complete notes and stats in pdf
PORTLAND STATE AT EASTERN WASHINGTON
Monday, January 28, 6:05 p.m. • Reese Court (6,000), Cheney, WA
PORTLAND STATE: 5-11 • Big Sky: 3-6 • Home: 5-2 • Road: 0-9
EASTERN WASHINGTON: 4-14 • Big Sky: 2-6 • Home: 3-4 • Road: 1-10
Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 5:30 p.m.
Live Video: www.BigSkyTV.org • Live Stats: http://vikslive.statb.us
All-Time Series: PSU leads 20-18 • PSU in Cheney: 7-12
Big Sky Series: Tied 17-17 • PSU in Cheney: 6-11
Last Year: PSU 78-76 at EWU (ot); PSU 69-64 at PSU
THE OPENING TIP
Portland State wraps up a four-game road trip on Monday night at Eastern Washington as the Vikings try to get some traction in the Big Sky Conference race. The game tips off at 6:05 p.m. and airs on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com. A live video stream is available at www.BigSkyTV.org.
The Vikings, 5-11 overall and 3-6 in the Big Sky Conference, have lost the first three games on their road swing and have dropped to 0-9 overall on the road this season. PSU lost 76-63 at Southern Utah on Thursday.
Although PSU is tied for eighth place in the Big Sky standings, it is only one game out of fourth place and two games out of third with 11 conference contests to play. The top seven teams in the final standings will advance to the Big Sky Tournament in mid-March.
Eastern Washington is currently bringing up the rear in the Big Sky at 4-14, 2-6. The Eagles, losers of three in a row, play at Southern Utah on Saturday night prior to facing the Vikings. The Eagles are 3-4 at home this season.
Portland State is playing the first of two Dam Cup games with the Eagles. EWU leads the all-sport competition between the schools, 6-5, so far this season. The Vikings have won it each of the last two years.
PSU has won in four of its last five appearances in Cheney, including twice in overtime. Last year, the Vikings won a 78-76 OT thriller at Eastern.
After Monday's game, PSU plays seven of its next nine games in the friendly atmosphere of the Peter W. Stott Center. The Vikings should be able to make a run up the standings as they are 5-2 at home this year.
BIG SKY BOG DOWN: Despite another road loss on Thursday, Portland State continues to be in the thick of the Big Sky standings.
The Big Sky is a two-horse race with Montana at 9-0 and Weber State at 8-1 (they meet at Montana on Saturday). The next best record is Montana State at 5-4 in third place. The distance between the Bobcats and 11th place Eastern Washington (2-6) is only two-and-a-half games. Remarkably, eight of the 11 teams have losing conference records (and losing season records).
On Thursday all five road teams lost. No surprise there as the third- through 11th-place teams are a combined 10-71 on the road, 12-78 including neutral site games. Those teams are 7-33 in Big Sky road games. So, though the Vikings are 0-9 on the road this year, they aren't much different than most of the teams in the league.
THE COACHES: Portland State Head Coach Tyler Geving has a 49-61 record in his fourth season. Geving has a 27-34 Big Sky Conference record and is 5-1 against Eastern Washington... Eastern Washington Head Coach Jim Hayford is in his second year with the Eagles and has a 19-31 record, 0-2 against PSU. He is 271-115 in 14 years of collegiate coaching.
PSU vs. EWU LAST YEAR: PSU swept the season series with the Eagles last year and has won eight of the last nine meetings... the Vikings won in overtime in Cheney, 78-76. Lateef McMullan hit a late three-pointer to send the game to an extra session. Then, Charles Odum made a 12-foot jumper in the lane with two seconds left in OT for the win. McMullan scored 18 and Odum had 20. Chehales Tapscott added 16 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Vikings... in a 69-64 PSU win in Portland, Tapscott scored 20 points with 14 rebounds and four blocked shots to lead the Vikings. The Eagles shot only 32% in the loss.
THE EAGLES: Eastern Washington has one Big Sky Conference Championship and NCAA Tournament to its credit (2004)... last year, the Eagles were 15-17 overall, 8-8 in the Big Sky, placing fifth... two starters and six letterwinners return from that team... freshman forward Venky Jois averages 13.1 points and Big Sky bests of 9.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots per game... center Martin Seiferth shoots .636 from the field, averages 8.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks... forward Collin Chiverton averages 10.3 points... former leading scorer Justin Crosgile (14.9 ppg) has left the team for personal reasons... Eastern Washington leads the Big Sky Conference in three-point field goals made at 8.8 per game, and blocked shots at 5.3 per game... the Eagles rank last in the Big Sky in scoring defense, allowing 75.9 points per game... they are also the worst free throw shooting team at just .643, while shooting only .398 from the field.
COMING UP: Portland State finally returns to the Stott Center next Thursday when it hosts first-place University of Montana. That will begin a stretch of seven games out of nine at home for the Vikings. Six of the seven are Big Sky Conference games with one being an ESPN BracketBuster contest against an opponent to be determined.
THE DAM CUP
The Portland State Vikings and Eastern Washington Eagles are in the third year of a five-sport rivalry cup called The Dam Cup. The Dam Cup celebrates the friendly rivalry between the states of Oregon and Washington within the Big Sky Conference. Monday's basketball game will be worth two points in the Dam Cup series. Eastern Washington currently leads the competition, 6-5.
The so-named rivalry refers to the four dams linking Oregon and Washington that one passes on the 339-mile drive from the Portland State campus to the Eastern Washington campus. Located along the Columbia River, they are Bonneville Dam, The Dalles Dam, The John Day Dam and the McNary Dam.
The five sports competing for the cup are football, women's soccer, women's volleyball, women's basketball and men's basketball. The purpose of the Dam Cup is to create a rivalry between Portland State University and Eastern Washington University and provide a sense of pride between alumni in the Portland and Spokane areas. Other goals include increasing attendance at events between both schools and building school spirit among each institutions' student body.
The winner of the Dam Cup will possess The Dam Trophy acknowledging the achievement for the following year. Portland State currently possesses the Dam Trophy having won the inaugural Dam Cup in 2010-11 by a 9-8 score, and the 2011-12 Cup by a 15-2 score.
The Dam Cup is based on a point system. Each game played in the five sports between the two schools has a point value. Points are only rewarded for regular season contests. The annual football game is worth four points, the women's soccer match is worth one point, each women's volleyball match is worth two points for a total of four points possible, and each men's and women's basketball game is worth two points for a total of four points possible in each sport, The total points possible are 17 which means that to win the cup a school would need to win at least 9 points.
The 2012-13 Dam Cup Series
Volleyball - Sept. 17 PSU 3, @ EWU 0 - PSU leads 2-0
Soccer - Sept. 30 @ PSU 4 @ EWU 0 - PSU leads 3-0
Volleyball - Oct. 18 @ PSU 3, EWU 0 - PSU leads 5-0
Football - Nov. 17 EWU 41, @ PSU 34 - PSU leads 5-4
Women's Basketball - Jan. 21 EWU 68, @ PSU 56 - EWU leads 6-5
Men's Basketball - Jan. 28 @ EWU
Men's Basketball - Feb. 18 @ PSU
Women's Basketball - Feb. 21 @ EWU
FAST BREAKS
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 5-11 this season. The Vikings are 5-2 at home, 0-9 on the road.
• PSU has won nine of 11 at home dating to last season.
• The Vikings have lost their last 11 road games dating to last season.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 135-136 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the tournament (8-8).
• PSU is 91-40 in home games, 41-92 in road games and 3-4 in neutral site games.
• PSU is 50-39 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 56-41 including tournament games.
HOT SHOTS:
• JR F Aaron Moore tied his career-high with 19 points (5-9 FG, 9-12 FT), nine rebounds and two blocked shots at Southern Utah. He has averaged 18.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in the last two games.
• SR PG Lateef McMullan has 57 assists and only 18 turnovers in the last 12 games.
• SO G Gary Winston is 7-10 from three-point range in the last four games.
• SR G Michael Harthun leads the Big Sky Conference in three-point percentage in conference-only games: 18-34 (.529).
• Portland State ranks 27th in the nation in free throw shooting (.746) and 23rd in three-point shooting (.386) among 345 Division I schools.
• The Vikings shoot .523 from the field, .495 from three-point range, in the Stott Center.
NOT SO HOT:
• As a team, the Vikings shoot .395 on the road, .321 from three-point range.
• After shooting 24-45 (.533) in his first six games, SO G Dre Winston is 15-53 (.283) over the last 10.
• SR G Michael Harthun was 1-8 from the field, 0-3 from three-point range at Southern Utah. He had made 12-16 threes in his previous four games.
• Portland State is 0-9 on the road this season.
ROUGH ROAD: Portland State's 0-9 road record is a disappointment, but the Vikings still have five games on the road during the regular season to make amends. This year's road games have been against some formidable opponents, including nationally-ranked Oklahoma State and Oregon, Portland and Loyola Marymount of the West Coast Conference, and Montana and Montana State of the Big Sky... PSU was 7-12 on the road last season.
ALL ABOUT THE SHOOTING: The Vikings have been a good-shooting home team, and a bad-shooting road team this season. The difference in home and road shooting statistics for the Vikings mirrors Portland State's home (5-2) and road (0-9) records. The Vikings shoot .523 from the field and .495 from three-point range at home. On the road, they shoot just .395 from the field and .321 from three-point range. The free throw shooting numbers are consistent at .746 at home and .745 on the road... the Vikings shot only .360 from the field at Southern Utah (.360)... not surprisingly, PSU has shot .565, .492, .532, .561 and .500 in its five wins this season... only once have they shot better than .456 in a loss.
FIRST-HALF TREND CONTINUES: Portland State fell behind 12-2 and 18-5 early at Southern Utah. That continued the Vikings' habit of getting off to slow starts in games this season, then playing much better in the second half. The numbers prove it. PSU has been outscored 579-490 in the first half this year (36.1-30.6), but outscored opponents 584-547 in the second half (36.5-34.1).
BALANCE? YUP: Portland State expected a more balanced offensive attack this season after scoring stars Charles Odum and Chehales Tapscott graduated. As it happens, six Vikings are averaging between 6.8 and 11.8 points per game. And, five have led the team in scoring at least three times each (including ties): Renado Parker (4), Michael Harthun (4), Aaron Moore (5), Lateef McMullan (3) and Dre Winston (3).
GOOD HANDLE: JR PG Lateef McMullan has turned in a remarkable stretch of ball handling over the last six weeks, highlighted by his career-high nine assists with no turnovers against Sacramento State (1/10). In his last 12 games, McMullan has 57 assists against just 18 turnovers, a 3.2/1 ratio. For the season, his ratio is 62/27 (2.3 ast/to). That ranks second-best in the Big Sky Conference. He is fourth overall in the Big Sky in assists... for the year, the 5-11 ball-handler averages 10.8 points and 3.9 assists.
MOORE, MOORE, MOORE: JR F Aaron Moore has played as well as any Viking this season and is in the midst of a hot stretch. In his last eight games, Moore has posted three double-doubles and averaged 15.5 points... he is now the Vikings' leading scorer (11.8) and rebounder (6.8)... currently, Moore is seventh in field goal percentage (.522), fifth in rebounding (6.8) and 11th in free throw percentage (.778) in the Big Sky Conference.
PARKER'S PART: SR F Renado Parker is second on the team in scoring (11.1) and rebounding (4.7) despite being hindered by a nagging ankle injury the last several weeks... Parker played three minutes at Northern Colorado, did not play at North Dakota, then came off the bench for 24 minutes at Southern Utah... he is shooting .454 from the field and .765 at the line... he has scored in double figures 11 times and led the team in scoring five times this season.
THUN-ING UP: SR G Michael Harthun had an off-night at Southern Utah, scoring only two points on 1-8 shooting. But, lately he has been heating up, making 12-16 three-pointers in the previous four games... Harthun is averaging 10.6 points per game, up from 8.6 last year. Harthun is shooting .468 from the field, .439 from distance, and .818 at the line... he ranks 13th in field goal percentage and 10th in three-point percentage in the Big Sky Conference... in conference-only games, Harthun leads the Big Sky in percentage at .529 (18-34)... Harthun currently maintains the fifth-best career three-point shooting percentage in school history at 73-170 (.429).
NICE COMEBACK: SO G Gary Winston has made a nice comeback from a nightmare shooting game at Montana State on Jan. 3. Winston was 0-9 in that game, 0-8 from three-point distance. In the five games since, he is 19-38 from the field (.500) and 10-16 from three-point range (.625)... his .431 career three-point shooting ranks fourth in PSU history, his .457 three-point shooting ranks second... Winston has moved into the starting lineup for the last five games, averaging 8.8 points per game.
6TH MAN MOMENTS: Against Sacramento State (1/10), SR F Martin Whitmore scored a career-high 11 points (3-3 3-pt FG). Whitmore scored five points with a career-high six rebounds at Northern Colorado (1/17)... JR C Lamont Prosser responded when SR F Renado Parker was injured at Northern Colorado (1/17) with career-highs of six points and eight rebounds... SO C Brandon Cataldo had seven points, four rebounds and a blocked shot in a career-high 23 minutes at North Dakota (1/19), starting in place of SR F Renado Parker.
