complete notes and stats in pdf

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PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (6-8, 2-1) vs. WEBER STATE WILDCATS (11-5, 3-0)
Thursday, January 14, 7:05 p.m. • Peter W. Stott Center (1,500), Portland, OR
Live Video and Audio: www.GoViks.com • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt • Pre-game Show: 6:45 p.m.
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com

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THE OPENING TIP
Portland State returns home with a chance to make a move in the standings early in the Big Sky Conference season. The Vikings, 2-1 in the Big Sky and tied for third, host 3-0 Weber State on Thursday night. A win would leave them tied with the Wildcats in second place in the conference standings.
     
The Vikings and Wildcats meet in a 7:05 p.m. game at the Stott Center. Live video, audio and stats are available at GoViks.com. PSU then hosts Idaho State in a 7:05 p.m. game on Saturday.
     
Losing is bad, but a split on the road in Big Sky Conference play is pretty good. That is exactly what the Vikings pulled off last weekend in Montana. PSU lost 79-66 at Montana, but bounced back to beat Montana State, 77-70. With the win, the Vikings pulled into a tie for third in the Big Sky with Idaho.
     
PSU has now won three of its last four games and will find it important to maintain that momentum at home this week. The Vikings go on the road the following two weeks.
     
Weber State is always a formidable challenge and this season is no different. The Wildcats have the Big Sky's best record overall at 11-5, and are a half-game behind Montana (4-0) in the conference standings at 3-0.
     
WSU brings its own momentum to the Stott Center as it has won six games in a row, though the last five have come at home. The Wildcats have an 0-3 road record and a 4-1 neutral site record, making them 4-4 in away games.
     
Portland State is 6-8 overall, including 4-2 at home this season. PSU has won its last two games in the Stott Center. The Vikings have also won the last two in the series with Weber State, but the Wildcats have a commanding 29-13 advantage overall in Big Sky Conference matchups.
 
COMING UP
Portland State hosts Idaho State on Saturday night in their final home game until the month of February.  The Vikings close out the month with games at Sacramento State (Jan. 23), Eastern Washington (Jan. 28) and Idaho (Jan. 30). Beginning Feb. 4, six of the final 10 Big Sky games will be played at home.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. WEBER STATE
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Weber State leads the all-time series 33-13 and the Big Sky series 29-13... PSU has an 11-8 advantage in conference games played in Portland... the Vikings have won the last two meetings, a 69-63 decision in Ogden last year, and a 66-59 win at the Stott Center late in the 2013-14 season... the Wildcats had won seven straight in the series prior that.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Tyler Geving (90-107, 7th season) is 4-10 all-time against Weber State. Wildcats Head Coach Randy Rahe (193-109/10th season) is 15-5 all-time against the Vikings.
• LAST SEASON: Due to the unbalanced Big Sky Conference schedule the teams only met once... JAN. 22, PSU 69 at WSU 63: Portland State got its first win in Ogden since 2006 and only its second ever in in Ogden in Big Sky Conference play. The Vikings took a 31-24 halftime lead and held on on the strength of .500 shooting from the field. Weber State shot only .361 for the game. Braxton Tucker scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half to pace the Vikings. Tucker made 9-12 field goals in the game. DaShaun Wiggins had 17 points. Tiegbe Bamba had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds and Collin Spickerman blocked four shots. For the Wildcats, Jeremy Senglin scored 21 points with seven assists and Joel Bolomboy had 10 rebounds.
 
WEBER STATE WILDCATS
• Weber State was 13-17 last season, 8-10 and tied for seventh in the Big Sky Conference.
• The Wildcats have won 21 Big Sky regular season championships, nine Big Sky tournament championships, and made 15 appearances in the NCAA tournament in their history.
• WSU has four starters and six letterwinners returning from last season. Joel Bolomboy led the Big Sky Conference in rebounding (10.2 pg) and was named second team All-Big Sky. Jeremy Senglin was honorable mention All-Big Sky.
• Weber State is 11-5 this season, the best mark in the Big Sky. The Wildcats are also 3-0 in Big Sky games and have won six straight overall.
• The Wildcats can shoot it, as proven by their .493 field goal percentage and 8.6 three-pointers made per game. They average 80.8 points per game and allow only 67.2. Their three Big Sky wins have come by an average of 16.7 points.
• WSU leads the Big Sky in scoring, scoring margin (+13.6), field goal percentage, field goal percentage defense (.405) and ranks second in rebounding margin (+6.2).
• Forward Joel Bolomboy stars for the Wildcats averaging 17.9 points and 13.8 rebounds per game. He ranks second in the nation in rebounding and leads the nation with 15 double-doubles. Bolomboy shoots .601 from the field as well.
• Guard Jeremy Senglin is the team's leading scorer at 18.3 points per per game. He has made 51-105 three pointers this season (.486) to lead the Big Sky Conference. He also leads the team with 47 assists.
• Kyndahl Hall averages 9.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, has a team-high 22 blocked shots and shoots .659 from the field.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 6-8 this season, 4-2 at home, 2-6 on the road.
• The Vikings have won two in a row at home and three of four overall.
• PSU ended a five-game road losing streak with its win at Montana State.
• Portland State has had back-to-back winning seasons (17-15 in 2013-14, 15-14 in 2014-15) and will try to make it three straight winning seasons for the first time since 2006-09.
Stott Stuff
• PSU has gone 154-58 in 212 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 185-73 at home over 20 seasons.
• Portland State is 61-29 at home in seven seasons under Tyler Geving.
• Since the start of the 2006-07 season, PSU is 98-32 at home, including 56-26 in Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament games.
• Portland State has lost only eight non-conference home games in the last nine seasons (42-8). PSU is 24-8 against Division I schools, and 18-0 against lower division schools over that span.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 160-166 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (9-10).
• PSU is 106-51 in home games, 51-109 in road games and 3-7 in neutral site games.
• PSU is 73-68 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 80-72 including tournament games.
 
WHO IS HOT?
• GR F Cameron Forte racked up his fourth double-double of the year with 26 points (12-18 FG) and 11 rebounds in the win at Montana State.
• SO F Isaiah Pineiro has been in double figures in six straight games, averaging 15.2 points and 6.0 rebounds.
• JR G Bryce White has 62 points in the last four games (16.0 ppg).
• JR G Calaen Robinson had seven assists and five steals at Montana State.
• JR G Zach Gengler made 18 straight free throws before missing one at MSU.
• Portland State has won two games in a row.
 
WHO IS NOT?
• Portland State is shooting .324 from three-point range and .656 from the free throw line this season. Both numbers rank 11th in the 12-team Big Sky Conference.
• JR G Zach Gengler was 1-9 from the field in the last two games.
• PSU's top returning scorer from last season, JR F Braxton Tucker has missed the entire season while recovering from a knee injury.
 
PORTLAND STATE LEADS THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE IN:
• Assists per game (17.1)
• Steals per game (8.3)
 
AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS:
• The Vikings rank 19th in the nation in assists per game (17.1)
• PSU ranks 33 in the nation in steals per game (8.3)
 
HANDLE IT!: Turnovers have been a concern for Coach Tyler Geving this year. The Vikings were averaging 14.5 turnovers per game as they compiled a 3-7 record prior to Christmas. In the three wins since the holiday, PSU has averaged only 10.7 turnovers.
 
A DIFFERENT LOOK: Head Coach Tyler Geving started six different lineups through the first 10 games. In the last five games, he has stuck with the group of Donivine Stewart, Calaen Robinson, Bryce White, Isaiah Pineiro and Collin Spickerman. That appears to be working as PSU has played better in winning three of its last four.
• Eight different players have started games this season.
• Only SR C Collin Spickerman has started every game this season.
• Last season the Vikings had 10 different starting lineups in 29 games with 10 different players earning starts.
 
STEPPING INTO A STARTING ROLE: SO F Isaiah Pineiro began the season as the Vikings' key player off the bench. But he has played so well that Head Coach Tyler Geving has moved him to a starting role. The move has paid off as Pineiro has averaged 15.2 points and 6.0 rebounds in the last six games.
• He leads the Vikings in field goal percentage (.553), and ranks third in scoring (12.7), and second in rebounding (6.1) and blocks (10).
• Ranks seventh in the Big Sky Conference in field goal percentage and eighth in rebounding.
• 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).
• Posted 17 points (6-9 FG, 1-3 3-pt, 4-5 FT) with five rebounds and three steals against CSUN (12/17).
• Totaled 21 points (9-14 FG, 3-3 FT) with five rebounds, three assists and a block in a win over Cal State Fullerton (12/29).
• Had 20 points (6-12 FG, 1-1 3-pt, 7-7 FT) and six rebounds at Montana (1/7).
• Nine double-figure scoring games, including the last six.
 
DONIVINE IS DIVINE: GR G Donivine Stewart has a good handle on things this year. In 24 minutes per game at point guard, the SIUE transfer has committed only nine turnovers all season.
• Stewart has moved into the starting lineup the past six games, totaling 21 assists (3.5).
• Has a 35/9 assist to turnover ratio that would easily lead the Big Sky Conference if he had enough assists to qualify (he is four assists short).
• Averaging 4.6 points and 2.7 assists.
• Scored a season-high 17 points (6-8 FG, 3-4 3-pt, 2-6 FT) with five assists and two steals in the win over Cal State Fullerton (12/29).
 
MR. ROBINSON'S NEIGHBORHOOD: JR G Calaen Robinson has proven to be the Vikings' top three-point shooter this season. Robinson ranks fourth on the team in scoring (10.8) and first in assists (3.9), steals (22) and three-point field goals (33). He shoots .393 in his neighborhood - the three-point arc.
• Robinson's 11 assists against Multnomah were the most by a Viking since Feb. 5, 2009.
• Robinson has eight double-figure scoring games.
• Ranks eighth in the Big Sky Conference in assists and three-pointers made.
• Scored 19 points with five rebounds at Washington State (12/6).
• Posted a career-high 21 points (7-11 3-pt FG) with four assists against CSUN (12/17).
• Had 17 points (4-9 3-pt FG) with three assists and three steals in the win over Sacramento State (1/2).
 
CALLING MR. WHITE: Since shaking off an early-season injury JR G Bryce White has upped his production. White ranks second on the team in scoring (12.7), while averaging 3.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals.
• Ranks ninth in the Big Sky Conference in steals.
• Had a season-high 20 points (7-11 FG, 4-7 3-pt, 2-2 FT) with four rebounds and four assists against Pacific Lutheran (11/16).
• Scored 19 points with five rebounds and two steals in a win over Sacramento State (1/2).
• Posted 20 points (7-17 FG, 2-6 3-pt 4-4 FT) and four rebounds in a win at Montana State (1/9).
• Has eight double-figure scoring games and two 20-point games.
 
FORTISSIMO: GR F Cameron Forte has been loud and strong with his performance as a new Viking. He has moved into the role of sixth man to provide a spark off the bench, but still leads the Vikings in scoring (16.5) and rebounding (8.1).
• Forte ranks in the top 10 in the Big Sky in scoring and rebounding.
• Forte has 11 double-figure games, four 20-point games and one 30-point game.
• Has three double-doubles on the season.
• Scored 26 points (12-18 FG, 2-4 FT) with 11 rebounds in a win at Montana State (1/9).
 
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 24 blocks this season and 96 blocks in 43 career games, ranking fourth in PSU history.
• Spickerman ranks third in the Big Sky in blocked shots (1.7).
• 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 15 points at SIUE (12/12).
• He has two games of four or more blocked shots.
• Ranks ninth in the Big Sky in field goal percentage (.512).
 
NOW AT THE LINE...: JR G Khari Holloway shot .931 from the free throw line last year at Mesa Community College to lead the nation at the JC level. He had consecutive free throws made streaks of 41, 28 and 19. So far this season, he is 7-7 for the Vikings.
 
SPEAKING OF STREAKING: JR G Zach Gengler missed his first free throw of the season, but then made 18 in a row before missing one at Montana State.
• Gengler is averaging career-highs of 6.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 20 minutes per game.
• Scored a career-high 17 points with three assists against Portland (12/2).
 
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.
• SO F Isaiah Pineiro scored 14 points (5-8 FG, 4-6 FT) with two blocks and two steals at Washington State.
• JR G Khari Holloway had a season-high 10 points (4-6 FG, 2-4 3-pt) at SIUE.
• Portland State had 48 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and six steals off the bench from three players against CSUN. JR G Calaen Robinson scored 21 points (7-11 3-pt FG) with four assists, SO F Isaiah Pineiro had 17 points (6-9 FG, 4-5 FT), five rebounds and three steals, and JR G Bryce White had 10 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals.
• GR F Cameron Forte scored 14 points (7-11 FG) in 23 minutes against CSU Bakersfield.
• JR G Zach Gengler scored 13 points (2-3 FG, 1-2 3-pt, 8-8 FT) with three assists and two steals in 19 minutes of a win over Cal State Fullerton.
• GR F Cameron Forte had 14 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in the win over Sacramento State.
• GR F Cameron Forte scored 26 points (12-18 FG, 2-4 FT) with 11 rebounds and a block in 29 minutes of a win over Montana State.
 
SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL
• With a 105-60 win over Pacific Lutheran (11/13), Portland State had its first 100-point performance in a counting game since a 102-47 win over Walla Walla on Dec. 3, 2011. It was the most points by a Viking team since a 108-56 win at Montana on Mar. 1, 2008. GR F Cameron Forte had 22 points and eight rebounds and JR G Bryce White scored 20 points with four assists.
• SO F Isaiah Pineiro posted 24 points and 14 rebounds in a 79-61 win at UT Rio Grande Valley (11/22). GR F Cameron Forte had a double-double as well with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
• The Vikings had their second 100-point game of the season with a 100-82 win over Multnomah (11/28). GR F Cameron Forte had 31 points on 15-26 shots while grabbing 10 rebounds. JR G Calaen Robinson scored 13 points and handed out 11 assists - the most by a Viking since Feb. 5, 2009 - in the win.
• JR G Zach Gengler scored a career-high 17 points in the Vikings' 78-72 loss to Portland (12/2).
• SR C Collin Spickerman scored a career-high 15 points in the Vikings' 74-64 loss at SIUE (12/12).
• JR G Calaen Robinson had a career-high 21 points (7-11 3-pt FG) in the Vikings' 77-71 loss to CSUN (12/17).
• SO F Isaiah Pineiro had his second 20-point game of the season, posting 21 points (9-14 FG, 3-3 FT) with five rebounds and three assists as the Vikings beat Cal State Fullerton, 89-82 (12/29). GR G Donivine Stewart added a season-high 17 points (6-8 FG, 3-4 3-pt FG, 2-6 FT) with five assists and two steals in the game. Five Vikings scored in double figures as PSU washing away a five-game losing streak.
• Portland State opened Big Sky Conference play with a 76-68 win over Sacramento State (1/2). The Vikings held the Hornets to 40% shooting and forced 16 turnovers. JR G Bryce White's 19 points led four Vikings in double figures as PSU won its second game in a row. The Vikings also ended four-game losing streak to the Hornets.
• The Vikings won for the third time in four games with a 77-70 victory at Montana State (1/9). It was PSU's first win in Bozeman in six years. GR F Cameron Forte scored 26 points (12-18 FG, 2-4 FT) and grabbed 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. JR G Bryce White matched his career-high with 20 points and four rebounds.