SACRAMENTO STATE AT PORTLAND STATE 
Thursday, January 10, 2013, 7:35 p.m. • Peter W. Stott Center (1,500), Portland, OR

PORTLAND STATE: 3-8 • Big Sky: 1-3 • Home: 3-2 • Road: 0-6
SACRAMENTO STATE: 7-5 • Big Sky: 2-2 • Home: 5-2 • Road: 2-3

Television: None
Radio: Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 7 p.m.
Live Video: www.BigSkyTV.org • Live Stats: http://vikslive.statb.us

All-Time Series: PSU leads 24-10 • PSU is 16-1 in Portland
Big Sky Series: PSU leads 23-9 • PSU 15-1 in Portland
Last Year: PSU 85-67 at PSU; PSU 94-88 at SAC

THE OPENING TIP
After a pair of narrow losses, the Portland State basketball team makes a welcome return home this week for a pair of Big Sky Conference games. The Vikings host Sacramento State on Thursday night at the Stott Center. Northern Arizona visits on Saturday. Both games tip at 7:35 p.m.

PSU will try to climb in the standings after a 1-3 start to league play. The Vikings are in the midst of six out of eight on the road during the first four weeks of 2013, making this week's home games all the more important. PSU is 3-2 at home this year, 3-8 overall.

Sacramento State is off to one its better starts in two decades at the Division I level. Despite a stretch of four losses in five games, the Hornets are 7-5 overall, 2-2 in the Big Sky after a win over Southern Utah on Monday night.

Portland State has a good history with the Hornets, winning 10 of the last 11 meetings and the last six in a row in Portland. PSU has lost to Sacramento State just one time at home during their history (2005-06) and is 16-1 overall at the Stott Center.

This week's two home games are available via live video stream at www.BigSkyTV.org and over the air at Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com.

PSU vs. SAC LAST YEAR: Portland State swept the season series over the Hornets in 2011-12. PSU shot 65% in an 85-67 win at the Stott Center. Chehales Tapscott had 17 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three steals and five blocked shots for PSU in the victory... Charles Odum's career-high 38 points (11-16 FG, 11-12 FT) overshadowed great performances by Sac's John Dickson (26 pts) and Dylan Garrity (18 pts, 13 ast) at the Hornets Nest as PSU won 94-88. The Vikings shot 54% and had only eight turnovers.

THE COACHES: Portland State Head Coach Tyler Geving has a 47-58 record in his fourth season. Geving has a 25-31 Big Sky Conference record. He is 5-1 all-time against the Hornets... Sacramento State Coach Brian Katz is in his fifth season and has a 34-92 record. He is 1-7 against the Vikings.

THE HORNETS: The Hornets, who entered the Big Sky Conference the same year as the Vikings (1996-97) are still seeking a first-ever league title and appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament... last season, Sacramento State was 10-18 overall, 5-11 and tied for seventh in the Big Sky... four starters and eight letterwinners return from that team... senior forward John Dickson ranks sixth in the Big Sky Conference, averaging 14.2 points per game along with 5.3 rebounds... sophomore point guard Dylan Garrity averages 12.6 points and 5.3 assists... guard Mikh McKinney has been an all-around presence, averaging 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists, while shooting .500 from three-point range and .780 at the line... center Konner Veteto averages 10.8 points and 6.8 rebounds... the Hornets average 70.2 points per game, but in their last five (three losses), have averaged just over 58 points.

COMING UP: Portland State hosts Northern Arizona (5-9/2-2) on Saturday. The Lumberjacks play at Eastern Washington on Thursday night... NAU features freshman star DeWayne Russell who is leading the Big Sky Conference in scoring at 16.6 points per game... senior guard Gabe Rogers is third at 14.9 points per game... PSU swept the season series with the 'Jacks last year.

FAST BREAKS

WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 3-8 this season. The Vikings are 3-2 at home, 0-6 on the road.
• PSU has won seven of nine at home dating to last season.
• The Vikings have lost their last eight 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 133-133 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the tournament (8-8).
• PSU is 89-40 in home games, 41-89 in road games and 3-4 in neutral site games.
• PSU is 48-36 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 54-38 including tournament games.

HOT SHOTS: 
• JR F Aaron Moore has posted three straight double-doubles averaging 16.7 points and 11.0 rebounds during that stretch. He posted career-high totals of 19 points and 10 rebounds against Weber State. Against Montana State, he logged 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. That was followed by 14 points and 11 rebounds at Montana.
• In his last six games, Moore is averaging 13.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and shooting 33-54 from the field (.611). 
• SR PG Lateef McMullan has 31 assists and only nine turnovers in the last seven games.
• SO G Dre Winston had a season-high four assists at Montana State.
• SO C Brandon Cataldo made his first career start on Montana.
• Portland State has averaged only 9.2 turnovers per game over the last five.
• PSU shoots .740 at the free throw line, good for 43rd in the nation (among 345 teams).

NOT SO HOT: 
• The Vikings shot only .376 from the field and .256 from three-point range in last week's two losses, averaging just 57 points.
• After shooting 24-45 (.533) in his first six games, SO G Dre Winston is 12-37 (.324) over the last five.

ALL ABOUT THE SHOOTING: PSU had a poor shooting performance last week at Montana State and Montana. The results? Two losses. The Vikings shot only .375 from the field and .250 from three-point range, and still lost by just three points (62-59) to Montana State. Eight more offensive rebounds (13-5) got the Vikings eight more shot attempts than the Bobcats (21-56 vs. 22-48) keeping PSU in the game... the Vikings shot 20-53 at Montana (.377) and 4-15 from distance (.267) at Montana. Still, the Vikings were within five in the closing minutes before losing 62-55... not surprisingly, PSU has shot .565, .492 and .532 in its three wins this season, but not better than .456 in any loss.

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE SHOOTING?: Although the Vikings did shoot .456 against Weber State, just slightly better shooting in any of PSU's three league losses likely would have meant a “W”. Though the Vikings are 1-3 in the Big Sky, they lost to the top two teams (Montana, Weber State in OT), and the three losses are by a combined 14 points.

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... the 69.5 points allowed is down from last year's 73.3 by opponents. But there is a lot of room for improvement as the Vikings are allowing opponents to shoot .485 from the field and .375 from three-point range - both of which rank last in the Big Sky Conference... the Vikings are forcing 13.9 turnovers per game, up from 11.4 forced last season.

MOORE, MOORE, MOORE: JR F Aaron Moore has played as well as any Viking this season and has now posted three straight double-doubles. Moore has averaged 16.7 points and 11.0 rebounds during that span... He had career-highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds against Weber State (12/22), followed by 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds at Montana State, then 14 points and 11 rebounds at Montana... currently, Moore is fifth in field goal percentage (.549) and fourth in rebounding (7.3) in the Big Sky Conference. He averages 10.5 points and shoots .758 at the line... he leads the Big Sky in league games at 9.7 rebounds per contest.
BIG GAMES
• Moore 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).

DOUBLE-DOUBLE DUTY: Since Portland State joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97, Seamus Boxley has the most double-doubles in a career (23, 2000-05) and Chehales Tapscott has the most in one season (13, 2011-12). However, neither player ever had more than three in a row. Boxley accomplished the feat three times. Tapscott never had more than two double-doubles in a row - though he did that several times (both Boxley and Tapscott were Big Sky rebounding leaders during their careers). No Viking has ever had four straight double-doubles in the Big Sky era, but JR F Aaron Moore has a shot at that against Sacramento State on Thursday.

POINTS ON THE POINT: Though he had just three points to go with four assists against Montana, SR PG Lateef McMullan has found his groove in recent weeks. Prior to that game, the 5-11 ball-handler was averaging 15.4 points over his last five games (26-48 FG, 12-24 3-pt FG, 13-15 FT). He is averaging 10.0 points and 3.3 assists to lead the Vikings... McMullan has 31 assists and just nine turnovers in his last seven games... McMullan is ninth in the Big Sky in assists and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio... he shoots a team-best .826 at the free throw line. 
BIG GAMES
• Scored 16 points with four assists in the loss to Oregon State (12/12).
• Handed out a career-high eight assists with no turnovers in the win over George Fox (12/15).
• 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 (12/20).
• Made a career-high five three-pointers, scoring 17 at Montana State (1/3).

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 11.8 points and is second in rebounding at 4.7 per game... he is shooting .450 from the field and .750 at the line... Parker is averaging 13.0 points in his last six games... he has scored in double figures in eight of 11 games.
BIG GAMES
• Parker had a season-high 18 points against Weber State.

THUN-ING UP: One thing the Viking team needed going into the 2012-13 season was a more consistent Michael 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 10.3 points for the Vikings and shooting .470 from the field, .342 from distance and .786 at the line... he ranks 12th in field goal percentage and free throw percentage in the Big Sky Conference.

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.

• Despite a loss at Montana State (1/3), JR F Aaron Moore had his second straight double-double with 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. SR G Lateef McMullan scored 17 points as well, hitting a career-high 5-9 three-point field goals.

• JR F Aaron Moore posted his third double-double in a row wiht 14 points and 11 rebounds at Montana (1/5).