complete notes and stats in pdf

---

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (6-9, 2-2) vs. IDAHO STATE BENGALS (6-10, 1-3)
Saturday, January 16, 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

---

THE OPENING TIP
The Portland State Vikings host Idaho State on Saturday night in a Big Sky Conference game at the Stott Center. The Vikings, 73-58 losers to Weber State on Thursday, will try to get their home mojo back when they host the Bengals. PSU has an outstanding home record against the ISU program, winning the last three meetings in the Stott Center and 15 of 19 overall in Portland.
     
The Vikings and Bengals meet in a 7:05 p.m. game. Live video, audio and stats are available at GoViks.com.
     
PSU goes into Saturday's game at 6-9 overall, 2-2 in the Big Sky. The Vikings are tied for fifth in the 12-team conference. Portland State is 4-3 at home this season.
     
Thursday's loss came at the hands of a red-hot Weber State team. The Wildcats won their seventh in a row, improving to 12-5 overall, 4-0 in the Big Sky. GR F Cameron Forte had team-highs of 18 points and seven rebounds for the Vikings, but WSU's superior rebounding (46-30 edge) made a huge difference. PSU had its lowest scoring game of the season (58 points).
     
Idaho State is 6-10 this season, 1-3 in the Big Sky Conference. The Bengals are 2-8 in road games this year. ISU lost 82-71 at Sacramento State on Thursday night.
 
COMING UP
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. IDAHO STATE
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 29-18, as well as the Big Sky Conference series, 25-14... PSU has a 15-4 advantage in Big Sky games in Portland and has won the last three meetings in the Stott Center.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Tyler Geving (90-107, 7th season) is 6-5 all-time against Idaho State. Bengals Head Coach Bill Evans (24-65, 4th season) is 3-2 all-time against the Vikings.
• LAST SEASON: Due to the unbalanced Big Sky Conference schedule the teams only met once... JAN. 24, at ISU 80, PSU 76: Portland State had a 70-69 lead with 6:08 to go, but the Bengals closed out the game on an 11-6 run. The game was close all the way with 11 ties and 13 lead changes. Nnamdi Ezenwa and Chris Hansen had 17 points each to lead ISU. DaShaun Wiggins scored 16 points, and Tiegbe Bamba had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
 
IDAHO STATE WILDCATS
• Idaho State was 7-23 last season, 4-14 and tied for 10th in the Big Sky Conference.
• The Bengals have won two Big Sky regular season titles and two Big Sky tournament titles in their history. They have made 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament all-time.
• One starter and four letterwinners return from last year's team.
• The Bengals are led by a trio of guards. Junior Ethan Telfair averages 17.3 points, 4.8 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Sophomore Ali Faruq-Bey averages 14.5 points and has made a team-high 33 three-point field goals. Sophomore Geno Luzcando averages 12.8 points and 4.4 rebounds.
• Telfair ranks seventh in the Big Sky Conference in scoring and third in assists. In conference games, he averages 24.5 points and 3.0 steals.
• Idaho State shoots .411 from the field while opponents shoot .471. The Bengals are allowing 79.4 points and get out-rebounded by 4.2 per game.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 6-9 this season, 4-3 at home, 2-6 on the road.
• The Vikings are 2-2 in the Big Sky Conference, 1-1 at home, 1-1 on the road.
• 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 154-59 in 213 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 185-74 at home over 20 seasons.
• Portland State is 61-30 at home in seven seasons under Tyler Geving.
• Since the start of the 2006-07 season, PSU is 98-33 at home, including 56-27 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 160-167 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (9-10).
• PSU is 106-52 in home games, 51-109 in road games and 3-7 in neutral site games.
• PSU is 73-69 in Big Sky games since the start of the 2007-08 season, 80-72 including tournament games.
 
WHO IS HOT?
• GR F Cameron Forte has made 21-31 shots in the last two games (.677) while averaging 22.0 points and 9.0 rebounds.
• SO F Isaiah Pineiro has been in double figures in seven straight games, averaging 14.6 points and 6.2 rebounds.
• GR G Donivine Stewart had a season-high seven assists against Weber State.
 
WHO IS NOT?
• The Vikings scored their fewest points all season with 58 in a loss to Weber State. They shot .417 from the field, .286 from three-point range and .500 at the free throw line.
• Portland State is shooting .322 from three-point range and .652 from the free throw line this season. Both numbers rank 11th in the 12-team Big Sky Conference.
• JR Gs Bryce White and Calaen Robinson combined to go 2-14 from the field against Weber State.
• PSU's top returning scorer from last season, JR F Braxton Tucker will redshirt the season due to injury.
 
BIG SKY CONFERENCE LEADERS
• Portland State leads the Big Sky in assists per game (17.1).
• Portland State leads the Big Sky in steals per game (8.2).
• Donivine Stewart leads the Big Sky in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.2).