complete notes and stats in pdf
Associated press story and photos on PSU win over USC

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS vs. WILLAMETTE BEARCATS
Tuesday, November 18, 2014, 7:05 p.m. • Peter W. Stott Center (1,500), Portland, OR
 
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
2014-15 Record: 1-0
Head Coach: Tyler Geving (70-85/6th year)
 
WILLAMETTE BEARCATS
2014-15 Record: 0-0 (play Sunday night)
Head Coach: Kip Ioane (31-94/6th 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: www.vikslive.com, www.viksmobile.com
 
THE OPENING TIP
Coming off one of its biggest victories of Coach Tyler Geving's tenure, the Portland State Vikings return to the Stott Center for their first two home games of the 2014-15 season. The Vikings knocked off USC at the Galen Center on Saturday night, 76-68, and now host Willamette in a Tuesday night home opener. PSU then has SIU Edwardsville of the Ohio Valley Conference on Monday, Nov. 24, at home.
     
The Vikings (1-0) are on a high after just the fifth win in school history over a Pac-12 school. PSU had five players in double figures, three of whom are newcomers, as they led almost wire-to-wire in the win over the Trojans. SR F Tiegbe Bamba paced the team with 19 points (8-11 FG, 3-3 3-pt), six rebounds, four steals and two assists. SO F Braxton Tucker added 16 points and five rebounds. PSU took advantage of 23 USC turnovers - converting them into 31 points - while commiting only four turnovers of their own.
     
Willamette, an NCAA III member of the Northwest Conference, is located in nearby Salem, and comes to the Stott Center for the first time in five years. The Bearcats open their season on Sunday night, hosting Schreiner College of Texas.
     
The Vikings and the Bearcats will meet for the 10th time in history, but just the third time in more than 50 seasons. Tip-off is 7:05 p.m. at the Stott Center. A live video stream is available at www.WatchBigSky.com. Live audio can be found at www.GoViks.com. Live stats are at www.vikslive.com and www.viksmobile.com.
     
Once again this year, Portland State is hosting the "Get Stuffed" promotion with free concessions for all fans in attendance. Tickets are available at www.GoViks.com, by calling 503-725-3307 or at the door on game night.
 
THE SERIES: PORTLAND STATE VS. WILLAMETTE
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Willamette leads the all-time series, 5-4, but the teams have only played twice since PSU reinstated basketball in 1996-97. The Vikings won 94-66 in 2000 and 97-90 in 2009. Prior to that the teams had not played since the 1963-64 season.
• STREAK: Portland State has won two straight in the series, both at the Stott Center.
• LAST MEETING, Dec. 29, 2009, Peter W. Stott Center: A game that almost never started finally ended - the next day. The result was no surprise, but the time of conclusion - at 12:31 a.m. - was. A snowstorm that nobody had predicted hit the Portland area, causing massive traffic problems making the Willamette basketball team's one-hour commute from Salem nearly six hours. So, a game that was scheduled for a 5:05 p.m. start in the first contest of a doubleheader, did not tip off until 10:43 p.m... Portland State led for virtually the entire contest. But, the Vikings could never shake the pesky Bearcats... PSU was up 52-39 at halftime on the strength of 51% shooting. However, 15 second-half turnovers by the Viks allowed Willamette to stay in it... the Vikings led by 17 at one point, but needed 18-22 second-half free throws to maintain the win... Melvin Jones posted a career-high 27 points, Dominic Waters scored 18 and Julius Thomas added 16 points and eight rebounds.
• COACHES:  Viking Coach Tyler Geving is 1-0 against Willamette. Bearcats Coach Kane Ioane is 0-1 all-time against the Vikings.
 
GAME TRIVIA
• LOWER DIVISION OPPONENTS: Portland State is 14-0 against lower division schools since the start of the 2006-07 season. Head Coach Tyler Geving is 9-0 all-time against lower division opponents. 
• NON-CONFERENCE HOME 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.
• HOME OPENERS: Portland State is 14-4 in home opening games since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97.
 
THE WILLAMETTE BEARCATS
Willamette University is an NCAA III member of the Northwest Conference. The Bearcats were 3-22 last season, 1-15 in the NWC. They host Schreiner (TX) on Sunday night in their season opener.
 
THE VIKINGS PRESEASON
PSU has a formidable preseason slate that includes six of 10 games on the road. PSU plays two games at Pac-12 schools (USC, Oregon), two at West Coast Conference schools (Portland, San Francisco) and two at Big West foes (Cal State Northridge, UC Riverside). The Vikings' home opener is Nov. 18 against Willamette. PSU also faces SIU Edwardsville, Cal State Bakersfield and Walla Walla at the Stott Center during the preseason.       
     
The Big Sky Conference season starts Jan. 1 with a home game against Southern Utah.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES

WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 1-0 this season, 0-0 at home, 1-0 on the road.
• Portland State was 17-15, 12-5 at home, 4-9 on the road, 1-1 in neutral site games in 2013-14.
• The Vikings went 11-9 in the Big Sky Conference, 7-3 at home and 4-6 on the road.
• With 17 wins, PSU more than doubled the previous year's win total (8-20).
Stott Stuff
• PSU has gone 141-52 in 193 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 172-67 at home over the past 18 seasons.
• Portland State is 48-23 at home in five seasons under Tyler Geving.
• Since the start of the 2006-07 season, PSU is 85-26 at home, including 50-22 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.
 
WHO IS HOT?
• SR F Teigbe Bamba had a brilliant first game for the Vikings, scoring 19 points (8-11 FG, 3-3 3-pt) with six rebounds, four steals and two assists.
• SR G Tim Douglas scored 14 points against USC, making 5-7 field goals and 4-6 three-point shots.
• PSU had 10 steals and commited only four turnovers against USC.
 
NOT SO HOT
• The Vikings shot only .391 from the field (25-64) against USC.
• SR G Gary Winston was 0-12 from the field against the Trojans. Fortunately, he had six assists and no turnovers.
 
NEW PLAYERS, BIG IMPACT: Head Coach Tyler Geving inserted three new starters into his lineup for the opener at USC, and the results couldn't have been much better. SR F Tiegbe Bamba, SO G Bryce White and SO F Braxton Tucker were playing their first game as Vikings and they combined for 49 points (16-32 FG, 4-7 3-pt, 13-17 FT), 14 rebounds, four assists and six steals with only two turnovers. Each played 34 minutes... Bamba had 19 points, six rebounds and four steals... Tucker scored 16 points with five rebounds... White had 14 points with three rebounds.
 
VALUE THE BASKETBALL: Coaches preach it in practice and timeout huddles all season long. And they are right every time: you have to value the basketball. Portland State accomplished that at USC on the way to a big 76-68 win. PSU shot only .391 from the field compared to .532 from the Trojans. But the Vikings also gave up only four turnovers to USC's 23. The Vikings scored 31 points off Trojan mistakes, while USC had just six off the Vikings - a 25-point difference in an eight-point PSU win.
 
BEATING THE PAC-12: It doesn't happen often for the Vikings or members of the Big Sky Conference, but it happened on Saturday night when Portland State beat USC for the first time in its history (1-1). PSU is 5-48 all-time against Pac-12 schools (5-36 since joining the Big Sky in 1996-97), and Coach Tyler Geving can now claim his first win (1-8)... Portland State also has two wins over Oregon and two over Arizona State in its history... the Vikings have never beaten two Pac-12 opponents in the same season. They will get a chance to do so when they play at Oregon on Nov. 30.
 
VIKING ONE-LINERS (and sometimes two)
• Portland State has two players from foreign countries on its roster; Tiegbe Bamba (France) and Sebastian Suarez (Chile). Since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97, Portland State has also had players from England, Canada (3), Nigeria and Lithuania.
• FR G Zach Gengler was the Oregon 5A High School Player of the Year in 2012-13.
• PSU has three players that competed for other Division I schools: Tim Douglas (Portland), Calaen Robinson (Arizona State) and Dorian Cason (Portland). Robinson will redshirt this season due to his NCAA transfer status.
• JR F Collin Spickerman and SO G Bryce White have both returned home after earning NWAACC Region Player of the Year awards. Spickerman prepped less than 10 miles from the PSU campus at Portland's Jesuit High School. He spent one season at Alaska Anchorage and one season at Clark (WA) College. Last winter he was the NWAACC West Region Player of the Year after averaging 17.9 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.9 blocked shots per game. White prepped less than five miles from the PSU campus at Portland's Benson Tech. He was named the NWAACC South Region Player of the Year after averaging 27.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists at Chemeketa CC.
• With three fourth-year players on the roster this season (Gary Winston, Brandon Cataldo, Joel King), it marks only the second time the Viking program has had three fourth-year seniors in their Big Sky history (also 1999-2000 with Derek Nesland, Ivan Garner, Hasan Artharee).
• FR G Iziahiah Sweeney won the 2014 Ballislife All American Dunk contest. The video is available on YouTube (you won't be disappointed).
• Portland State is in its 18th season as a member of the Big Sky Conference and Division I. PSU played basketball from 1946-1981 before discontinuing the program. Basketball was reinstated for the 1996-97 season.
• The Viking basketball program has graduated 16 of 18 players who have completed their eligibility under Head Coach Tyler Geving.
• SR F Tiegbe Bamba, JR G Sebastian Suarez and JR G Kyler Shula were all redshirts for the Vikings last season.
• Head Coach Tyler Geving and Associate Head Coach Jeff Hironaka were both assistant coaches on the 2000-01 Seattle Pacific basketball staff.
• Special Advisor Barry Adams, a high school coaching legend in the state of Oregon, was elected to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame on March 10, 2014. Adams spent more than four decades as a prep coach in the state.
• Over the summer, fifth-year Assistant Coach Anthony Owens was named the new Head Coach at the University of Great Falls, his alma mater.
• Former Viking Ime Udoka played seven seasons in the NBA. He started 75 games for the Portland Trail Blazers in 2006-07. Udoka is now an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs.
• Julius Thomas, who holds Portland State records for games played (121), field goal percentage in a season and career (.671/.663), and career wins (78) is now the starting tight end and a Pro Bowler for the Denver Broncos. Thomas played on two Big Sky Conference Championship/NCAA Tournament teams (2007-08, 2008-09) at PSU. He competed in Super Bowl XLVIII last February.
• Portland State basketball fans will have the opportunity to Get Stuffed again this winter at the Stott Center. Any fan purchasing a ticket for a seat at the Peter W. Stott Center will receive free concessions. That's right, all the food you can eat from the concession stand. Portland State students, with student tickets, can also take advantage of this promotion. It's just that simple. Buy your ticket and you eat for free. Last year, more than 15,000 free hot dogs were eaten at Portland State men's and women's basketball games.