complete notes in pdf

PORTLAND STATE AT OREGON
Monday, November 12, 2012, 6:35 p.m. • Matthew Knight Arena (12,369), Eugene, OR

PORTLAND STATE: 1-0 • Big Sky: 0-0 • Home: 1-0 • Road: 0-0
OREGON: 1-0 • Pac-12: 0-0 • Home: 1-0 • Road: 0-0

Television: Pac-12 Network
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 6 p.m.
Live Video Stream: None
Live Stats: http://www.goducks.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500

All-Time Series: Oregon leads 9-2
Most recent meeting (Dec. 12, 2011 in Eugene): UO 79-70

THE OPENING TIP
Portland State opens an extremely challenging stretch of four straight road games with a Monday night contest at the University of Oregon. The Vikings square off in a 6:30 game at Matthew Knight Arena that will be televised on the Pac-12 Network. The game also airs on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com.
    
The Vikings, coming off a 77-58 win over Pacific on Friday, follow the Oregon game with contests at Portland (Nov. 21), Oklahoma State (Nov. 25) and Loyola Marymount (Dec. 1).
    
PSU then rounds out its preseason schedule with home games against Oregon State (Dec. 12) and George Fox (Dec. 15).
    
Big Sky Conference play begins at home against Idaho State on Dec. 20. PSU follows on Dec. 22 by hosting Weber State. That begins an expanded 20-game Big Sky schedule. The league has added two new full-time members in 2012-13, North Dakota and Southern Utah.

THE SERIES: Portland State and Oregon meet for the 12th time in 17 seasons and the third year in a row. Oregon leads the series, 9-2, including a 6-2 advantage in Eugene. The Ducks are 3-0 in Portland... PSU's wins came in 1997-98 (56-54) and 2005-06 (54-52) at old MacArthur Court.

LAST SEASON: Oregon pulled out a 79-70 win last Dec. 12 in the Vikings' first-ever appearance in Matthew Knight Arena. PSU led 20-16, but the Ducks went on an 18-7 run to close the first half. The Vikings never led again, but were with three with 1:25 to play. DeVoe Joseph hit a driving shot and six straight free throws to seal the win for Oregon. EJ Singler led Oregon with 19 points and seven rebounds. Chehales Tapscott had 16 points and five rebounds for the Vikings. Among PSU's returners, Lateef McMullan scored 14, Michael Harthun had 10, Renado Parker nine and Gary Winston five.

VIKINGS vs. THE PAC-12: Portland State is 4-46 all-time against current members of the Pac-12. Two of those wins have come against Oregon (2-9) and two have come against Arizona State (2-3). PSU is 0-12 against a future Pac-12 opponent, Oregon State.

THE COACHES: Portland State Head Coach Tyler Geving has a 45-50 record in his fourth season. Geving has a 21-22 record against non-conference opponents. He is 0-6 against Pac-12 teams, including 0-2 against Oregon... Oregon Head Coach Dana Altman is 456-271 in his 24th year as a collegiate coach. Altman is 46-28 in his third season at Oregon, including 2-0 against Portland State.

THE DUCKS: The Ducks are 1-0 after defeating Northern Arizona, 83-73, on Saturday. Center Tony Woods led four players in double figures with 14 points and seven rebounds. EJ Singler added 12 points and eight rebounds... Oregon was 24-10 in 2011-12. The Ducks were 13-5 and tied for second place in the Pac-12. Two starters and five letterwinners return from that team. Senior forward EJ Singler is the top returning scorer (13.6) and rebounder (5.6).

LOCAL ANGLE: For just the third time in history, Portland State will play the other three in-state Division I schools in the same season. The Vikings play at Oregon on Nov. 12, at Portland on Nov. 21, then host Oregon State on Dec. 12. The other two seasons in which that triple occured were 1996-97 and 2002-03. PSU is 2-9 against Oregon since reinstating basketball in 1996-97, 7-8 against Portland and 0-5 against Oregon State.

RECENT GAME: VIKINGS HOLD OFF UPSET-MINDED CAVS, 96-93
    PORTLAND, OR – Sophomore Dre Winston Jr. got his inaugural season at Portland State off to a fast start tallying 16 points and helping to lift PSU to a 77-58 victory against Pacific (Ore.) at the Peter W. Stott Center, on Friday night. Winston shot 5-of-6 from the floor and 3-for-4 from three-point range helping the Vikings improve to 1-0.
    While Winston sparked the offensive effort for PSU, Renado Parker took care of the glass, grabbing eight boards. Parker reeled in seven defensive rebounds and finished with eight points for the contest. The Vikings spread around the assists as three different players tallied three helpers each.
    Danny Brakebush had a nice start to his Pacific career as he tallied 17 points, shooting 7-of-9 and 3-for-5 from three-point range. Dustin Bowser led the team in rebounds with four total, while four different Boxers registered two assists apiece.
    PSU jumped out to an early 19-11 lead but Pacific narrowed the gap going on a 9-3 run of its own to make it 22-20, PSU, capped by a Brakebush trey.
    A  Brandon Cataldo layup and Parker jumper made it 26-20 with 4:34 left in the first half.
    The Boxers cut the deficit to two for the second time in the frame as Daniel Zitani drained two free throws and nailed a jumper to make it 26-24, Viks.
    PSU didn't wait long to reassert itself as Winston sparked a 13-4 run and Portland State closed out the first half 39-28.
    Winston was the Viks' leader in points in the first half as he shot 4-for-4 and 3-for-3 from behind the arc for 13 points.
    Brakebush had a big first half for Pacific, shooting 4-of-5 from the floor with 10 points, two rebounds and one assist. Both Brakebush and Zitani tallied two rebounds in the first stanza.
    Portland State kept up the momentum in the second half as the team went on a 14-8 run in the first eight minutes capped off by a Michael Harvey jumper, and never looked back. PSU kept up the pressure maintain its double-digit lead through the rest of the game.
    PSU finished the game shooting 56 percent as a team while Pacific only managed to hit 41 precent shots.
    GAME NOTES: PSU is now 8-9 in season debuts since reinstating men's basketball... the squad is 13-4 in home openers during that span.

A LOOK BACK
The Portland State Vikings went 17-15 in 2011-12, their best record since a 23-10 campaign in 2008-09. The Vikings 10-6 mark and third place finish was also a best since going 11-5 and placing second in 2008-09.
    
The Vikings were led by a pair of first team All-Big Sky Conference performers in Chehales Tapscott (14.1 ppg, 9.3 rpg) and Charles Odum (19.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg). Those two have since graduated.
    
Senior guards Lateef McMullan (9.4 ppg, 2.9 apg) and Michael Harthun (8.6 ppg, 48 3-pt FG) are the only returning starters from that team. However, returning forward Renado Parker (9.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, .568 FG%) and guard Gary Winston (6.5 ppg, 35 3-pt FG) were also primary contributors.

FAST BREAKS
WINNING LINES:
• Portland State is 1-0 this season. The Vikings are 1-0 at home.
• PSU has won five straight home games dating to last season.
• The Vikings have lost their last two road games of last season.
In 2011-12...
• Portland State was 17-15 - its best season since 2008-09 (23-10).
• The Vikings were 10-6 in the Big Sky Conference, placing third, also its best finish since 2008-09 (2nd)
• PSU was 10-3 at home, 5-11 on the road and 2-1 in neutral site games.

THE COACH: Head Coach Tyler Geving begins his fourth season in 2012-13. The Vikings have improved each year he has been at the helm from 13-19 to 14-16 to 17-15. Most significant, the Vikings were 10-6 in the Big Sky Conference in 2011-12, placing third. PSU has twice reached the semifinals in the Big Sky Tournament under Geving (2010 and 2012)... in 2011-12, Geving set personal marks for most wins (17), most Big Sky wins (10), best Big Sky finish (3rd) and best home winning percentage (.769)... Geving spent four seasons as an assistant at PSU before being named Head Coach... the fourth-year Head Coach is assisted by Andy McClouskey (3rd year, Oregon State, 1982), Eric Harper (8th year, Central Washington, 1995) and Anthony Owens (4th year, Great Falls, 2006). Former Viking player Mickey Polis is the Director of Operations (4th year, Portland State, 2009).

GREAT START FOR DRE: SO G Dre Winston Jr. has gotten his Portland State career off to a great start. Winston Jr. transferred to Portland State from Washington State where he played as a freshman, then sat out last season as a redshirt... Winston Jr. had 25 points and three assists in the Vikings' exhibition win over Concordia on Nov. 2. Then, he led the Vikings in scoring in the season-opening 77-58 win over Pacific (OR) on Nov. 9. Winston totaled 16 points (5-6 FG, 3-4 FT, 3-4 FT) with three assists in that win.

MOORE, MOORE, MOORE: Another new Viking off to a good start is JR F Aaron Moore. The 6-8 JC transfer had 11 points and three rebounds off the bench in the exhibition win over Concordia. Then, Moore got the start against Pacific totaling 13 points (5-7 FG, 3-4 FT) and five rebounds in 24 minutes.

PARKER'S PART: Though he has been touted as one of the Vikings' top returning player, if not the top player, SR F Renado Parker made just his first career start last Friday in the win over Pacific. Though he did not have a big offensive night, Parker was solid all the way around with eight points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists.

BALANCED ATTACK: Portland State does not have a freshman on the roster in 2012-13. But, the Vikings do have a balanced roster with five sophomores, five juniors and five seniors... every player on the Viking roster is 20 or older... there are only six schools in the nation that do not have a freshman on the roster - true or redshirt. They are: Portland State, Ohio, Southern Illinois Edwardsville, Savannah State, Alabama-Birmingham, and Valparaiso.