Complete notes and stats in pdf

With two games remaining on the 2010-11 schedule, Portland State travels to Northern Arizona this Wednesday to complete its Big Sky Conference season. The Vikings will play the Lumberjacks in a 5:35 p.m. PT game that airs on Freedom 970 AM and www.970.am. It will also be televised on Fox Sports Northwest, channel 34 and HD 734 in the Portland area. FSN NW is picking up the Fox Sports Arizona feed.
   
PSU (13-15, 5-10) will play its final game of the season on Mar. 10 in a non-conference matchup at Seattle University. Now at 13 wins, Portland State has matched last year's total in four fewer games and despite numerous injuries. PSU completed its home schedule at 10-5. The Vikings are just 1-10 on the road (2-0 in neutral site games).
   
The Vikings hope to complete their season on an upswing. The past 10 days have gone well. PSU completed its home schedule last Saturday with a 69-64 win over Montana State. That was the second win in three games after a run of eight losses in 10 games. The Vikings nearly upset 20-win Montana last Thursday as well, losing 85-84.
   
Northern Arizona is 17-11 this season, 8-7 in the Big Sky. The Lumberjacks are in fourth place in confernece with no chance to move up in the season's final week. NAU is 10-1 at home this year. The 'Jacks beat the Vikings, 71-59, in a Big Sky Conference/Altitude TV Game of the Week from the Stott Center on Jan. 22.
   
The games in Flagstaff the past two seasons between Portland State and Northern Arizona have been memorable, resulting in six overtimes and a win for each team.

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (13-15, 5-10) vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA L'JACKS (17-11, 8-7)
Wednesday, Mar. 2, 5:35 p.m. PT @ Rolle Activity Center (2,000), Flagstaff, AZ
Television: Fox Sports Net in Portland (ch. 34/HD 734)
Play-by-play: Mitch Strohmann
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.970.am • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 5 p.m. PT
Live Video Stream: www.b2tv.com • Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
All-Time Series: PSU leads 19-16 • PSU in Flagstaff: 6-9
Big Sky Series: PSU leads 17-15 • PSU in Flagstaff: 5-9

STORYLINES
• The series: Although Northern Arizona has won the last three games in the series, the Vikings maintain a 19-16 all-time lead and 17-15 Big Sky lead... PSU had won six in a row prior to that... the Vikings are 5-9 in Big Sky games in Flagstaff.
• Jan. 22: Northern Arizona routed the Vikings in the season's first meeting, taking a 34-18 halftime lead and going on to a 71-59 win at the Stott Center. NAU shot .596 from the field. PSU made only five first-half field goals (5-24, .208)... Cameron Jones scored 25 points with seven rebounds and four assists... Charles Odum led the Vikings with 16 points and nine rebounds.
• Get Ready For a Long Night: Portland State's last two trips to Flagstaff have resulted in a combined six overtimes. The Vikings beat NAU, 92-91, in four overtimes in 2009. Dominic Waters scored 41 points for PSU in that game to lead the win... last season, NAU prevailed in double overtime, 86-85. Waters scored 29 points, while Cameron Jones scored 26 for the Lumberjacks.
• The Lumberjacks: Northern Arizona was 14-14 last season, 8-8 in the Big Sky Conference, placing fifth... two starters and nine letterwinners return from that team. Included is guard Cameron Jones, a first-team All-Big Sky Conference performer. Jones had 50 points, hitting 20-32 shots, against the Vikings in two games last season... Head Coach Mike Adras is in his 12th year at Northern Arizona. He has a 189-161 record. Adras is 11-14 all-time against Portland State.
• This year: The 'Jacks are led once again by Cameron Jones, who is averaging 20.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and  3.0 assists... Stallon Salvidar is tops in the Big Sky with 5.6 assists per game... Gabe Rogers averages 13.2 points and shoots .490 from three-point range, which ranks second in the nation... Shane Johannsen shoots a league-leading .733 from the field... Northern Arizona shoots a league-best .493 from the field - second in the nation - and .431 from three-point range - which leads the nation.

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 26-34 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 0-3 against Northern Arizona. He is 13-20 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.
VIKINGS ON TV: Portland State has four 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.), and one is on Fox Sports Net: Mar. 2 at Northern Arizona (5:30 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.

VIKINGS REWIND: PORTLAND STATE 69, MONTANA STATE 64
Portland, OR - Trailing by 10 with nine minutes to go, Portland State found a way to salvage Senior Night at the Stott Center, beating Montana State, 69-64.
   
If ever there was a basketball game of ebb and flow, this one was it. Most important to the Vikings though, was the flow of a 26-11 run in the closing minutes to capture the win. PSU improved to 13-15 on the season - matching its win total of 2009-10 - and went to 5-10 in the Big Sky Conference.
   
Portland's frigid temperatures outside drifted into the Stott Center for the first 10 minutes of the contest. PSU hit three of its first 14 shots, while MSU made only three of its first 17 shots.
    
Trailing 10-8 midway through the first half, the Vikings went on a 22-6 run. PSU scored 11 points off Bobcat turnovers in the rally and led 30-16 with 2:38 left in the half. Montana State came back to score the last seven points of the half and close PSU's advantage to 30-23.
   
The Bobcats made just 9-30 shots (.300) in the half, while PSU was 12-32 (.375). The difference was turnovers as MSU had seven for 11 Viking points while PSU had just three giveaways for three points.
   
Danny Piepoli led the Bobcat rush as it continued in the second half. After a 10-2 opening run by MSU, the Vikings had given back all of their big lead. Once Montana State got the lead, it grew. Piepoli scored 14 points over a span of 12 minutes. MSU made 12 of its first 17 shots in the half (.708) and built a 10-point lead.
   
A Piepoli three-pointer made it 53-43 Bobcats with 9:01 to play. But PSU's defense and strong second-half rebounding turned the tide. MSU would make just 2-11 shots the rest of the way.
   
A pair of fast break baskets by Charles Odum sparked a 9-0 Viking run and the Vikings finally took back the lead at 58-57 with 2:52 to play. Another jumper by Piepoli gave the Bobcats a brief advantage at the 2:29 mark, then it was all PSU the rest of the way.
   
Portland State made 9-10 free throws in the last two minutes. The Vikings also got a big jump shot from Tree Thomas at the 54-second mark to close out the win.
   
“That was a big shot (by Thomas), and the great thing about that is he is a senior. His parents were here tonight from Oakland and this was the first time they have been up to see him play,” said Viking Coach Tyler Geving.
   
Odum led Portland State with 16 points, including a pair of three-pointers in the second-half comeback. Thomas scored 14 points with seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
   
The Vikings shot just 41% for the game, but clamped down on defense when they needed to, and held a 22-12 rebound advantage in the second half. Chehales Tapscott grabbed a game-high 11 boards for the Vikings.
   
Piepoli had 19 to lead Montana State, who shot 40% for the game. Bobby Howard added 15 points and seven rebounds.
       
WINNING LINES 
• PSU was 10-5 at home this year, 4-4 in Big Sky home games... since the start of the 2007-08 season, Portland State is 43-11 at home, including 27-8 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 111-38 in 149 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 142-53 at home over the past 16 seasons.
• PSU is 37-26 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 42-27 including tournament games.
• Portland State is 22-22 all-time in overtime games, including 0-2 last season.

5 x 10: Portland State has four players averaging 10 or more points this year (JR G Charles Odum, 14.5; SO G Chris Harriel 12.9; JR F Chehales Tapscott 12.0; SR G Melvin Jones, 11.2), with SR F Tree Thomas knocking on the door at 9.9 points per game... in Big Sky games, those five all average 10 points or better, led by 16.0 ppg by Odom.

GOOD HANDLE: Portland State ranks second in the Big Sky Conference with just 12.3 turnovers per game. In addition, the Vikings have averaged only 8.4 turnovers over the last five games... PSU averages 10.4 turnovers in Big Sky games, fewest in the league.

TAP IS BACK: In his last three games, JR F Chehales Tapscott has played brilliantly, averaging 16.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Tapscott had 13 points and 10 rebounds against Loyola Marymount, a career-high 28 points (12-16 FG, 1-1 3-pt , 3-7 FT) with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals against Montana, then nine points, 11 assists, three assists and two blocks against Montana State. He shot 22-38 from the field in those games (.579). What makes that particularly impressive is those games were all within a month of Tapscott having right knee surgery (Jan. 26)... to carry the value of top rebounder Tapscott a step further, the Vikings are 11-9 when he starts, 2-6 when he doesn't start.

THEY MADE IT TO 13, NOW THEY WANT MORE: Portland State's win over Montana State was victory number 13 this season (13-15). That matches last year's win total (13-19) in four fewer games - a pretty good achievement considering all the injuries that have affected the Vikings this year. Now the Vikings will try to better last year's win total in the final two games. It won't be easy as the Vikings play both on the road where they are just 1-10. PSU plays at Northern Arizona (whom they lost to on Jan. 22 at the Stott Center), and at Seattle (whom they defeated on Dec. 1 at the Stott Center)... PSU's 13 wins ties for eighth-most in 15 seasons since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: Portland State is 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. 

GIVING HIS BIG SKY BEST: JR G Charles Odum has been tearing up the Big Sky. In 15 Big Sky games, Odum averages a team-best 16.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He is shooting .567 from the field, .488 from three-point range and .704 at the line in Big Sky games. Odum has led the team in scoring seven times and twice set a new career-high. He has career-high 24-point games at Montana (1/15) and against Idaho State (2/10), and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds against Northern Arizona (1/22)... Odum was averaging 12.7 points in non-conference games... Odum now averages a team-leading 14.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, shoots .533 from the field, .417 from three-point range and .724 at the line for the season.

HE'S GOT A HANDLE ON IT: Moving JR G Charles Odum into the starting lineup meant moving SR G Melvin Jones over to the point from his more comfortable shooting-guard role. Jones has responded by committing just 18 turnovers in 17 games... Jones is averaging 11.2 points, 2.4 assists and has a team-best of 67 three-point field goals... Jones ranks fourth all-time in three-pointers made at Portland State with 148.

TOWERING TREE: SR F Tree Thomas went for a career-high 29 points in the Vikings' win over Sacramento State on Jan. 29. He made 9-16 from the field and 11-13 at the line. It was the most points scored by a Viking in 49 games (32 by Dominic Waters on Nov. 21, 2009 against Cal Poly)... Thomas has averaged 13.3 points and shot .530 from the field in his last 12 games. That has raised his scoring average to 9.9 per game this year. Thomas is now shooting .500 from the field and .792 at the line. He averages 11.5 points and shoots .512 in Big Sky Conference games.

TAP-IN: A knee injury for JR F Chehales Tapscott put his season on hold for three weeks. He missed six games and underwent surgery on Jan. 26 to repair cartilage damage in his right knee. Tapscott's return came at Weber State (2/16), where he had five points and six rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench. In his last three games, he has looked like the Tapscott of old, averaging 16.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and shooting .579 from the field. Tapscott had a career-high 28 points (12-16 FG) and seven rebounds against Montana... the former NWAACC Player of the Year from Clackamas CC is averaging 12.0 points, a team-high 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He is shooting .473 from the field and has a team-best 15 blocked shots.

LOOKING FOR A SLUMP BUSTER: SO G Chris Harriel has gone through a shooting slump in the last 13 games, averaging just 8.3 points and shooting 28% from the field. Prior to that, he was averaging 16.2 points. However, Harriel has still proven to be a valuable performer. In the last three games, he has 17 rebounds, 10 assists and five steals... Harriel has set new career scoring (25) and rebounding (12) highs this year... Harriel averages 12.9 points per game, 5.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 steals.

DANE'S DIMES: Coach Tyler Geving has gone back to using JR G Dane Johnson exclusively as backup point guard. He has averaged 19 minutes per game over the last nine contests and handed out 33 assists during that span (3.6 pg) against just six turnovers... Johnson leads the Vikings this year with 83 assists while starting 12 games and averaging 18 minutes... Johnson had a career-high 12 points at Northern Colorado (3-3 3-pt FG, 3-3 FT), four assists and two steals... he shoots .521 from the field, .400 from three-point range and has a remarkable 83/30 assist-to-turnover ratio which ranks second in the Big Sky Conference and 15th in the nation (2.8 a/to).

A DIFFERENT ROLE: SR F Phil Nelson moved back to the bench with the return of JR F Chehales Tapscott. Although he was exclusively a starter in his first two seasons as a Viking, the sixth-man role might fit him better... since returning from injury 14 games ago, he has shot just .279 from the field and .294 from three-point range, averaging 6.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in 25 minutes per game. His numbers are down from the previous two seasons and certainly are related to his foot injuries and conditioning. Nelson's long-awaited return came on Jan. 8 against Eastern Washington. He had missed 26 straight games after breaking his left foot twice. Nelson broke his foot late last January, missing the final 12 games of the season. He had been averaging 12.9 points and had 48 three-point field goals through 20 games. Nelson reinjured the foot on Nov. 8 and missed the first 14 games of this year. PSU went 13-13 in the 26 games Nelson had missed since Jan. 30... Nelson has started 57 games in his Viking career. PSU is 32-25 in those games and 36-31 overall in games he plays.