Complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA LUMBERJACKS
Saturday, January 18, 2014, 2:05 p.m. PT • JL Walkup Skydome (7,000), Flagstaff, AZ
 
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
Record/Big Sky: 7-7, 2-3
Head Coach: Tyler Geving (59-77/5th year)
 
NORTHERN ARIZONA LUMBERJACKS
Record/Big Sky: 7-9, 4-1
Head Coach: Jack Murphy (18-30/2nd year)
 
Television: Fox Sports Arizona, Fox College Sports Pacific
Live Video Stream: www.WatchBigSky.com
Live Audio Stream: www.GoViks.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pregame Show: 1:45 p.m. PT
Live Stats: vikslive.statb.us, viksmobile.com
 
THE OPENING TIP
The Portland State Vikings are developing a habit of taking as long as necessary to win a basketball game. And so far, it is working out for them. The Vikings will take a two-game winning streak (that includes a total of four overtime periods) with them to Northern Arizona for a Saturday afternoon Big Sky Conference game. The Vikings and the Lumberjacks - winners of three in a row - will meet in a 2:05 p.m. PT contest at the Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff.
        
Saturday's game will be televised on Fox Sports Arizona and Fox College Sports Pacific. Live video, audio and stats for Saturday's game can be found on-line at GoViks.com, starting at 1:45 p.m. Just click on the appropriate link in the Game Day box.
        
Portland State evened its record at 7-7 on Thursday night, winning at Sacramento State, 68-64 in overtime. That win came following an 81-78 triple overtime victory against Montana on Jan. 11. With two straight wins, PSU is now 2-3 and tied for sixth in Big Sky Conference play. The Vikings are 1-4 on the road.
        
Northern Arizona extended its winning streak to three games, beating Eastern Washington, 84-65, on Thursday. The Lumberjacks are 7-9 overall, 4-1 and tied for first in the Big Sky with Montana State and Northern Colorado. NAU also has a 4-1 home record.
 
THURSDAY NIGHT: VIKINGS BEAT SACRAMENTO STATE, 68-64, IN OT
Portland State earned a long-awaited road victory on Thursday night in Sacramento, beating the Hornets, 68-64, in overtime. The win stopped a 20-game road losing streak for the Vikings. PSU was solid all around, shooting .481 from the field with only nine turnovers. JR G Tim Douglas had a team-leading 13 points. SR F Kyle Richardson had his best game as a Viking with career-highs of 12 points and 10 rebounds, hitting 6-9 shots and blocking two shots. JR G Gary Winston had another good night, scoring 12 points with six assists and four rebounds. His three-pointer with 42 seconds left in overtime put the Vikings ahead, 64-58, and essentially sealed the win.
 
THE SERIES: PORTLAND STATE VS. NORTHERN ARIZONA
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads 22-18. Northern Arizona leads 11-7 in Flagstaff.
• BIG SKY SERIES: Portland State leads 20-17. Northern Arizona leads 11-6 in Flagstaff.
• BIG SKY TOURNAMENT: Northern Arizona leads 2-1 in tournament games.
• LAST SEASON: Each team won on its home court. The Vikings had five in double figures, led by 20 points and 11 rebounds from Renado Parker in a 79-74 win at PSU... the 'Jacks shot 63% and made eight three-pointers in the first half of a 79-72 win in Flagstaff. Gabe Rogers scored 25 points to lead NAU.
• Viking Coach Tyler Geving is 3-5 all-time against Northern Arizona... Northern Arizona Coach Jack Murphy is 1-1 all-time against the Vikings.
 
NORTHERN ARIZONA LUMBERJACKS: Northern Arizona is located in Flagstaff, AZ. The Lumberjacks have won four Big Sky Conference regular season championships and two Big Sky Tournament titles, making two NCAA Tournament appearances... last year, the Lumberjacks were 11-21 overall, 8-12 and tied for sixth in the Big Sky Conference... two starters and four letterwinners return from that team... this season, NAU has jumped to a 4-1 mark in the Big Sky and is tied for first while maintaining a 7-9 overall record... junior transfer Quinton Upshur has made a big impact, leading the team with a 14.8 scoring average... senior forward Max Jacobsen averages 13.8 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting .588 from the field... Aaseem Dixon, another newcomer, averages 13.4 points and has made a team-leading 37 three-point field goals... in five Big Sky games, NAU is allowing a league-low 59.8 points, forces opponents to shoot .382 from the field and has a +13.8 scoring margin... the 'Jacks have also shot .544 from three-point range (37-68).
 
MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES: Portland State comes home for four straight games over the next two weeks. The level of success the Vikings achieve over that span will go far toward a potential Big Sky Conference Tournament berth. Coming up are Southern Utah (1-13/0-5), Eastern Washington (7-9/2-3), Northern Colorado (10-4/4-1) and North Dakota (5-10/2-3). The Vikings will play six of the final 10 games on the road.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE QUICK NOTES
 
HOT SHOTS:
• SR F Kyle Richardson posted career-highs of 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win at Sacramento State. Richardson hit 6-9 FGs, had two assists, two blocked shots and a steal.
• SR G Marcus Hall is 15-26 from three-point range in five Big Sky games (.577).
• JR G Gary Winston leads the Big Sky Conference in three-point percentage (16-30, .533). In his last four games, he is 16-33 from the field, 10-18 from three-point range, and averaging 12.8 points.
• JR C Brandon Cataldo was 3-3 from the field at Sacramento State and leads the Vikings in shooting this season at 23-36 (.639).
• JR G Tim Douglas has scored in double figures in 13 of 14 games this season. He leads the team in scoring (15.1), assists (3.9) and steals (17).
• Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in assists per game (14.3) and assist-to-turnover ratio (14.3/11.9).
 
NOT SO HOT:
• Following a shooting string of 21-32 over five games (.656), JR G Andre Winston Jr. was only 1-5 at Sacramento State.
• PSU shoots only .406 from the field and .629 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.
 
HOME/ROAD DIFFERENTIAL:
• Portland State is 6-3 at home this season, 1-4 on the road.
• PSU has shot .406 from the field, .329 from distance and .629 at the line on the road this year, averaging 12.6 turnovers.
• At home, PSU shoots .485/.422/.733 and averages only 11.6 turnovers.
• The Vikings average 62.8 points on the road and 78.7 at home.
 
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: When your coach tells you every possession is important, you better believe it. In Portland State's last three games - a three-point loss to Montana State and a pair of overtime wins, neither the Vikings nor their opponent has held a double-digit lead... MSU's largest lead was nine points in the Jan. 9 game. PSU's largest lead was four... Montana's largest lead was nine while PSU's largest lead was eight on Jan. 11... against Sacramento State, PSU's biggest lead was six and the Hornets' biggest lead was eight.
 
NO TIME LIKE OVERTIME: Portland State played back-to-back overtime games for the first time in its history over the past week (records of games between 1947-54 do not include overtime designations). What is really great about this historical quirk is the Vikings won both contests. PSU beat Montana, 81-78, in triple overtime on Jan. 11. 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... the Vikings beat Sacramento State, 68-64 in overtime on Thursday in Sacramento. Winston again hit a key three-pointer in overtime. But the really exciting part about that win was it ended a 20-game road losing streak for the Vikings.
 
KEEP SHOOTING GARY: JR G Gary Winston led the Big Sky Conference in three-point percentage last season (.470), so it is no surprise he is leading the league again this year (.533). Moreover, he has hit clutch threes in each of the last two games. Winston made the game-winner with 2.6 seconds remaining in the third overtime of an 81-78 win against Montana (1/11). Then, with the Vikings clinging to a 61-58 lead against Sacramento State in overtime and less than a minute to play, Winston rose up and buried a trey to make it 64-58 with 42 seconds to go. That shot essentially sealed the win for the Vikings.
• Winston is the Portland State career leader in three-point percentage (.457).
• 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).
• In his last four games, Winston has averaged 12.8 points and 4.0 assists, hitting 10-18 three-pointers.
 
GAME-WINNERS: JR G Gary Winston's game-winning shot against Montana (1/11) 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 12.7 points and 2.5 assists in the last six games after averaging 5.3 points and 1.0 assists through the first eight. He is 24-41 from the field in the last six games (.585).
• Hall ranks fourth in the Big Sky in three-point percentage (.455) overall and third in conference (.577).
• Hall now has a team-high 25 three-pointers for the season.
 
BIG GAME FOR BIG RICH: SR F Kyle Richardson had his best game as a Viking in the win over Sacramento State. Richardson posted career-highs of 12 points and 10 rebounds and hit 6-9 shots from the field. He added two assists, two blocks and a steal in 35 minutes... 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 25 minutes per night, Richardson averages 5.9 points and 4.6 rebounds - both career highs.
• In his last four games, Richardson has averaged 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds, shooting .560 from the field, 5-5 at the line with five blocked shots and five steals.
• Richardson has led the Vikings in rebounding three times this season.
 
THE LEADER: JR G Tim Douglas is making a big impact for the Vikings this season. He is averaging team-highs of 15.1 points, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals.
• Douglas has led the Vikings in scoring in five games and assists in nine games.
• He has scored in double figures in 13 of 14 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 eighth 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 9.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists. He shoots .559 from the field and a team-leading .786 at the line. He also has an excellent 27/19 assist-to-turnover ratio. Those are nice improvements over his numbers last year of 7.0, .391 and .705.
• Winston has made 22-37 shots over the last five games (.595).
 
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 nine of 14 games this season and is second on the team in scoring (12.8), 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 56-76 already this season.
• 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 16th in the Big Sky Conference in scoring.
 
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 4.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in just 12.5 minutes per night. Those work out to 14.4 points and 12.2 rebounds per 40 minutes... in the last two overtime wins, Cataldo scored 10 points (5-6 FG) with eight rebounds in a combined 34 minutes. His tip-in basket in the final minute of the first overtime against Montana tied the game, sending it to a second OT.
• Cataldo leads the team with a .639 field goal percentage. He shoots .580 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.