Complete notes and stats in pdf

Portland State plays its final two home games this week, hosting Montana on Thursday and Montana State on Saturday. Both games tip off at 7:05 p.m. at the Stott Center and will be carried on Freedom 970 AM and www.970.am. They can also be seen via live video stream at www.b2tv.com.
   
The Vikings are coming off an 84-75 non-conference win over Loyola Marymount last Saturday. PSU was happy to stop a four-game losing streak and improve to 12-14 overall.
   
With four games remaining in the season, Portland State will attempt to match and surpass last year's win total (13-19). Home will be the best place to do so as the Vikings have compiled a 9-4 record in the Stott Center this year. But, PSU lost to both Montana schools on the road in January.
   
The Vikings also have a chance at the spoiler role as Montana (19-8, 11-3) comes into Thursday's game in first place in the Big Sky Conference. However, the Grizzlies hold just a half-game lead over Northern Colorado (10-3) in their quest for a Big Sky regular season title and an opportunity to host the Big Sky Tournament. Montana is 6-7 on the road this year, 3-3 in Big Sky road games. The Grizzlies have a four-game winning streak over the Vikings.
   
Montana State has been on a downward spiral in recent weeks, losing its last nine games in a row after starting the year at 11-7. The Bobcats (11-16, 5-8) are just 1-12 in road games this season and battling to remain among the league's top six teams and earn a berth into the Big Sky Tournament.

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (12-14, 4-9) vs. MONTANA GRIZZLIES (19-8, 11-3)
Thursday, February 24, 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: UM leads 26-20 • PSU in Portland: 14-8
Big Sky Series: UM leads 18-11 • PSU in Portland: 8-6

STORYLINES
• The series: Montana leads the all-time series (26-20) and the Big Sky series (18-11)... with a win in Missoula on Jan. 15 (77-70), the Grizzlies have won four straight overall... The Grizzlies beat the Vikings in Portland last year, 81-76... PSU leads the series in Portland, 14-8 all-time and 8-6 in Big Sky games.
• Jan. 15: The Vikings led 32-30 at halftime, but gave up 47 second-half points to lose 77-70. PSU shot just .406 from the field, while Montana shot .509... despite the loss, PSU was one of just six teams to score as many as 70 points against the Grizzlies this year... Charles Odum posted career-high 24 points and Tree Thomas added 18 points... Grizzlies center Brian Qvale scored 17 points with 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. Will Cherry scored 19 points with seven assists.
• The Grizzlies: Montana was 22-10 last season, placing in a tie for third in the Big Sky Conference with a 10-6 record. The Grizzlies went on to defeat Weber State in the Big Sky Championship game and advance to the NCAA Tournament. Two starters and five letterwinners return from that team, including All-Conference guard Will Cherry... Head Coach Wayne Tinkle is in his fifth season at Montana. He has an 89-61 career record. Tinkle is 4-3 all-time against the Vikings.
• This year: Montana has been the top defensive team in the Big Sky Conference, allowing just 59.8 points and forcing opponents to shoot .391 from the field. The main reason for that stout defense has been 7-foot center Brian Qvale, who averages 3.0 blocked shots to go with 15.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Qvale is the odds-on favorite for Big Sky Player of the Year... guard Will Cherry averages 14.2 points and 4.2 assists per game... Derek Selvig averages 10.6 points and 5.4 rebounds... in addition to leading the league in defense and field goal percentage defense, the Grizzlies lead in scoring margin (+7.4), three-point defense (.320), blocked shots (4.8) and steals (6.8)... Montana averages just 4.7 three-pointers made, eighth in the league.

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (12-14, 4-9) vs. MONTANA STATE BOBCATS (11-16, 5-8)
Saturday, February 26, 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: MSU leads 25-17 • PSU in Portland: 11-7
Big Sky Series: MSU leads 19-14 • PSU in Portland: 10-5

STORYLINES
• The series: Montana State leads the all-time series, 25-17 and the Big Sky series, 19-14... PSU has won all three meetings between the teams in Big Sky Tournament games - including the title game in 2008-09 in Ogden, UT... PSU is 11-7 all-time against MSU in Portland, 10-5 in Big Sky games... the Vikings are also 3-0 all-time in overtime games between the schools... with a 74-65 win in Bozeman on Jan. 13, the Bobcats have won three of the last four in the series, including a 79-71 win in Portland last year.
• Jan. 13: The Vikings lost 74-65 in Bozeman... PSU was outrebounded 42-33 in the loss, giving up 19 offensive boards... PSU led by four in the first half, but trailed for the final 27:31 of the game.. MSU's largest lead was 13 in the late-going... MSU overcame a 6-22 performance at the free throw line... with 16 points, Erik Rush led four Bobcats in double figures. Bobby Howard added 15 points and 12 rebounds... Chris Harriel had 17 points and eight rebounds to lead the Vikings. Charles Odum added 14 points.
• Big Bad Bobby: Montana State SR F Bobby Howard has been a thorn in the Vikings' side the past two seasons, totalling 72 points and 32 rebounds in the four meetings (18.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg), hitting 27-50 FGs and 12-16 FTs. Howard was a first team All-Big Sky Conference selection last year... SR F Erik Rush has 61 points and 25 rebounds in the four games (15.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg).
• The Bobcats: Montana State was 15-14 last season, 10-6 and third in the Big Sky Conference... two starters and four letterwinners return from that team... fifth year Head Coach Brad Huse leads the Bobcats. He has a 75-78 record on MSU, including 4-7 against the Vikings... in 13 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Huse is 259-148.
• This year: Montana State is 11-16 overall, 5-8 in the Big Sky and battling to remain in the playoff picture... the Bobcats have lost nine straight games coming into the week and are 1-12 on the road... the Bobcats shoot only .406 from the field, which ranks eighth in the conference... Erik Rush is third in the Big Sky with a 15.4 scoring average... Bobby Howard ranks fifth at 14.7 points per game. Howard is fourth in rebounding at 7.4 per contest.

VIKING BASKETBALL TAKES PART IN FOOD DRIVE MONTH
February is the annual Governor's State Employees Food Drive Month, and Portland State University is participating by placing food barrels throughout the campus during the entire month. The drive kicked off Monday, Jan. 31, and will run through Monday, Feb. 28.
   
Any fan bringing a food item for donation to the Food Drive for the Feb. 24 Montana game and/or Feb. 26 Montana State game will receive a discounted $7 ticket.
   
Hunger in Oregon continues to hover above the national average, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Due to the impacts of the current national recession, we are now amongst the hungriest states in the nation,” wrote then-governor elect John Kitzhaber in a Dec. 8 letter to food drive coordinators.
   
Non-perishable food items especially needed are canned foods, canned and boxed meals, peanut butter (plastic jars only please), pasta, rice, cereal, powdered milk and fruit juices. Monetary donations are also needed. Checks should be made payable to the Oregon Food Bank and will be collected by Amy Ross, Executive Assistant, President's Office (341 Cramer Hall).
   
For more information, go to http://www.oregon.gov/FOODDRIVE/

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 25-33 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 0-3 all-time against Montana, 1-3 against Montana State. He is 12-19 all-time against Big Sky Conference opponents. Geving is 13-14 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.

FAST BREAKS
WINNING LINES 
• PSU is 9-4 at home this year, 3-3 in Big Sky home games... since the start of the 2007-08 season, Portland State is 42-10 at home, including 26-7 in Big Sky Conference games.
• The Vikings are 3-10 on the road this season, including 2-0 in neutral site games... PSU is 1-6 in Big Sky road games.
• PSU has gone 110-37 in 147 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 141-52 at home over the past 15 seasons.
• PSU is 36-25 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 41-26 including tournament games.

ROAD WEARY IN THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE, ONE AND ALL: With as challenging a travel schedule as any league in the country, the Big Sky Conference proves how hard it is to win on the road - just by looking at records.
    • The bottom five teams in the league are an unbelievable 5-61 in road games.
    • The Vikings, currently in seventh in the conference, are only 1-10 on the road.
    • The top four teams (all with records over .500) are a mediocre 20-33 on the road.
    • In league play, the top two teams - Montana and Northern Colorado are 7-6 on the road. The other seven teams are 8-38 on the road. That makes 15-44 overall for road teams.

5 x 10: With five players scoring in double figures against Loyola Marymount, the Vikings came away with a convincing 84-75 win. SR G Melvin Jones led the way with 19 points... PSU has four players averaging 10 or more points this year, with SR F Tree Thomas knocking on the door at 9.8 points per game.

TAP IS BACK: With leading rebounder JR F Chehales Tapscott (8.2 pg) out with a knee injury, the Vikings were outrebounded by their last five opponents by an average of 10.8 boards per game. Tapscott came back to grab six rebounds in 17 minutes on Wednesday, but the Vikings were still outrebounded by 14 by Weber State. When Tapscott got back into the starting lineup Saturday against Loyola Marymount he produced 10 boards and the Vikings were able to battle the Lions - a much bigger, more physical, team - to a 39-39 draw on the glass. The result was an 84-75 Viking win... to carry the value of top rebounder Chehalis Tapscott a step further, the Vikings are 11-8 when he starts, 1-6 when he doesn't start.

BEST LINEUP?: Speaking of JR F Chehales Tapscott back in the starting lineup, the group of Tapscott, Melvin Jones, Charles Odum, Chris Harriel and Tree Thomas have started six games this year. They are 4-2 (.667) as a unit, the best percentage record of any of the seven different starting lineups this year. Expect that fivesome to start again this week.

A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE: Although the Vikings are two games under .500 at 12-14, they are two games ahead of last year's pace (10-16). PSU was 13-19 overall last season. 

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: With the win over Loyola Marymount, Portland State is now 8-5 in non-conference games (with one to go at Seattle on Mar. 10). Only twice have the Vikings won more non-conference games since joining the Big Sky (10 in 2008-09, 9 in 2006-07). This is the third time PSU has won eight non-conference games in a season over the last 16 years. 

WEST COAST KILLERS: PSU is 2-1 against WCC teams this year, beating Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount and losing to Portland... The Vikings are 4-2 against WCC teams in Head Coach Tyler Geving's two seasons... PSU is 7-2 against the WCC dating back to the start of the 2007-08 season, including 3-1 vs. Portland, 2-0 vs. Pepperdine, 1-0 vs. Gonzaga and Loyola Marymount and 0-1 vs. Saint Mary's. Wins over #7 Gonzaga (2008-09) and #25 Portland (2009-10) came against nationally-ranked teams.

BRACKETBUSTER WRAPUP: Portland State is now 2-3 in ESPN BracketBuster games in the last seven seasons. The home team has won every time. PSU is 2-2 in the return games and will have to return a game to Loyola Marymount in one of the next two seasons.
    Feb. 19, 2005: at Middle Tennessee State 83, Portland State 62
    Feb. 17, 2007: at Cal Poly 92, Portland State 87
    Feb. 23, 2008: at Cal State Fullerton 85, Portland State 69
    Feb. 21, 2009: at Portland State 93, Boise State 81
    Feb. 19, 2011: at Portland State 84, Loyola Marymount 75

SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL
• SR F Paul Guede hit a game-winning three-pointer with five seconds to play as the Vikings defeated Pepperdine, 83-81, in the season opener (11/12). SR G Melvin Jones scored 23 points, while SO G Chris Harriel (16) and SR F Tree Thomas (13) each had career-highs.
• SO G Chris Harriel scored 23 points with seven rebounds, three steals and two assists in a 102-98 win over Lamar (11/20). JR F Chehales Tapscott added a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. SR G Melvin Jones had 18 points, six assists and five rebounds as the Vikings shot a season-high .548 from the field.
• The Vikings held UC Riverside to just 7-28 from the field in the second half as they broke away from a halftime tie and beat the Highlanders, 69-58 (11/21). SO G Chris Harriel had a game-high 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
• PSU made 21-27 second-half free throws, and 26-32 overall in an 83-76 win over Seattle (12/1). SR G Melvin Jones led four Vikings in double figures with 23 points. JR F Chehales Tapscott had 12 points and 10 rebounds, while SO G Chris Harriel added 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
• JR G Charles Odum had a career-high 20 points, six rebounds and three assists as the Vikings routed George Fox (12/9). JR F Chehales Tapscott (18 pts, 12 reb, 3 blk) and JR C Nate Lozeau (16 pts, 10 reb, 3 st) each had double-doubles. JR G Dane Johnson added a career-high nine assists.
• Portland State came back from an 11-point deficit with 13:38 remaining to play, beating Cal State Fullerton (12/12), 93-89. The Vikings got a career-high 21 points from Charles Odum, including the Vikings final nine in the last 32 seconds when Odum made 7-7 FTs. SO G Chris Harriel hit his last six shots in the game and scored 18 of his 20 points in the second-half comeback. It was Portland State's sixth straight home win.
• PSU needed just eight non-conference games (6-2) to better its non-conference record from 2009-10 (5-9).
• JR F Chehales Tapscott scored a career-high 25 points (10-15 FG, 1-1 3-pt 4-4 FT) against Portland (12/18), adding nine rebounds and two steals. He became the fourth Viking this year to score 20 points in a game.
• The Vikings posted season-highs of 12 steals and eight blocked shots, while holding Utah Valley to 36% shooting in a 73-53 win (12/23). JR G Charles Odum, making his first start, led four Vikings in double figures with 17 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists. JR F Chehales Tapscott had his fourth double-double (10 pts, 11 reb) of the year.
• SO G Chris Harriel posted a career-high 25 points in leading the Vikings to a 79-72 win at Idaho State (1/2). Harriel hit 7-11 from three-point range in the game as PSU made a season-high 14-25 from distance (.560). JR G Charles Odum added 21 points, hitting 8-10 from the field, 3-4 from distance and 2-2 at the line.
• SO G Chris Harriel and JR F Chehales Tapscott each had double-doubles in leading the Vikings to a 74-58 win over Eastern Washington (1/8). Harriel posted 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Tapscott added 12 points and 12 rebounds in the win. PSU held EWU to just .308 shooting from the field in beating the Eagles for the sixth straight time.
• JR G Charles Odum scored a career-high 24 points and SR F Tree Thomas had a career-high 18 points in a 77-70 loss at Montana (1/15).
• Four Vikings were in double figures as Portland State defeated Weber State, 71-69, for the tenth win of the season. PSU came back from a six-point second-half deficit to get he win. JR G Charles Odum scored 16 points, while JR F Chehales Tapscott grabbed 11 rebounds.
• SR F Tree Thomas scored a career-high 29 points (9-16 FG, 11-13 FT) as the Vikings beat Sacramento State, 86-80 (1/29). PSU never trailed in the game, beating the Hornets for the eighth consecutive time. SR G Melvin Jones and JR G Charles Odum each scored 17 points.
• JR G Charles Odum tied his career-high with 24 points against Idaho State (2/10). Odum made 8-15 FGs, 2-4  3-pt FGs, 6-7 FTs in the game.
• SR G Melvin Jones led five Vikings in double figures with a team-high 19 points in an 84-75 win over Loyola Marymount (2/19).