complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS vs. MONTANA GRIZZLIES
Saturday, January 11, 2014, 7:05 p.m. • Peter W. Stott Center (1,500), Portland, OR
 
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
Record/Big Sky: 5-7, 0-3
Head Coach: Tyler Geving (57-77/5th year)
 
MONTANA GRIZZLIES
Record/Big Sky: 6-6, 1-2
Head Coach: Wayne Tinkle (147-84/8th year)
 
Live Video Stream: www.WatchBigSky.com
Live Audio Stream: www.GoViks.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 6:45 p.m.
Live Stats: vikslive.statb.us, viksmobile.com
 
THE OPENING TIP
The Portland State Vikings will try to end a three-game losing streak when they host the Montana Grizzlies on Saturday night in a Big Sky Conference game. The two teams, coming off Thursday-night league losses, will meet in a 7:05 p.m. contest.     
     
PSU lost a tightly-fought 79-76 decision to Montana State. There were 14 ties and 14 lead changes in the first 28 minutes and neither team held a double-digit lead on the night. PSU made 16-24 shots (.667) in the second half, but the Bobcats used an 11-2 run late in the second half to gain an edge. MSU then held on by making 7-10 free throws in the last 1:11 of the game. That loss dropped Portland State to 5-7 on the season, 0-3 in the Big Sky Conference.
     
Montana also lost a close one on Thursday, falling 69-62 at Eastern Washington. The Grizzlies are now 6-6 on the season, 1-2 in the Big Sky. They already have more losses than last year's 19-1 league champion Griz' squad.
     
The Vikings are 5-3 at home this season, while the Grizzlies are 2-4 on the road. Portland State will try to break a nine-game losing streak to Montana that dates back four-and-a-half seasons. 
     
Live video, audio and stats for Saturday's game can be found on-line at GoViks.com, starting at 6:45 p.m. Just click on the appropriate link in the Game Day box.
     
Also featured on Saturday: Thor's Party for PSU students begins at 6 p.m. at the Stott Center. Free food will be served; Dave The Horn Guy will perform at halftime of the game.
 
THE SERIES: PORTLAND STATE VS. MONTANA
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Montana leads 31-20. PSU leads 14-11 in Portland.
• BIG SKY SERIES: Montana leads 23-11, Montana leads 9-8 in Portland.
• STREAK: Montana has won nine in a row in the series, including the last four meetings in Portland.
• LAST SEASON: Montana swept the season series last year, winning 62-55 in Missoula and 81-68 in Portland.
• Portland State Head Coach Tyler Geving has never beaten the Grizzlies (0-8), while Montana Head Coach Wayne Tinkle is 10-4 all-time against the Vikings.
 
MONTANA GRIZZLIES: The University of Montana, located in Missoula, MT, is an original member of the Big Sky Conference, joining when the league formed in 1963. UM has won seven Big Sky Conference regular season titles and nine Big Sky Tournament Championships. The Grizzlies have made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances in their history... last year, Montana was 25-7, 19-1 in the Big Sky, winning the regular season and tournament titles... three starters and nine letterwinners return from that team... three-time All-Big Sky selection Kareem Jamar leads the Grizzlies. The 6-5 forward averages team-highs of 18.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game... guard Jordan Gregory averages 13.7 points and leads the team with 27 three-point field goals made... Keron DeShields averages 12.6 points and shoots 51% from the field... Montana shoots an impressive .483 from the field - second-best in the conference - but also allows opponents to shoot .483 - second-worst... the Griz are hurt by a -8.7 rebounding margin.
 
A CHANCE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SCHEDULE: Despite Thursday's loss, Portland State is still in the midst of the most favorable part of its' Big Sky Conference schedule. Starting with Montana State and Montana, the Vikings play six of eight games at home running through February 1. After next week's Sacramento State/Northern Arizona road trip, PSU comes home for four straight games to round out the month (Southern Utah, Eastern Washington, Northern Colorado, North Dakota). After that stretch, PSU plays six of 10 on the road to close out the regular season.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE QUICK NOTES
 
HOT SHOTS:
• SR G Marcus Hall set career-highs with 19 points, 5-7 three-point field goals made and six assists against Montana State.
• JR G Andre Winston Jr. is shooting 19-29 over the last five games (.655) and shoots .583 for the season.
• JR G Gary Winston leads the Big Sky Conference in three-point percentage (10-19, .529).
• JR G Tim Douglas has scored in double figures in 11 of 12 games this season. He leads the team in scoring (15.0), three-pointers (20), assists (4.2) and steals (17).
• SR F Kyle Richardson scored a season-high 10 points (4-6 FG, 2-2 FT) against Montana State.
• Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in assists per game (14.3) and assist-to-turnover ratio (14.3/11.6).
 
NOT SO HOT:
• The Vikings allow their opponents to shoot .408 from three-point range, .531 in Big Sky games - both of which rank worst in the Big Sky Conference.
• Portland State was 0-14 on the road in 2012-13, is 0-4 this year, and has lost 20 straight road games overall.
• PSU shoots only .388 from the field and .625 at the line while playing on the road this season.
• Portland State Coach Tyler Geving has suspended SR F Aaron Moore for conduct detrimental to the team.
 
THE LEADER: New point guard Tim Douglas is making a big impact for the Vikings this season. He is averaging team-highs of 15.0 points, 4.2 assists and 1.4 steals. Douglas also leads in three-pointers with 20.
• Douglas has led the Vikings in scoring in four games and assists in nine games.
• He has scored in double figures in 11 of 12 games with a season-high 27 against Portland (12/7).
• Douglas was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 10.
• Douglas ranks seventh in scoring and fourth in assists in the Big Sky Conference.
 
OUR COUSIN VINNIE: If you remember the "Microwave", former Detroit Piston sixth-man Vinnie Johnson, then know that Portland State appears to have their own version in JR G DaShaun Wiggins. Wiggins has come off the bench in eight of 12 games this season and is second on the team in scoring (13.8), and steals (13), and third in three-pointers (16) in just 22.9 minutes per night. He is also the easy leader in free throw attempts, making 52-70 already this season. The only thing wrong with the comparison between Wiggins and Vinnie Johnson is the Viking junior now appears to have earned a full-time role in the starting lineup.
• Wiggins' had a 21-point, seven-rebound, three-assist, two-steal performance in a win over UC Davis (11/24).
• He set new career-highs with 22 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals against Idaho (12/14).
• Scored a game-high 20 points (7-13 FG, 5-6 FT) against Montana State (1/9).
• Wiggins has led the team in scoring six times and rebounding twice.
• Wiggins ranks 12th in the Big Sky Conference in scoring.
 
WINSTON HITTING THE MARK: JR G Andre Winston Jr. continues to be very efficient on offense this season, averaging 9.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He shoots .583 from the field and a team-leading .810 at the line. He also has an excellent 25/14 assist-to-turnover ratio. Those are nice improvements from his numbers last year of 7.0, .391 and .705.
• Winston has made 19-29 shots over the last five games (.655).
• He ranks fourth in the Big Sky Conference in field goal shooting (.583).
 
ANOTHER WINSTON HITTING THE MARK: It is no surprise that JR G Gary Winston once again leads the Big Sky Conference in three-point shooting (10-19, .526). Winston led the league last season with a .470 percentage. But it took a while for him to come back to form following off-season hernia surgery and hip problems... for his career Winston is 84-186 from three-point range for a school-record .452 mark.
 
RICHARDSON REVIEW: SR F Kyle Richardson saw limited action in three seasons at Long Beach State. After graduating and transferring to Portland State for his final season this year, Big Rich has stepped up his role and his game. Richardson, along with JR G Tim Douglas, are the only Vikings to start every game. In 23.6 minutes per night, Richardson averages 5.7 points and 4.3 rebounds - both career highs... lately, Richardson has been more productive. He had nine points, six rebounds and two blocked shots at Weber State (1/4). That was followed by a season-high 10 points (4-6 FG, 2-2 FT) and six rebounds against Montana State.
 
HALL MONITOR: SR G Marcus Hall is picking up his game as the season progresses. Hall comes off a career-high 19-point effort (7-10 FG, 5-7 3-pt), that included a career-best five assists as well. Hall averages 7.5 points per game this season, but has averaged 12.0 points over the last four. In those four games, he has made 16-27 shots (.592), including 10-18 three-pointers (.556) and handed out 11 assists.
 
FOUR GUARDS AND A GOALIE: By necessity, Portland State Head Coach Tyler Geving has had to play small this season, more so than ever now with the suspension of SR F Aaron Moore. The strength of the Viking team is in its guards and Portland State is now playing more of them than ever - a little reminiscent of the Don Nelson/RUN-TMC era of the Golden State Warriors in the late 1980s and early 1990s (Google 'em). Expect the Vikings to start four guards and one big man every game. From there, PSU hopes to spread its opponents out on the floor, attack on the drive and kick out for three pointers when open. The "four guards and a goalie" approach expects to score a lot of points. The challenge for the Vikings will be defending and rebounding against bigger opponents.