec. 2-13, 2009 (Portland, Eastern Washington, Linfield, Pepperdine).
• The Vikings are 5-2 after seven games for the second straight year. The Vikings got to 6-2 last year before dropping three in a row in mid-December.
• 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 2-2 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 it has been paying off. The Vikings are allowing just 61.0 points through seven games to rank first in the Big Sky and the most any opponent has scored this year is 69 points. Opponents are shooting just .390 from the field and .238 from three-point range - also league-leading numbers. Aiding the effort is a +10.0 rebounding margin - which leads the Big Sky as well... the 48 points allowed Louisiana Tech were the fewest given up in 77 games by the Vikings (and during Geving's tenure). PSU then allowed just 47 to Walla Walla last week.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: In NCAA statistics released on Monday, Portland State maintains some high rankings among the 338 Division I schools:
• 6th in rebounding margin, +10.0
• 9th in three-point field goal percentage defense, .238
• 38th in scoring margin, +14.1
• 7th in fewest personal fouls per game, 14.1
• SR C Nate Lozeau ranks eighth in field goal percentage, .661
• SR G Charles Odum ranks 15th in free throw percentage, .929
• SR F Chehales Tapscott ranks 41st in rebounding, 9.3

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 more than twice as many free throws as its opponents have, and made more than 65% more than its opponents have attempted (PSU 125-170, .735; Opponents 48-74, .649).

C-NOTES: Portland State scored 101 points against Linfield (11/21), 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... the Vikings racked up another 100 last week in a 102-47 win over Walla Walla. It was the third 100-point game under Head Coach Tyler Geving... PSU is 79-6 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.

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 17.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 steals. He is shooting a stellar .519 from the field and .929 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 3-25 (.120) so far this year. That means he is shooting 37-52 on two-point attempts, a remarkable .712 percentage. In fact, over the last five games, Odum has made 30-37 from two-point distance (.811)... season highlights:
• Odum averages a team-high 17.4 points and 1.8 steals per game, as well as .929 from the line. He also averages 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists. Odum shoots .519 from the field.
• Odum has scored in double figures in six of seven games this season.
• 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 big men have dominated during the first six games of the season. SR C Nate Lozeau and SR F Chehales Tapscott have combined to average 26.0 points, 17.9 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 2.3 steals per game. They are shooting 66-120 from the field (.550). Tapscott (9.3) and Lozeau (8.6) rank first and third in the Big Sky Conference in rebounding. Lozeau leads in field goal percentage (.661), and Tapscott is second in blocked shots (9).
 
TAP-INS: SR F Chehales Tapscott is a double-double waiting to happen. He is averaging 13.1 points and 9.3 rebounds this season with three 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 13 steals, 11 assists and nine blocked shots in seven games. Highlights this year:
• Tapscott leads the team in rebounding (9.3), blocks (9) and steals (13). He ranks second in scoring (13.1) while shooting .453 from the field and .723 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 three double-doubles this year, and nine in 31 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 eighth 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 .661 from the field (37-56) to lead the Big Sky Conference. He is averaging 12.9 points and 8.6 rebounds (10th 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).

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 on Nov. 18 and Winston has taken little time to make an impact. In five games, he has averaged 8.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists as the Vikings' sixth man. At 9-14 from three-point range, he has proven to be PSU's top long-range shooter (.643).

ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO: The Vikings may get two more players back this week. 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 may get doctor's clearance to play this Saturday... JR F Renado Parker will be eligible at the end of fall term due to his transfer status (arriving for winter term last year). With this being finals week at PSU, the 6-5 post is likely to get clearance to play at Utah Valley as well.

THUN-ING UP: JR G Michael Harthun (har-TOON) is starting to find the range from outside. He has made 5-10 three-pointers in the last two games. That is much needed as the Vikings have struggled overall from distance at just 31-124 for the season (4.4 pg, .250). Over the last five seasons, PSU has averaged at least seven three-pointers made per game and at least .352 from the arc as a team each year.

FRESHMAN FUN: The Portland State bench had a chance to express itself in the 102-47 win over Walla Walla. In fact, the bench played 105 of the 200 possible minutes. FR G Jerron Smith led the way with 15 points, three rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes. FR C Brandon Cataldo had nine points and four rebounds in 17 minutes. FR F Kidus Ephrem added six points, five rebounds and three assists in 19 minutes. The Vikings' five freshmen played 83 minutes overall, getting 37 points (16-24 FG, .667), 18 rebounds and nine assists.