complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS vs. SACRAMENTO STATE HORNETS
Thursday, January 16, 2014, 7:05 p.m. • The Hornets Nest (1,200), Sacramento, CA
 
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
Record/Big Sky: 6-7, 1-3
Head Coach: Tyler Geving (58-77/5th year)
 
SACRAMENTO STATE HORNETS
Record/Big Sky: 5-8, 1-3
Head Coach: Brian Katz (51-110/6th 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
Portland State hopes to use the momentum of an exhilarating triple-overtime win against the defending Big Sky Conference champions as it goes back on the road for a pair of games this week. The Vikings (6-7, 1-3) play at Sacramento State (5-8, 1-3) on Thursday night, then travel to Northern Arizona (5-9, 2-1) for a Saturday afternoon contest.
     
The Vikings beat Montana, 81-78, in triple overtime on Saturday in the Stott Center to stop a three-game losing streak. Now, PSU must end an ugly road losing streak that dates back 20 games. The first chance to do so is Thursday at the Hornets Nest. The game tips off at 7:05 p.m. 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.
     
PSU outlasted Montana in a tense struggle in which neither team lead by double-digits. The Vikings came back from a nine-point deficit with less than four minutes left in regulation to tie the game. The teams then tussled for three extra stanzas before JR G Gary Winston hit a game-winning three-pointer for the Vikings with 2.6 seconds left in the third OT.
     
It will be a different challenge as the Vikings play on the road this week. PSU has won 11 of the last 13 meetings with Sacramento State. But the Hornets won in the series' last meeting, 77-71, Feb. 9 in Sacramento.
     
The Vikings are 0-4 on the road this season, but also have the weight of an overall 20-game road losing streak on their shoulders.
     
Sacramento State is 3-1 at home this year, but has not had the benefit of a Big Sky home game. The Hornets played their first four league contests on the road.
 
THE SERIES: PORTLAND STATE VS. SACRAMENTO STATE
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads 25-11. Sacramento State leads 10-8 in Sacramento.
• BIG SKY SERIES: Portland State leads 24-10. Sacramento State leads 9-8 in Sacramento.
• STREAK: The Hornets won the last meeting, but PSU has won 11 of the last 13 games in the series.
• LAST SEASON: The Vikings routed the Hornets, 87-69, in Portland, hitting 12-18 from three-point range... Mikh McKinney scored 30 points (13-18 FG) in the Hornets' 77-71 win in Sacramento.
• Viking Coach Tyler Geving is 6-2 all-time against the Hornets... Sacramento State Coach Brian Katz is 2-8 all-time against the Vikings.
• The Vikings have swept the season series eight times in 17 years. The Hornets have swept the series once.
 
SACRAMENTO STATE HORNETS: Like Portland State, Sacramento State joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97 and is in its 18th year as a member. The Hornets have never won a Big Sky Conference championship or appeared in the NCAA Tournament... last year, the Hornets were 14-15 overall, 8-12 and tied for sixth in the Big Sky Conference... two starters and eight letterwinners return from that team... guard Mikh McKinney leads the Hornets in scoring (13.8), assists (3.3) and steals (16)... the Hornets other starter at guard, Dylan Garrity, averages 12.5 points and 3.2 assists. Garrity has also made 34 three-point field goals and shoots .472 from distance to rank third in the league. He has the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the league (2.4, 41/17).
 
COMING UP: Portland State plays at Northern Arizona on Saturday in a 2:05 p.m. game. The Vikings and Lumberjacks split the season series last year. The game will be televised on Fox College Sports, Fox Sports Arizona and Fox Sports Pacific. Following that game, PSU comes home for four in a row through Feb. 1.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 6-7 this season, 6-3 at home, 0-4 on the road.
• The Vikings have lost their last 20 road games dating to the 2011-12 season.
Stott Stuff
• PSU has gone 135-50 in 185 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 166-65 at home over the past 18 seasons.
• Since the start of the 2006-07 season, PSU is 79-24 at home, including 44-20 in Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament games.
• Portland State has lost only six non-conference home games since the start of the 2006-07 season (35-6). PSU is 21-6 against Division I schools, and 14-0 against lower division schools over that span.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 138-148 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the tournament (8-8).
• PSU is 94-45 in home games, 41-99 in road games and 3-4 in neutral site games.
• PSU is 53-51 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 59-53 including tournament games.
And The Trivial
• Portland State is 24-23 all-time in overtime. Coach Tyler Geving is 2-3 all-time in overtime. The Vikings are 1-0 in overtime this season.
• PSU is 2-15 against nationally-ranked opponents since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97.
• Head Coach Tyler Geving is 1-2 all-time against ranked opponents.
• Portland State is 17-39 in games televised in the Portland area since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97. That includes a 9-7 home record and 8-32 road record.
 
HOT SHOTS:
• SR G Marcus Hall set career-highs in back-to-back games last week with 19 points, 5-7 three-point field goals made and six assists against Montana State; then 21 points, 5-6 three-point field goals and 6-6 free throws against Montana. Hall made 10-13 three-point field goals (.769) in the two games and is 14-22 overall in Big Sky games (.636).
• JR G Gary Winston scored a career-high 21 points, including the game-winning three-pointer with 2.6 seconds left against Montana. Winston leads the Big Sky Conference in three-point percentage (13-26, .500).
• JR G Andre Winston Jr. is shooting 21-32 over the last five games (.656) and shoots .587 for the season.
• JR G Tim Douglas has scored in double figures in 12 of 13 games this season. He leads the team in scoring (15.2), assists (4.2) and steals (17).
• Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in assists per game (14.3) and assist-to-turnover ratio (14.3/12.1).
 
NOT SO HOT:
• The Vikings allow their opponents to shoot .403 from three-point range, .512 in Big Sky games, which ranks 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.
 
NO TIME LIKE OVERTIME: Portland State played its first overtime game in more than a year last Saturday, beating Montana, 81-78, in triple overtime. It marked the first multiple overtime game for the Vikings in four years and ninth in school history. PSU once played (and won) a four-overtime game against Northern Arizona (92-91 in 2008-09)... Saturday's contest was a particularly thrilling win for the green and black as JR G Gary Winston hit a game-winning three-pointer with 2.6 seconds left in the third overtime against the defending Big Sky Champions. Winston and SR G Marcus Hall each scored career-highs of 21 points.
 
GAME-WINNERS: JR G Gary Winston's game-winning shot was the first inside the final five seconds of a game by a Viking since the 2011-12 season. Portland State had three game-winning scores coming inside the final five seconds of games that year - one by Chehales Tapscott (vs. Seattle), and two by Charles Odum (vs. Eastern Washington and vs. Northern Colorado (FTs)).
 
WHEN YOU'RE HOT, YOU'RE HOT: ...and SR G Marcus Hall is scalding right now. Hall made 12-17 field goals (.706), 10-13 three-point field goals (.769) and 6-6 free throws, scoring 40 points in two games last week. He posted a career-high 19 against Montana State, then two nights later hit another career-high in the win over Montana. Hall had 21 points in that game with seven rebounds and three assists... Hall has averaged 13.8 points and 2.8 assists in his last five games after averaging 5.3 points and 1.0 assists through the first eight. He is 21-34 from the field in those five games (.618).
• Hall ranks fourth in the Big Sky in three-point percentage (.471) overall and in conference (.636).
• Hall now has a team-high 24 three-pointers for the season.
 
THE LEADER: JR G Tim Douglas is making a big impact for the Vikings this season. He is averaging team-highs of 15.2 points, 4.2 assists and 1.3 steals.
• Douglas has led the Vikings in scoring in four games and assists in nine games.
• He has scored in double figures in 12 of 13 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.
 
WINSTON HITTING THE MARK: JR G Andre Winston Jr. continues to be very efficient on offense this season, averaging 9.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists. He shoots .587 from the field and a team-leading .816 at the line. He also has an excellent 25/18 assist-to-turnover ratio. Those are nice improvements over his numbers last year of 7.0, .391 and .705.
• Winston has made 21-32 shots over the last five games (.656).
• He ranks fourth in the Big Sky Conference in field goal shooting (.587).
 
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 (13-26, .500). 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 87-193 from three-point range for a school-record .451 mark.
• Winston scored a career-high 21 points with five assists and hit a game-winning three-point field goal in triple-overtime against Montana (1/11).
 
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 13 games this season and is second on the team in scoring (13.2), and steals (14), and third in three-pointers (17) in just 22.8 minutes per night. He is also the easy leader in free throw attempts, making 54-74 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 15th in the Big Sky Conference in scoring.
 
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 24.2  minutes per night, Richardson averages 5.4 points and 4.2 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.
 
THE BIG CAT IS ON THE PROWL: JR C Brandon Cataldo has been a "project" player for the Vikings the past two seasons. Now he appears ready to assert himself. Cataldo is averaging modest numbers of 4.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in just 12.7 minutes per night. Those work out to 13.5 points and 12.6 rebounds per 40 minutes... Cataldo played 23 minutes in the triple overtime win over Montana, scoring four points, grabbing six rebounds, getting a block and an assist. His tip-in basket in the final minute of the first overtime tied the game, sending it to a second OT... Cataldo also leads the team with a .606 field goal percentage. He shoots 57% from the field for his career.
 
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.
 
A RECORD THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY: Portland State lost its 14th straight Big Sky Conference road game at Weber State (1/4). That breaks the previous school mark of 13 straight road losses to Big Sky opponents (1/27/00-2/24/01)... the school record for consecutive road losses is 21 and the Vikings (0-4 on the road this year) have lost 20 straight overall on the road dating back to the 2011-12 season... next week PSU plays at Sacramento State (1/16) and Northern Arizona (1/18).
THE DIFFERENCE ON THE ROAD THIS YEAR
• PSU has shot .388 from the field, .625 at the line and averaged 13.3 turnovers in those three losses.
• At home, PSU shoots .485/.422/.733 and averages only 11.6 turnovers.
• The Vikings average 61.5 points on the road and 78.7 at home.
 
SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL           
• Portland State made 15 straight field goals to open the second half in a 79-43 win over Pacific Lutheran (11/13). The Vikings did not have a miss until 3:15 remained in the game and outscored the Lutes, 47-20, in the second half. PSU shot 53% from the field in the game. JR G Tim Douglas led four Vikings in double figures with 16 points.
• SR F Aaron Moore led a come-from-behind win over Loyola (11/22), 67-63, by tieing his career-high of 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. JR G Andre Winston Jr. added 16 points as the Viking erased a 17-point second-half deficit.
• For the second game in a row, PSU came from double-digits down in the second half to earn a win. The Vikings beat Southern Illinois Edwardsville, 77-74 (11/23). JR G Tim Douglas scored 18 points to lead the Vikings while JR G DaShaun Wiggins added 17 points off the bench.
• JR G DaShaun Wiggins had a Viking season high of 21 points in a 79-63 victory over UC Davis (11/24). Wiggins added seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in just 21 minutes. It marked PSU's fourth win in a row - its longest winning streak since the 2011-12 season.
• JR G Tim Douglas posted a team season-high 27 points in a loss to Portland, 92-76 (12/7). Douglas added six rebounds, four steals and three assists. He was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week for his performance.
• JR G DaShaun Wiggins set season-highs in every category with 22 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in a loss to Idaho (12/14). JR G Tim Douglas handed out a season-high eight assists in the game.
• Portland State scored a season-high 98 points - its most in 62 games - in a 98-65 win over Evergreen State (12/23). The Vikings shots a season-high .545 from the field. SR F Aaron Moore scored a career-high 21 points, while SR G Marcus Hall added season-bests of 13 points and seven rebounds.
• PSU wrapped up its first winning preseason mark in three years at 5-4 (12/23).
• SR G Marcus Hall scored a career-high 19 points (7-10 FG, 5-7 3-pt), hit a career-best five three-pointers and handing out a best-ever six assists in a 79-76 loss to Montana State (1/9).
• JR G Gary Winston hit a three-pointer with 2.6 seconds left in triple overtime to beat Montana, 81-78 (1/11). Winston scored a career-high 21 points (6-11 FG, 3-7 3-pt, 6-8 FT) in the game and all nine of the Viking points in the third OT. He added five assists. Also posting a new career-high was SR G Marcus Hall with 21 points (5-7 FG, 5-6 3-pt, 6-6 FT), seven rebounds and three assists.