complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS vs. PORTLAND PILOTS
Wednesday, December 3, 2014, 7 p.m. • Chiles Center (4,852), Portland, OR
 
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
2014-15 Record: 4-1
Head Coach: Tyler Geving (73-86/6th year)
 
PORTLAND PILOTS
2014-15 Record: 5-1
Head Coach: Eric Reveno (116-143/9th year)
 
Live Video Stream: www.portlandpilots.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
They live on opposite sides of the river, featuring ships to patrol the waters, but it will be the basketball court where the Portland State Vikings and Portland Pilots battle for city supremacy.
     
The Vikings (4-1) and Pilots (5-1) are both off to good starts in the 2014-15 season. That should make for an entertaining basketball game when they meet for bragging rights this Wednesday in a 7 p.m. game at the Chiles Center.
     
Portland is 2-0 at home this season and carries a three-game winning streak over the Vikings into Wednesday's contest. Meanwhile, the Vikings are 2-1 on the road - following a Sunday evening loss at Oregon. PSU faced its first bit of adversity on the young season, shooting only .258 from the field in the game. The question will be how well they bounce back against another quality opponent.
     
A live video stream of the game can be found at www.portlandpilots.com by clicking on the men's basketball schedule link. Live audio is available at www.GoViks.com with live stats at vikslive.com and viksmobile. All links are available on the front page Game Day box at GoViks.com.
           
The game is the third of four in a row on the road for the Vikings. So far the Vikings have a win at Cal State Northridge (63-55) and a loss at Oregon (81-59). After facing Portland, the Vikings play at UC Riverside on Saturday night.
     
PSU's next home game does not come until a Dec. 13 contest with Cal State Bakersfield. The preseason schedule rounds out with a Dec. 18 game at San Francisco, then a Dec. 22 home game against Walla Walla. Big Sky Conference play begins on Jan. 1 with a home game against Southern Utah.
 
THE SERIES: PORTLAND STATE VS. PORTLAND
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland leads the all-time series, 34-17. Since Portland State reinstated its program for the 1996-97 season, the Pilots have a 10-7 advantage. Portland has won the last three meetings. The Vikings won four straight prior to that (2006-09).
• LAST MEETING, Dec. 7, 2013, Peter W. Stott Center, Portland 92, Portland State 76: The Vikings led much of the first half, but a 13-1 run by the Pilots to close out the half gave them a 47-40 advantage they never relinquished. PSU closed within two with seven minutes to play, but Portland was able to pull away at the end... Kevin Bailey scored 23 points to lead Portland. Thomas van der Mars had 19 points and 18 rebounds, leading a 40-33 rebound edge for the Pilots... Tim Douglas led the Vikings with 27 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists. Gary Winston scored 13 points.
• COACHES:  Vikings Coach Tyler Geving (73-86, 6th season) is 1-3 all-time against Portland. Pilots Coach Eric Reveno (116-143/9th year) is 3-4 all-time against the Vikings.
• VIKINGS vs. WEST COAST CONFERENCE: Portland State is 33-67 all-time against current members of the West Coast Conference. The Vikings play Portland and San Francisco (Dec. 18, 0-0) this season... Viking Coach Tyler Geving is 4-6 all-time against members of the West Coast (1-3 vs. Portland, 2-0 vs. Pepperdine, 1-1 vs. Loyola Marymount, 0-1 vs. Saint Mary's and 0-1 against San Diego).
• HE AVERAGES 27 IN THE SERIES: SR G Tim Douglas scored a career-high 27 points last December in the Vikings' loss to Portland. Douglas also scored 27 points on Dec. 18, 2010 as a freshman for the Pilots against the Vikings. He transferred from UP to PSU following the 2011-12 season and was a Viking redshirt in 2012-13.
 
THE PORTLAND PILOTS
The Portland Pilots are members of the West Coast Conference. Head Coach Eric Reveno is in his ninth season with UP and has a 116-143 record. The Pilots were 15-16 last season, 7-9 and tied for sixth in the WCC. Four starters and nine letterwinners return from that team... senior guard Kevin Bailey leads the Pilots in scoring at 15.3 points per game... though little-used, freshman guard D'Marques Tyson is averaging 12.0 points and has hit 11-20 three-pointers (.550). Tyson scored 25 in a loss to Valparaiso on Sunday... senior forward Volodymyr Gerun is averaging 11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds... guard Alec Wintering is the team leader in assists at 4.5 per game, he has 11 steals and averages 9.3 points... Portland is a tall team, featuring four players at 6-11 or taller - all of whom play and two of whom start. The Pilots hold a +7.8 rebounding advantage per game and hold opponents to .422 shooting from the field.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 4-1 this season, 2-0 at home, 2-1 on the road.
• The Vikings have won four straight home games dating to last season.
• 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).
 
HOT SHOTS
• SR G DaShaun Wiggins has scored in double figures all five games this season. He posted a career-high 32 points (12-18 FG, 3-4 3-pt, 5-10) in the Vikings overtime win against Southern Illinois Edwardsville  (11/24). It was the first 30-point game by a Viking in 68 games.
• SR F Tiegbe Bamba likes playing road games. He has 46 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and six steals in three road games. He has made 18-30 field goals in the three games (.600).
• SR G DaShaun Wiggins (9-14, .643) and SR G Tim Douglas (11-18, .611) have been deadly from three-point range. Wiggins and Douglas rank one and two in the Big Sky Conference in three-point percentage.
• PSU has 45 steals and a +7.2 turnover margin through five games.
 
NOT SO HOT
• Portland State shot .258 from the field (17-66) against Oregon. That marked the worst single-game field goal percentage by a Viking team since the program was reinstated and joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97.
 
NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Where Portland State stands in the NCAA statistical rankings through games of Nov. 30:
• 18th in the nation in three-point percentage (.425).
• 6th in the nation in turnover margin (+7.2).
• 22nd in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (10.6).
• 32nd in the nation in steals per game (9.0).
• SO F Braxton Tucker is tied for the national lead in free throw percentage (11-11, 1.000) with seven other players.
• SO F Braxton Tucker ranks 18th in the nation in offensive rebounding (4.00 per game).
 
POLLING NUMBERS: Portland State earned votes in the Nov. 24 Mid-Major Top-25 poll. The Vikings received 22 polling points, effectively ranking 36th in the nation among mid-major teams.
 
VALUE THE BASKETBALL: After five games, Portland State has forced opponents into 89 turnovers while committing only 53. The defining result is the advantage PSU has in points off turnovers, getting 104 while giving up only 59.
 
FAST HANDS: The 89 forced turnovers (17.8 per game) are in large part due to Portland State having 45  steals - an average of 9.0 per game. SR F Tiegbe Bamba leads the team with 10 and SR G DaShaun Wiggins has nine steals.
 
LATE-GAME HEROICS: With an overtime win against Southern Illionis Edwardsville on Nov. 24, the Vikings continue a trend that began last year with late-game heroics. The Vikings never led in the last four minutes of regulation against SIUE, but got a tieing basket from SO F Braxton Tucker with 8.8 seconds left to play. In overtime, DaShaun Wiggins gave the Vikings their first lead with 1:21 to play on a driving three-point play... with the overtime win PSU is now 4-1 in overtime games since the start of the 2013-14 season... last year, Portland State proved to be a team that performed well under pressure, going 10-6 in close games (seven points or less) and 3-1 in overtime... the Vikings came back to win seven games when trailing at halftime - the most by any team in the Big Sky Conference.
 
SHOOTING STAR: Prior to the start of this season, Head Coach Tyler Geving lauded his senior point guard Tim Douglas for how hard he worked on his outside shooting during the off-season. That work has paid off. Douglas shot .382 from the field and .331 from three-point range last season. Through five games this season, Douglas is shooting .559 from the field and .611 from three-point range.
• Douglas scored a season-high 17 points (5-7 FG, 3-3 3-pt 4-4 FT) in a win over SIUE (11/24). He added four steals and three assists.
 
SIXTH-MAN SENSATION: SR G DaShaun Wiggins was Portland State's leading scorer last season despite not being a starter. He averaged 12.9 points per game in 22.9 minutes per night. That effort earned him Big Sky Conference co-6th Man of the Year honors... in 2014-15, Wiggins is looking better than ever. After his career performance against SIUE on Monday (32 points), Wiggins leads the team in scoring again at 15.8. He shoots .448 from the field and has made 9-14 three-pointers this season (.643).
• Wiggins posted a career-high 32 points (12-18 FG, 3-4 3-pt, 5-10 FT) in a 90-87 overtime win against SIUE (11/24).
• Wiggins has scored in double figures in all five games this season.
 
X-FACTOR: When SO F Braxton Tucker was signed in the off-season, it was expected he may play a backup role in his first year as a Viking. But Tucker went out and earned a starting job in preseason practice and has fluorished in his role. He ranks second on the team in scoring (12.8) and first in rebounding (7.5).
• Tucker ranks 18th in the nation in offensive rebounding (4.0) and is tied for first in free throw percentage (11-11, 1.000).
• Leads the Big Sky in free throw percentage (1.000) and ranks seventh in rebounding (7.5).
• He has scored in double figures in all four games he has played. Missed one game with a quad contusion.
 
5x10: Head Coach Tyler Geving knew he had a number of players who could score going into this season. That has proven itself as five are currently averaging in double figures and a sixth is close. They are: DaShaun Wiggins (15.8), Braxton Tucker (12.8), Bryce White (12.4), Tim Douglas (12.0) and Tiegbe Bamba (11.5). All five rank in the top 25 in scoring in the Big Sky Conference... Gary Winston, who averaged 11.3 last season, is currently averaging 8.0 points, but also leads the Vikings in assists (3.4).
 
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.
 
BEATING THE PAC-12: It doesn't happen often for the Vikings or members of the Big Sky Conference, but it happened on Nov. 15 when Portland State beat USC for the first time in its history, 76-68. The Vikings are 1-1 all-time against the Trojans... PSU is 5-49 all-time against Pac-12 schools (5-37 since joining the Big Sky in 1996-97) after a Nov. 30 loss at Oregon. Coach Tyler Geving is 1-9 against the Pac-12.
 
THE TYLER GEVING BASKETBALL SHOW: The Tyler Geving Basketball Show is available on Blog Talk Radio. The show takes place each Wednesday night, 10:30-11:00 pm, PDT. The link to listen changes each week, but the weekly link can be found at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/tylergevingshow. Geving, a 10-year veteran of the Viking basketball program, is in his sixth season as head coach. He will talk Viking basketball, Big Sky basketball and review and preview games. Greg Crawford hosts the show.
 
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.
• 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.
• SO G Zach Gengler was the Oregon 5A High School Player of the Year in 2012-13.
• 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 19th 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.
• Portland State received public recognition from the NCAA last May for being among the top 10 percent of teams in multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores for the four-year period ending in 2012-13. PSU basketball, which received APR sanctions five years ago, is now among the top programs in the nation in APR scores. Head Coach Tyler Geving has led the program to that accomplishment. PSU has the only men's basketball program in the Big Sky Conference and among the state of Oregon's four Division I programs to be among the top 10 percent recognized by the NCAA.
• 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.
 
2014-15 PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS TEAM NOTES
• Portland State will try to build on its 17-15/11-9 finish of 2013-14. The Vikings more than doubled their previous years' win total (8-20/5-15). The last time PSU won more than 17 games was a 23-10 season in 2008-09.
• In addition to the marked improvement last season, Portland State proved to be a team that performed well under pressure, going 10-6 in close games (seven points or less) and 3-1 in overtime... the Vikings came back to win seven games when trailing at halftime - the most by any team in the Big Sky Conference... PSU was 9-1 when leading at halftime, matching Montana State for the best record in that category... the Vikings lost only one game when leading at halftime - the fewest such losses by any team in the Big Sky.
• Portland State begins its 19th season as a member of the Big Sky Conference in 2014-15. PSU won Big Sky regular season titles in 2004-05 and 2007-08. The Vikings won Big Sky tournament titles, advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 2007-08 and 2008-09... PSU's trip to the CollegeInsider.com post-season tournament in 2013-14 was its first Division I post-season tournament other than its previous NCAA trips.
• The Big Sky expands to 12 schools with the return of the University of Idaho. The conference schedule will be reduced to 18 games. As a result, PSU will not travel to Montana and Montana State this season, and will not host Weber State and Idaho State... the Big Sky Conference Tournament also expands to the top eight teams (from seven) with no first-round byes.
• The Vikings' non-conference schedule includes four home games and six road games. PSU will travel to Pac-12 foes USC and Oregon, WCC opponents Portland and San Francisco, and Big West schools UC Riverside and Cal State Northridge... the Vikings have Willamette, SIU Edwardsville, Cal State Bakersfield and Walla Walla at home.
• Portland State signed Torrian Epps to a National Letter of Intent for the 2015-16 academic year on Nov. 19. Epps, a 6-4 guard, is the first signee for next year's Viking class. He currently plays at Central Arizona College where he is averaging 17.9 points per game and shooting .545 from the field. As a freshman, he played at Howard College in Texas, averaging 8.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and shooting 52% from the field. Epps is from Holbrook, AZ where he played for Holbrook High School, leading the team to a 34-4 record as a senior. Holbrook finished in the final four of the Arizona Division 3 State Tournament. Epps averaged 18.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, shot 58% from the field and 44% from three-point range.
 
2014-15 SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL
• In his first game as a Viking, SR F Tiegbe Bamba led the team to a rare win over a Pac-12 school as the Vikings beat USC 76-68 (11/15). Bamba scored 19 points (8-11 FG, 3-3 3-pt), had six rebounds, four steals and two assists in the game, leading five players in double figures. It was the first win over a Pac-12 opponent since the 2006-07 season and just the fifth all-time (5-48).
• SR F Tiegbe Bamba was named Big Sky Conference co-Player of the Week (11/18) after his performance in the win over USC. Bamba had 19 points, six rebounds and four steals in a 76-68 win.
• SO G Bryce White posted 19 points, six rebounds and five assists as the Vikings routed Willamette, 84-63 (11/18). PSU shot .544 from the field, .571 from three-point range and forced 23 turnovers for the second straight game. SR G Tim Douglas scored 15 points and did not miss a shot (6-6 FG, 3-3 3-pt FG).
• SR G DaShaun Wiggins scored a career-high 32 points (12-18 FG, 3-4 3-pt, 5-10 FT) in leading the Vikings to a 90-87 overtime win against Southern Illinois Edwardsville (11/24). Wiggins made a driving three-point play to give the Vikings the lead for good with 1:21 to play in OT. His 30-point effort was the first by a Viking in 68 games.
• With a 63-55 win over Cal State Northridge, Portland State improved to 4-0 to start a season for the first time since 2008-09 (11/26). The Vikings played their best defensive game, holding the Matadors 18 points below their season average, forcing 18 turnovers and .383 shooting. SR F Tiegbe Bamba scored 18 points (7-10 FG, 4-6 FT) with eight rebounds to lead the Vikings.