complete notes and stats in pdf

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PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (3-3) vs. WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (4-1)
Sunday, December 6, 1 p.m. • Beasley Coliseum (11,566), Pullman, WA
 
Television: Pac-12 Network • Play-by-play: Greg Heister • Analyst: Dan Dickau
Live Audio: www.GoViks.com • Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com

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THE OPENING TIP
Portland State will play two road games over the next 10 days beginning this Sunday afternoon at Washington State. The Vikings and the Cougars will meet for the first time in six years when they play a game at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman. Tip-off is 1 p.m. in a game televised on the Pac-12 Network.
     
The Vikings will try to shake off a disappointing home loss to the University of Portland on Wednesday night. PSU dropped the game 78-72 after shooting only .333 from the field and .565 at the line. It was only the seventh non-conference home loss for the Vikings in the last nine seasons. GR F Cameron Forte had 18 points and 15 rebounds, JR G Zach Gengler added a career-high 17 points, but the Vikings were undone by their poor shooting.
     
PSU is now 3-3 on the season, 1-2 on the road, with a win at Texas Rio Grande Valley and losses at Grand Canyon and Nevada.
     
Washington State goes into the Sunday game at 4-1. The Cougars suffered their first loss on Wednesday night, falling to 13th-ranked Gonzaga, 69-60, at home. WSU has played all five games at home, including wins over two Big Sky Conference schools (82-70 vs. Northern Arizona, 85-67 vs. Idaho State).
     
In addition to being televised on the Pac-12 Network, live audio and live stats can be found at GoViks.com by clicking on the Game Day box.
 
COMING UP
Portland State has most of next week off from competition as finals take place Dec. 7-11. PSU's next contest is Dec. 12 at Southern Illinois Edwardsville. That game is televised on Fox Sports Midwest at 2 p.m. PT.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. WASHINGTON STATE
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Washington State leads the all-time series, 7-0. Six of the seven games have come since PSU reinstated basketball in 1996-97... the most recent game was in 2009-10. The Cougars have hosted five of the seven meetings.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Tyler Geving (87-102, 7th season) is 0-1 all-time against the Cougars. He has a 1-9 all-time record against the Pac-12. Washington State Head Coach Ernie Kent (17-19, 2nd year) is in his 21st season as a collegiate head coach. He was 7-2 against Portland State while head coach of the Oregon Ducks.
• VIKINGS VS. THE PAC-12 CONFERENCE: Washington State is Portland State's only Pac-12 opponent of the season. PSU is 5-49 all-time against Pac-12 schools. Last year, PSU was 1-1 against the Pac-12, winning at USC (76-68) and losing at Oregon (81-59).
 
WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS
• The Washington State Cougars were 13-18 last season, 7-11 and tied for eighth in the Pac-12.
• The Cougars have three returning starters and five returning letterwinners from last season.
• WSU has opened this season at 4-1, with all five games coming at home. The only loss is a Wednesday night game to 13th-ranked Gonzaga (69-60).
• Washington State has done an excellent job defensively this season, holding opponents to 65.6 points and .399 shooting from the field. The Cougars have blocked 36 shots in five games, including 19 by JR C Valentine Izundu. WSU also averages 8.2 steals per game and out-rebounds opponents by 4.4 per contest.
• JR F Josh Hawkinson averages team-leading totals of 14.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. He shoots .511 from the field and .909 at the free throw line.
• JR G Ike Iroegbu averages 14.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. He is also the team-leader in three-point shooting (8-14).
• JR G Que Johnson averages 11.8 points per game.
 
WHO IS HOT?
• JR G Zach Gengler poured in a career-high 17 points (7-14 FG, 3-7 3-pt) in the Vikings loss to Portland.
• GR F Cameron Forte is averaging 21.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and shooting .559 from the field. Forte has three 20-point games and three double-doubles.
• JR G Calaen Robinson has 17 assists in his last two games.
• GR G Donivine Stewart has 12 assists and only two turnovers in 108 minutes of play.
• Portland State has held opponents to .382 shooting from the field.
• The Vikings are outrebounding opponents by 5.3 per game.
 
WHO IS NOT?
• Portland State is shooting .638 from the free throw line this season, including .565 against Portland.
• The Vikings have lost five in a row to the University of Portland.
• Portland State has committed more turnovers than its opponents (84/83).
• JR G Bryce White missed Wednesday's game against Portland due to a sprained ankle.
• PSU's top returning scorer from last season, JR F Braxton Tucker has missed the first five games of the season while recovering from injury.
 
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE: Portland State has held five of six opponents to .420 or less from the field - the statistical goal that Head Coach Tyler Geving sets for his team. Three opponents have shot below .360 from the field. Overall, opponents are shooting .382 from the field and .294 from three-point range.
 
FORTISSIMO: GR F Cameron Forte has been loud and strong with his performance in his first six games as a Viking. In 160 minutes of playing time, Forte has scored 130 points with 60 rebounds. He is shooting .559 from the field.
• Forte leads the Big Sky in scoring (21.7) and ranks second in rebounding (10.0).
• Forte has three 20-point games and one 30-point game.
• He has three double-doubles on the season.
 
SWAT STATS: SR C Collin Spickerman set a PSU record for blocked shots per game (2.48) last season while leading the Big Sky Conference. Spickerman has 14 blocks this season and 86 blocks in 35 career games, ranking fourth in PSU history.
• Spickerman ranks second in the Big Sky in blocked shots (2.3).
• Spickerman blocked four shots and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds in the season opener at Grand Canyon (11/13).
• Spickerman scored a career-high 13 points in the win at UTRGV (11/22).
• He has two games of four or more blocked shots.
 
MR. ROBINSON'S NEIGHBORHOOD: JR G Calaen Robinson is starting to hit his stride. He has 17 assists in the last two games.
• Robinson's 11 assists against Multnomah were the most by a Viking since Feb. 5, 2009.
• Robinson has three double-figure scoring games.
• He leads the team in three-point field goals (13), assists (4.7) and steals (9).
• Ranks sixth in the Big Sky Conference in assists.
 
SIXTH MAN STATS: SO F Isaiah Pineiro has been the Vikings' key player off the bench. In 19.8 minutes per game, he averages 9.3 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting .571 from the field.
• Had back-to-back double-doubles on the road, getting 24 points and 14 rebounds at UTRGV (11/22) and 13 points and 11 rebounds at Nevada (11/25).
• Ranks sixth in the Big Sky Conference in rebounding.
 
PICKING UP HIS PLAY: Head Coach Tyler Geving has called for more offense from JR G Zach Gengler this year after he was the Vikings' top perimeter defender last year. After going scoreless in the season-opener, Gengler has 48 points in the last five games. His 17 points (7-14 FG, 3-7 3-pt) against Portland was a career high.
• Gengler is averaging a career-high 8.0 points per game.
 
BIG SKY CONFERENCE LEADERS:
• GR F Cameron Forte leads the Big Sky conference in scoring at 21.7 points per game and offensive rebounds (4.8 per game).
• PSU leads the Big Sky Conference in scoring (83.5), field goal percentage defense (.382) and rebounding margin (+5.3).
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS:
• GR F Cameron Forte ranks 18th in the nation in scoring (21.7), 26th in rebounding (10.0) and sixth in offensive rebounding (4.8).
 
BETTER OFF THE BENCH: Portland State's top performances by players coming off the bench:
• GR F Cameron Forte had 22 points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes against Pacific Lutheran.
• JR G Calaen Robinson scored 13 points with two assists in 13 minutes against Pacific Lutheran.
• The Viking bench scored 62 points and had 32 rebounds in 104 total minutes against PLU.
• SO F Isaiah Pineiro had game-highs of 24 points (11-14 FG) and 14 rebounds in 29 minutes at UTRGV.
• GR F Cameron Forte scored a game-high 23 points with nine rebounds at Nevada.
• JR F De'Sean Parson scored 14 points (6-8 FG, 2-2 FT) with three rebounds in 17 minutes against Multnomah.