complete notes and stats in pdf
PORTLAND STATE AT MONTANA STATE
Thursday, January 3, 2013, 6:05 p.m. PT • Worthington Arena (7,250), Bozeman, MT
PORTLAND STATE: 3-6 • Big Sky: 1-1 • Home: 3-2 • Road: 0-4
MONTANA STATE: 3-7 • Big Sky: 0-2 • Home: 3-2 • Road: 0-5
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 5:30 p.m. PT
Live Video: www.BigSkyTV.org • Live Stats: http://vikslive.statb.us
All-Time Series: WSU leads 26-20 • PSU 4-19 in Bozeman
Big Sky Series: WSU leads 20-17 • PSU 3-14 in Bozeman
Last Year: MSU 86-73 at MSU; MSU 70-65 at PSU; PSU 75-53 at PSU
THE OPENING TIP
Portland State embarks on its opening Big Sky Conference road trip this week, and it will be what is traditionally the most challenging league trip of the season. PSU plays at Montana State on Thursday night, then faces Montana on Saturday. Both games tip off at 6:05 p.m. PT.
The Vikings, who opened Big Sky play before Christmas, are 3-6 overall, 1-1 in conference. PSU defeated Idaho State, then lost an overtime game to Weber State. Both contests were at home.
Portland State will look for its first road win of the year (0-4). The Vikings have dropped six straight road games dating to last year.
Montana State is 3-7 this season and dropped its opening Big Sky Conference games, losing at Northern Arizona (87-80) and Sacramento State (62-57) in close contests. The Bobcats are 3-2 at home.
Defending Big Sky Champion Montana is 6-4, 2-0 in the Big Sky. The Grizzlies won close games on the same trip, beating Northern Arizona, 62-56, and Sacramento State, 61-60. Montana is 3-1 at home and will face Eastern Washington on Thursday prior to meeting the Vikings.
Both Viking road games are non-televised, but can be seen via live streaming at www.BigSkyTV.org. The games air on Freedom 970 AM and www.Freedom970.com.
THE TOUGHEST TRIP: Portland State's annual journey through the state of Montana is always a difficult one. In fact, on the traditional travel partner weekends, none have been more challenging to find a win that Montana and Montana State. PSU is 3-14 in Big Sky games (including tourney) at Montana State, 3-13 at Montana. That makes 6-27 overall.
PSU vs MSU LAST YEAR: Portland State lost both games to the Bobcats during the regular season (86-73 at MSU; 70-65 at PSU), but ended up hosting MSU in a Big Sky quarterfinal and coming away with a big win, 75-53. In fact, MSU has won five of the last six regular season meetings between the teams, but PSU has won both Big Sky Tournament matchups during that span... in MSU's home win, the Bobcats made their first nine shots, jumped to an 18-point lead and never looked back. Xavier Bluont scored 24 points and Christian Moon had 21... in a loss at the Stott Center, PSU led 58-43 with 11:39 to play, but went eight minutes without scoring and Montana State made a big comeback. Blount scored a game-high 15 points.
THE COACHES: Portland State Head Coach Tyler Geving has a 47-56 record in his fourth season. Geving has a 25-29 Big Sky Conference record. He is 3-5 against the Bobcats, 1-3 in Bozeman... Montana State Head Coach Brad Huse is 73-97 in six years with the Bobcats, including 6-7 against Portland State. He has 267-167 career coaching record in 14 seasons.
THE BOBCATS: Montana State, an original member of the Big Sky Conference, has won four regular season championships, and two Big Sky Tournament titles. MSU has made three NCAA Tournament appearances... last season, MSU was 12-17 overall, 7-9 and tied for fifth in the Big Sky... two starters and five letterwinners return from that team... the Bobcats and Vikings have two common opponents: Portland and Oregon State. MSU beat the Pilots but lost to OSU. PSU went 0-2 against those teams... Bobcat Xavier Blount is the team's leading scorer at 13.7 points per game. He also averages 5.0 rebounds... Christian Moon scores 13.0 points per game and Antonio Biglow is averaging 12.3 points and 3.4 assists... MSU shoots only .415 from the field and .324 from three-point distance but still averages nearly 74.8 points per game. That comes, no doubt, from a defense that forces more than 18.6 turnovers per game, averages a Big Sky-leading 9.4 steals and Big Sky-best 13.1 offensive rebounds per game. The Bobcats have taken 74 more shots than their opponents this season (7.4 more per game)... MSU has a -4.1 rebound margin and has allowed opponents to shoot .487.
COMING UP ON SATURDAY: The University of Montana is 6-4 on the season and tied for first at 2-0 in the Big Sky Conference... another original member of the Big Sky, Montana has won six regular season titles, eight tournament titles and made nine appearances in the NCAA Tournament... UM was 25-7 last season, winning the Big Sky regular season and tournament championships. Montana was 15-1 in league play... four starters and eight letterwinners return from that team, including first team All-Big Sky selections Will Cherry and Kareem Jamar. Cherry was the league's Defensive Player of the Year, and Head Coach Wayne Tinkle was the Coach of the Year.
FAST BREAKS
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 3-6 this season. The Vikings are 3-2 at home, 0-4 on the road.
• PSU has won seven of nine at home dating to last season.
• The Vikings have lost their last six road games dating to last season.
Stott Stuff
• Since the start of the 2006-07 season, PSU is 68-19 at home, including 39-15 in Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament games.
• PSU has gone 124-43 in 167 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 154-58 at home over the past 17 seasons.
• Portland State has lost only four non-conference home games since the start of the 2006-07 season (29-4). PSU is 17-4 against Division I schools, and 12-0 against lower division schools over that span.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 133-131 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the tournament (8-8).
• PSU is 89-40 in home games, 41-87 in road games and 4-4 in neutral site games.
• PSU is 48-34 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 54-36 including tournament games.
HOT SHOTS:
• SR PG Lateef McMullan is averaging 15.0 points and 5.8 assists per game over the last four contests. He tied a career-high with 20 points against Idaho State. McMullan handed out a career-high eight assists against George Fox.
• JR F Aaron Moore posted the first double-double of the season with career-high totals of 19 points and 10 rebounds against Weber State. In his last four games, Moore is averaging 12.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and shooting 22-31 from the field (.710). He was a perfect 7-7 from the field against Oregon State.
• SO G Gary Winston has made his last five three-point field goals and is .500 for the season (11-22).
• SR G Michael Harthun is averaging 12.3 points in his last three games, shooting 13-22 from the field, 5-8 from three-point range and 6-7 at the line.
• SR F Renado Parker scored a season-high 18 points against Weber State.
• Portland State had a season-low six turnovers against Weber State.
• The Vikings have shot .500 from three-point range the last three games (19-38).
THE SHOT IS BACK: Portland State shot a season-high .559 from the field in the loss to Oregon State, which was a welcome return to the quality shooting that PSU fans are used to. The Vikings continued that with a .492 shooting mark against George Fox, then .532 against Idaho State... the Vikings are now at .467 on the season to rank second in the Big Sky Conference, and .362 from three-point range to rank fourth... PSU has made 19-38 three-pointers in the last three games for an even .500 mark... the Vikings shoot a sturdy .748 at the free throw line... PSU averages 67.9 points per game. That is still below the norm for Viking basketball... traditionally, Portland State has been prolific on offense. PSU led the Big Sky in scoring each season from 2007-08 to 2010-11. Last year, the Vikings were second in scoring at 76.0 points per game, and led the Big Sky in field goal percentage (.483). The Vikings ranked 13th in the nation in field goal percentage and 26th in scoring last season... PSU has not averaged less than 72.0 points per game since the 2003-04 season.
THE DEFENSE SHOULD NOT REST: Head Coach Tyler Geving touted an improved defensive team for 2012-13, and that may come to fruition. A strong effort against Idaho State has the Vikings headed the right way. PSU held Idaho State to 49 points on Dec. 20, the fewest by an opponent in 34 games... still, there is room to improve as the Vikings are allowing opponents to shoot .494 from the field and .378 from three-point range. The 71.2 points allowed is down from last year's 73.3 by opponents... the Vikings are forcing 14.6 turnovers per game, up from 11.4 forced last season.
POINTS ON THE POINT: SR PG Lateef McMullan has found his groove. The 5-11 ball-handler is averaging 15.0 points and 5.8 assists over the last four games (21-39 FG, 7-15 3-pt FG, 11-13 FT). That has his season averages up to 10.0 and 3.6... McMullan had one of his best games as a Viking, tying a career-high with 20 points (7-9 FG, 3-5 3-pt FG, 3-5 FT) and adding four assists and four steals in the win over Idaho State... McMullan has 27 assists and just seven turnovers in his last five games... he handed out a career-high eight assists with no turnovers in the win over George Fox (12/15)... McMullan is sixth in the Big Sky in assists and four in assist-to-turnover ratio (2/1).
MOORE PLAY LIKE THIS PLEASE: JR F Aaron Moore had career-highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds against Weber State for first Viking double-double of the season... he posted 14 points on 7-7 shooting against Oregon State (12/12), matching the best shooting night by a Viking since the program joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97 (Anthony Washington, 7-7 vs. Eastern Washington, Mar. 4, 2006)... Moore ranks fifth in the Big Sky in rebounding (6.3) and third in shooting (.573)... in his last four games, Moore averages 12.8 points and 8.0 rebounds... Moore, a 6-8 forward, has started all nine games for the Vikings this season, averaging 9.3 points, a team-best 6.3 rebounds, while shooting .573 from the field and .727 at the line.
THUN-ING UP: Another guy on a strong four-game run is SR G Michael Harthun, who has averaged 12.3 points per game in the last three, hitting 17-33 field goals, 5-13 3-pt FG, and 9-13 FT... one thing the Viking team needed going into the 2012-13 season was a more consistent Harthun. Although he had some big games for Portland State last season, Coach Tyler Geving wanted more consistency in three-point production and scoring. Harthun, who averaged 8.6 points in 2011-12, is now averaging 10.9 points for the Vikings and shooting .478 from the field and .357 from distance.
PARKER'S PART: Though he has been touted as one of the Vikings' top returning players, if not the top player, SR F Renado Parker only became a starter this season. Parker averages a team-leading 12.3 points, is second in rebounding at 4.3 per game, and has nine steals... he is shooting .457 from the field and .781 at the line... Parker had a season-high 18 points against Weber State and is averaging 14.8 points in his last four games... he has scored in double figures in seven of nine games and led the team in scoring in three games.
SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL
• SO G Dre Winston Jr. starts his Viking career off right, scoring 16 points (5-6 FG, 3-4 3-pt, 3-4 FT) with three assists in Portland State's season opening win over Pacific (11/9), 77-58.
• Portland State signed 6-6, 220-pound forward Kyle Benton to a National Letter of Intent (11/16). Benton is a senior at St. Anthony High School in Long Beach, CA.
• Portland State sells out the Stott Center against Oregon State (12/12), marking the first sellout since the 2008-09 season.
• JR F Aaron Moore was perfect against Oregon State (12/12), hitting 7-7 from the field for 14 points. That 7-7 mark matched a PSU record since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97 (also accomplished by Anthony Washington vs. Eastern Washington, Mar. 4, 2006).
• SR G Lateef McMullen dished out a career-high eight assists to go with 14 points as the Vikings beat George Fox, 85-74 (12/15), ending a five-game losing streak. SR G Michael Harthun (16 pts) and SO G Gary Winston (14 pts) combined for 30 points, hitting 11-17 from the field and 6-7 from three-point range.
• SR G Lateef McMullan tied a career-high with 20 points (7-9 FG, 3-5 3-pt FG, 3-5 FT), had four assists and four steals as the Vikings opened Big Sky Conference play with a 63-49 win over Idaho State (12/20). PSU shot .532 for the game, winning its' second straight at home.
• JR F Aaron Moore posted the first double-double of the season by a Viking with career-highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds in an overtime loss to Weber State (12/22). Parker made 8-12 field goals and added two assists and a blocked shot.
