complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (10-12, 4-6) vs.
NORTHERN ARIZONA LUMBERJACKS (5-18, 1-10)
Saturday, February 4, 5:35 p.m. PT@ Rolle Activity Center (1,000), Flagstaff, AZ
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • 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 20-17 • PSU in Flagstaff: 6-10 
Big Sky Series: PSU leads 18-16 • PSU in Flagstaff: 5-10

Portland State goes looking for a much-needed win in the 7,000-foot elevation of Flagstaff, AZ this Saturday when the Vikings play Northern Arizona in a Big Sky Conference game. Tip-off is 5:35 p.m. PT as the game airs on Freedom 970 AM. A live video stream is available at www.b2tv.com.

The Vikings have lost three in a row and stand at 10-12 on the season, 4-6 in the Big Sky Conference. Just a week ago, PSU was playing for a shot at third place. Now, following a 92-79 loss at first-place Weber State on Thursday, the Vikings are tied for sixth in the Big Sky. The good news is they are still just two games out of third. 

A further analysis reveals the Vikings may be set for a strong stretch run. PSU is 0-6 against the Big Sky's top three teams (Weber State, Montana and Montana State), 4-0 against everybody else. The Vikings play everybody else in the final six games of the league schedule: Saturday at Northern Arizona (1-10), then at Idaho State (Feb. 9, 6-4), Sacramento State (Feb. 15, 2-8), at Sacramento State (Feb. 23, 2-8), Eastern Washington (Feb. 25, 5-5) and Northern Colorado (Feb. 28, 4-6).

PSU also has two non-conference games remaining this year; a Feb. 18 BracketBuster game at Idaho and a Mar. 10 game at Seattle.

Being in the top six in the conference is vital, as six teams play in the Big Sky Conference Tournament, beginning Mar. 3. Furthermore, a third- or fourth-place finish guarantees a quarterfinal round home game.

Northern Arizona is 5-18 this season, 1-10 in the Big Sky and in ninth place. NAU has lost 10 in a row, including an 82-62 decision to the Vikings on Jan. 5 in Portland.

STORYLINES

• The series: Portland State leads the all-time series, 20-17, and the Big Sky series, 18-16... NAU leads 2-1 in Big Sky Tournament meetings.... the Vikings broke a four-game losing streak to the Lumberjacks with an 82-62 win on Jan. 5. 

• Jan. 5: Portland State shot 62% from the field, including 7-14 from three-point range in the win... PSU's full-court trapping pressure forced 23 NAU turnovers and allowed the Vikings 22 points on the fast break... Charles Odum led four Vikings in double figures with 18 points and five assists... Michael Dunn scored 16 points to lead Northern Arizona.

• The Lumberjacks: Northern Arizona has won four Big Sky regular season titles and two Big Sky Tournament titles during its history... the Lumberjacks have made two appearances in the NCAA Tournament... NAU was 19-13 last season, 9-7 and fourth in the Big Sky Conference... three starters and seven letterwinners return from that team... James Douglas leads the Lumberjacks in scoring at 13.1 points per game. He has made 39-95 three-point field goals (.411)... Stallon Saldivar averages 5.3 assists per game... Northern Arizona ranks last in the Big Sky Conference in scoring (62.0) and eighth in field goal shooting at .411... however, the Lumberjacks lead the Big Sky in assists (14.2)... opponents shoot .494 from the field.

• Interim Head Coach Dave Brown took over in December after previous coach Mike Adras abruptly resigned. Since taking over, Brown has led the Lumberjacks to a 3-11 record.

VIKING HEAD COACH TYLER GEVING

Tyler Geving is in his third season as Head Coach and seventh season overall with the Portland State program. 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:

• Geving is 37-47 all-time at Portland State.

• 17-27 all-time against Big Sky Conference opponents, 20-20 all-time in non-conference games.

• Geving is 24-12 at home. He is 13-35 on the road, including 4-2 in neutral site games.

• Geving is 1-4 all-time against Northern Arizona.

GEVING CONTRIBUTES $1000 TO DOERNBECHER

In recognition of the Coaches vs. Cancer program, Portland State Basketball Coach Tyler Geving pledged $100 to Doernbecher Children's Hospital at OHSU for every three-pointer made by the Vikings in their game against Montana.  The Vikings made 6-12 in the game, but afterward, Geving said he would donate an even $1,000. Adding in fan donations at the game that day, $1,400 will be donated to Doernbecher's for cancer research.

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: Portland State has four televised games this year in the Portland area. They are: Nov. 11 against Denver on Root Sports; Dec. 12 at Oregon on CSN; Dec. 18 at Oregon State on Root Sports; and Jan. 29 vs. Montana on Altitude/CSN. 

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. 

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: LILLARD'S 40 SWAMPS VIKINGS, 92-79 

Ogden, UT - Weber State's Damian Lillard is likely to be headed to the NBA soon. And the Vikings won't mind seeing him go. 

Lillard, the nation's leading scorer, had another dominating performance on Thursday night, scoring 40 points, and leading the first-place Wildcats to a 92-79 win over Portland State at Dee Events Center.

This, after Lillard went for 38 points against the Vikings in a Jan. 7 Wildcat win at the Stott Center.

Lillard hit 13-18 shots from the field, 6-8 from three-point range and 8-10 at the line for his 40 points, and also handed out five assists.

“When a guy goes for 40 on 18 shots, he was a one-man wrecking show,” said Viking Coach Tyler Geving. “Our kids played hard and competed, but he was too much to overcome tonight. We did a lot of good things tonight, just not enough.”

Lillard wasn't alone though, as his teammates also shot it well. The Wildcats made 31-57 overall, and 15-28 from three-point range. That trumped a good shooting night for the Vikings, who made 27-55 (.491) and 10-20 from three-point range. The difference was turnovers, as the Vikings had 12 to just six for the Wildcats. And, of course, Weber hit more from long range.

Weber State led virtually the entire game and improved to 12-0 at home. The Wildcats are 17-4 overall, 9-1 in the Big Sky. 

Portland State lost its third in a row after winning three straight. The Vikings are 10-12 for the season, 4-6 in the Big Sky Conference.

Charles Odum scored 26 points with four assists to lead the Vikings. Odum made 9-12 from the field, with his only misses from three-point range.

Chehales Tapscott had 15 points and eight rebounds. Gary Winston score a season-high 14 points, hitting 4-5 three-pointers.

Scott Bamforth added 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Weber State.

GAME NOTES: In his 38-point game in Portland, Lillard made 12-24 from the field, 8-14 from three-point range and 6-6 at the line… the Vikings are 0-6 against the league's top three teams. They are 4-0 against teams in fourth place through ninth place - which will be the Vikings six remaining opponents… the Vikings are now 4-9 on the road.

FAST BREAKS

BIG SKY BEST: The Viking team leads the Big Sky Conference in field goal shooting (.480) and rebounding margin (+4.1), and ranks second in scoring (76.5) and free throw percentage (.743)... SR F Chehales Tapscott leads the Big Sky Conference in rebounding (9.1) and double-doubles (8), is second in blocked shots (1.3) and steals (1.9)... FR G Gary Winston leads the Big Sky Conference in three-point percentage (.473)... SR G Charles Odum ranks second in scoring (18.5) behind the nation's leader Damian Lillard (25.1). He is fourth in free throw percentage (.846)... in Big Sky Conference only games, Tapscott leads the Big Sky in rebounding (9.5) and blocked shots (1.7), ranking second in steals (2.4)... Odum averages 20.8 points to rank second.

LIGHTS OUT: The Vikings have shot over .500 seven times this season and are 5-2 in those games... PSU has shot over .600 three times this year and are 3-0 in those games... PSU shot .673 (33-49) in a win over CSU Bakersfield (12/15). That was the best shooting by a Viking team in 66 games. The last time PSU shot better was a 33-48 (.688) performance against Eastern Washington on Dec. 5, 2009.

2 VS. 3: Portland State is the league's best overall shooting (.480) and two-point shooting team (.542), while shooting just .333 from three-point range... the only other Big Sky team shooting .500 from two-point range is Weber State (.502). 

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE SHOOTING: The Vikings are 10-1 when shooting a higher percentage than their opponents, 0-11 when opponents outshot them.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: In NCAA statistics released on Friday, Portland State maintained some high rankings among the 338 Division I schools:

• 33rd in scoring (76.5)

• 24th in field goal percentage (.480)

• 29th in free throw percentage (.743)

• SR G Charles Odum ranks 30th in scoring (18.5)

• SR G Charles Odum ranks 48th in field goal percentage (.536)

• SR G Charles Odum ranks 57th in free throw percentage (.846)

• SR F Chehales Tapscott ranks 42nd in rebounding (9.1)

• SR F Chehales Tapscott ranks 68th in steals (1.9)

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. PSU has made more free throws than its opponents have attempted (PSU 388-522, .743; Opponents 279-375, .744), which is pretty good considering the Vikings have played more road games (13) than home games (9).

SCORING IN BUNCHES: SR G Charles Odum has scored 20 or more points nine times this season - with eight of those coming on the road. 

• Odum has scored 20 in six of the last 10 games, including a career-high 29 against Idaho State (1/16). 

• In Odum's 20-point games, he is 70-117 from the field (.598), averaging 24.4 points and the Vikings are 5-4.

• Odum is averaging 20.8 points in league games.

GAME-WINNERS: Portland State has had two game-winning shots coming inside the final five seconds of games this season. On Nov. 15, SR F Chehales Tapscott hit a short jumper in the lane against Seattle with 4.6 seconds to play, giving the Vikings a 66-65 win... on Jan. 21, SR G Charles Odum made a 12-footer in the lane with two seconds left in overtime to beat Eastern Washington, 78-76.

TOP 10 GUY: SR F Chehales Tapscott ranks first in rebounding (9.1), eighth in field goal percentage (.526), seventh in scoring (13.9), second in blocked shots (1.3) and steals (1.9) in the Big Sky. Alas, he is only 15th in free throw percentage (.729).

WINSTON IS SMOKIN' OUTSIDE: FR G Gary Winston hit 4-5 from three-point range at Weber State, totaling a career-high 14 points with two assists in 23 minutes... in his last three games, Winston has made 9-13 from three-point range (.692). He now leads the team and the Big Sky Conference with a .473 three-point shooting mark (26-55)... Winston averages 7.4 points in 22 minutes per game off the bench.

THUN-ING UP: JR G Michael Harthun is getting more and more comfortable at shooting guard for the Vikings as the season goes along. “Toon” is now shooting .465 from the field, .436 from three-point range, averages 9.1 points and has a team-high 34 three-pointers made... Harthun ranks sixth in the Big Sky Conference in three-point percentage.

VIKINGS WILL TRAVEL TO IDAHO FOR BRACKETBUSTER GAME

Matchups for the ESPN BracketBuster college basketball series have been announced and Portland State will be traveling to take on the University of Idaho. The Vikings and the Vandals will meet in a game at Cowan Spectrum in Moscow on Feb. 18 at 7:05 p.m. The game will not be televised by ESPN.

The date marks PSU's sixth appearance in a BracketBuster game. On one occasion, the game was televised - a 93-81 win over Boise State on Feb. 21, 2009. PSU is 2-3 all-time in BracketBuster matchups, including an 84-75 win over Loyola Marymount last year at the Stott Center.

Portland State and Idaho will meet for the first time since a pair of games during the 2005-06 season. The Vikings won both of those contests. Prior to that, the teams had not met since the 1978-79 season. PSU leads the all-time series, which dates back to 1965-66, 10-8.

Idaho, a member of the Western Athletic Conference, is currently 4-3 in league play. The Vandals have played three Big Sky Conference schools this year, losing to Montana (57-52) and Eastern Washington (73-66) and beating Montana State (76-67). Other common opponents include Oregon State (UI won 74-60), Seattle (UI won 73-62), CSU Bakersfield (UI won 72-44) and Louisiana Tech (UI won 90-88 in overtime). The Vandals are 5-2 against those schools, while the Vikings are 4-5 against the common opponents. PSU's one other game against a WAC school this year was a 66-48 win over Louisiana Tech.

As part of the BracketBuster program, Idaho will have to return the game at Portland State within the next two seasons.

PSU'S BRACKETBUSTER HISTORY: Portland State is 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 still must return a game to Loyola Marymount in 2012-13.

    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 (televised on ESPNU)

    Feb. 19, 2011: at Portland State 84, Loyola Marymount 75

SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL

• SR C Nate Lozeau posted a career-high 19 points in the Vikings' 69-61 loss at Denver (11/11).

• SR F Chehales Tapscott hit a short jump shot in the lane with 4.6 seconds left to beat Seattle, 66-65 (11/15). Tapscott brought PSU back from a 65-58 deficit with 1:39 to play. He scored six of the final eight points, and had 12 points and 11 rebounds in the game. SR C Nate Lozeau added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

• Five Vikings scored in double figures as PSU reached 100 points for the first time in 30 games, downing Linfield, 101-64 (11/21). SR F Chehales Tapscott had a game-high 19 points (8-10 FG), while SR C Nate Lozeau scored 14 with a career-high 12 rebounds.

• SR G Charles Odum scored a career-high 27 points (9-14 FG, 9-9 FT) and SR F Chehales Tapscott had a career-high 14 rebounds in leading the Vikings to a 66-48 win over Louisiana Tech (11/26). It was the fewest points allowed by the Vikings in 77 games.

• SR G Charles Odum had 25 points, while JR G Michael Harthun scored a career-high 15, and SR C Nate Lozeau added a double-double in a 79-69 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore (11/27).

• SR G Charles Odum (19.7, 3.7 rpg) and SR F Chehales Tapscott (11.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg) were both named to the Wyoming Jim Thorpe Classic All-Tournament team after leading the Vikings to a 2-1 record.

• PSU routed Walla Walla, 102-47, for its third straight win (12/3), shooting .566 from the field. SR C Nate Lozeau had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead the way. SR G Charles Odum added 17 points, four rebounds and four assists. 

• JR G Michael Harthun scored a career-high 22 points (9-11 FGs) in leading the Vikings to a 91-87 win over Cal State Bakersfield. Five players scored in double figures and the Vikings shot .673 from the field (33-49), the best by a PSU team in more than two seasons.

• SR G Charles Odum matched his career high with 27 points (8-13 FG, 2-4 3-pt FG, 9-9 FT) in the Vikings' Big Sky opener at Montana (12/28).

• Portland State shot 62% from the field  and forced 23 Lumberjack turnovers in an 82-62 win over Northern Arizona (1/5). That improved the Vikings' home record to 5-0 on the season. SR G Charles Odum had 18 points (6-8 FG, 2-2 3-pt, 4-4 FT) with five assists, three rebounds and two steals to lead the Vikings.

• SR F Chehales Tapscott scored a season-high 26 points (10-15 FG, 1-2 3-pt, 5-6 FT), with eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block against Weber State (1/7).

• JR G Lateef McMullan scored a career-high 20 points (7-11 FG, 2-4 3-pt, 4-5 FT) with six assists and five rebounds in leading the Vikings to a 86-75 win at Northern Colorado (1/12). SR G Charles Odum scored 22 points (7-9 FG, 4-6 3-pt, 4-5 FT) with five assists. The Vikings shot .617 from the field, including a season-best 13-21 from three-point range (.619).

• SR G Charles Odum was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Jan. 16 after leading the Vikings to a Big Sky road win at Northern Colorado (1/12). Odum scored 22 points (7-9 FG, 4-6 3-pt, 4-5 FT) with five assists in the win.

• SR G Charles Odum scored a career-high 29 points (10-18 FG, 3-5 3-pt, 6-7 FT) in leading the Vikings to an 80-68 win over Idaho State (1/16). SR F Chehales Tapscott added 15 points, six rebounds, five steals and four blocked shots as the Vikings had to recover from a 10-point first-half deficit to win.

• SR G Charles Odum hit a contested 12-footer in the lane with two seconds remaining in overtime to give the Vikings a 78-76 win at Eastern Washington (1/21). Odum scored 20 points in the win, while Chehales Tapscott added a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. JR G Lateef McMullan hit a three-pointer with 10 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and send it to overtime. McMullan scored 18 in the win, the Vikings third in a row.

• SR F Chehales Tapscott grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds and a career-high tieing five steals in a 69-67 loss to Montana (1/29). Tapscott also scored 14 points. It was the most rebounds by a Viking in five years.

• FR G Gary Winston posted a career-high 14 points, making 4-5 from three-point range at Weber State (2/2). That moved him into the Big Sky lead for three-point percentage (.473).