complete notes and stats in pdf

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (10-6, 3-2)
vs. MONTANA GRIZZLIES (10-9, 5-1)
Thursday, January 19, 2017, 7:05 p.m. • Peter W. Stott Center (1,500), Portland, OR

Live Streaming Video and Audio: www.GoViks.com/Live • Pregame Show: 6:45 p.m. • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com

THE OPENING TIP
Portland State is home this week in the midst of a number of road games as the Big Sky Conference season has hit full stride. After splitting on the road at Southern Utah (W) and Northern Arizona (L), the Vikings now take on second-place Montana at the Stott Center.

It will be a key game for PSU (10-6, 3-2), as the Vikings are currently tied for fourth place in the Big Sky. It is one of just two games out of a span of seven that are at home. PSU has a 6-1 home record this season, but faces a Montana  (10-9, 5-1) team that is red-hot, having won four straight and seven of its last eight. The Griz are 3-5 in road games, which includes three straight road wins.

The Vikings will be playing their third game in six days due to weather-related scheduling changes. PSU lost at Northern Arizona on Monday after having to reschedule the game due to snow in the Portland area that hindered travel plans. 

Five teams are above .500 in the Big Sky Conference, including the Vikings. Staying in that group - and hopefully climbing up the standings - is the goal as the top five teams will get first-round byes in the Big Sky Conference Tournament in March.

Montana swept last week's games at home over Northern Colorado and North Dakota. The Griz have had the upper hand on the Vikings in recent years as well, winning the last three meetings and 13 of the last 15 dating back eight seasons.

Montana State follows the Griz into the Stott Center this week. The Bobcats (7-12, 2-4) play the Vikings on Saturday after a Thursday contest at Sacramento State.

Both games will tip off at 7:05 p.m. They will be live streamed at www.GoViks.com/Live. Live stats are available at www.ViksLive.com.

COMING UP
Portland State returns to the road next week. The Vikings play at Sacramento State on Jan. 28. They travel to Idaho (Feb. 2) and Eastern Washington (Feb. 4) the following week.

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. MONTANA
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Montana leads the all-time series, 35-22. The Grizzlies also lead the Big Sky series, 27-13... the Griz are 11-9 in games played in Portland... Montana has won three straight in the series, including the last two trips to the Stott Center, and 13 of the last 15. 
• LAST SEASON: Jan. 7, 2016 in Missoula, UM 79, PSU 66: After a strong start by the Vikings, Montana took over and came away with the win. The Griz outshot PSU .569 to .389. Walter Wright scored 22 and Michael Oguine had 20 for the Grizzlies. Isaiah Pineiro led the Vikings with 20 points and six rebounds. Feb. 6, 2016 in Portland, UM 82, PSU 80: The Grizzlies recovered from an 11-point deficit in the second-half. Martin Breunig scored 26 of his game-high 32 after halftime, hitting 11-11 shots in the half. Wright added 17 points and five assists. Four Vikings scored in double figures as PSU shot .617 from the field. Donivine Stewart scored a season-high 17 points with five assists.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Tyler Geving (107-123/8th season) is 2-12 against Montana, his poorest record (.167) against any Big Sky school... Grizzlies Head Coach Travis DeCuire (51-34/3rd year) is 3-0 against the Vikings. 

THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA
• Montana, located in Missoula, is an original member of the Big Sky Conference.
• The Grizzlies were 21-12 last season, 12-4 in the Big Sky and placed second. 
• Montana has won eight Big Sky regular season titles and nine tournament titles. The Griz have made 10 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Montana most recently won the league in 2015 and most recently won the Big Sky Tournament in 2013.
• Montana returns four starters and eight letterwinners to this year's team. The Grizzlies are 10-9 on the season, 5-1 and in second place in the Big Sky.
• The Griz have won four straight games and seven of their last eight. The only loss was an overtime defeat to first-place Weber State.
• Ahmaad Rorie leads Montana in scoring at 16.7 points per game. He also averages 3.2 assists and has made 40 three-point field goals this season.
• Walter Wright averages 11.7 points and 3.2 assists per game. He leads the Big Sky Conference in free throw percentage at .900 (54-60).
• Fabijan Krslovic leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per game.

COMING SOON: AN ALL NEW VIKING PAVILION
The Peter W. Stott Center will remain the home court for the Vikings in 2016-17 while major construction is underway on the eastern portion of the building. That development will become the new Viking Pavilion, a venue that will seat 3000+ for basketball. A completion date is scheduled for winter 2018. PSU will find an alternate home court for 2017-18 until the new Pavilion is opened.     

So, enjoy the current Stott Center while you can. With construction underway on the new Viking Pavilion, the Stott's main gym is in its final season of use. In fact, the gym, the academic center, the training room, and the new weight room are almost all that is left of the current facility. 

This season, the Stott Center will be using makeshift ticketing, concessions and restroom facilities. At the end of this season, the gym will be taken off-line and transformed with the remainder of the building into the new Viking Pavilion. 

Meanwhile, Pardon Our Dust.

SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES 
• Portland State is 10-6 this season, 6-1 at home, 4-5 on the road. 
• The Vikings have won seven of their last nine and nine of their last 12 games.
• Portland State won five straight earlier this season (Dec. 13-29). It was the longest winning streak since winning six in a row late in the 2008-09 season.
Stott Stuff
• PSU has gone 164-63 in 227 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 195-78 at home over 21 seasons. 
• Portland State is 71-34 at home in eight seasons under Tyler Geving.
• Since the start of the 2006-07 season, PSU is 108-37 at home, including 62-30 in Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament games.
• Portland State has lost only eight non-conference home games in the last 10 seasons (45-8). PSU is 25-8 against Division I schools, and 20-0 against lower division schools over that span.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 170-178 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (10-11).
• PSU is 112-56 in home games, 54-115 in road games and 4-8 in neutral-site games.

WHO IS HOT?
• The Vikings are shooting .497 from the field and averaging 87.1 points per game - both of which are best in the Big Sky Conference.
• SR F De'Sean Parsons has double-doubles in each of his last two games. Parsons had 13 points and 13 rebounds at Southern Utah, then 19 points and 10 rebounds at Northern Arizona.
• JR C Traylin Farris has shot 50% or better in each of his last nine games. He shoots .608 from the field. 
• JR C Traylin Farris has only eight turnovers in 15 games and 309 minutes of play for the season.
• Despite coming off the bench, JR G Deontae North has scored in double figures in 11 of the last 12 games. His only non-double-digit game was nine points.
• SR G Calaen Robinson has made at least one three-pointer in every game this season.

WHO IS NOT?
• PSU has made just 61-111 free throws over the last five games (.549), dropping its season percentage to .635.
• The Vikings are giving up 78.4 points per game and opponents are shooting .472 from the field.
• PSU has been outrebounded by 10.3 per game in its six losses.
• SR G Calaen Robinson was 4-20 from the field in the last two games.
• JR F Braxton Tucker has played in only five games due to knee issues. He had arthroscopy on his left knee on Jan. 5.

BURN POINTS: Portland State had an amazing 51 points off turnovers (or burn points) against North Dakota (12/29). That continued a season-long trend of burning opponents for their mistakes. The Vikings have scored 345 burn points this season (21.6 per game) to 193 for the opponents (12.0). That is a margin of +11.6 per game. 

IT TAKES A THIEF: Portland State set a school record for steals last season with 263 in 31 games (8.48). With 169  steals already this year (10.6), the Vikings are on pace to break that mark again. 
• The Vikings currently rank third in the nation in steals.
• PSU has had nine or more steals in 13 games this season.
• Five Vikings rank in the top 12 in steals in the Big Sky: SR G Calaen Robinson, JR G Bryce Canda, SR F De'Sean Parsons, SR G Zach Gengler and JR G Deontae North.
• SR G Calaen Robinson leads the Big Sky Conference and ranks eighth in the nation in steals (2.63) and set a career-high with six against North Dakota (12/29).
• PSU had a season-high 19 steals in a win over North Dakota (12/29).

GENGLER WILL HIT 100: SR G Zach Gengler will play in his 100th career game on Thursday against Montana, a rare feat at Portland State. Gengler is on pace to finish his career among the top five in games played all-time at PSU. It will be his 56th career start. Gengler ranks among PSU's all-time top 10 in steals and free throw percentage and has scored nearly 600 career points.

DOUBLE-DIGIT DYNAMICS: Portland State currently has six players averaging in double figures this season: JR F Braxton Tucker (16.8), SR G Calaen Robinson (13.9), SR F De'Sean Parsons (12.4), JR G Bryce Canda (11.3), JR G Deontae North (11.9) and JR C Traylin Farris (10.5). 
• SR G Zach Gengler (9.6) has also spent a portion of the season averaging double figures. 
• PSU has had at least five players score in double figures in 11 of 16 games this season.
• Portland State has had 76 double-figure scoring games this season, an average of 4.75 players per game.

STREAKING: Portland State had a five-game winning streak (Dec. 16-29). It was the longest winning streak of Head Coach Tyler Geving's career. His teams had seven four-game winning streaks prior to that. The previous longest winning streak overall was a six-gamer Feb. 19-Mar. 11, 2009. PSU's longest winning streak since joining the Big Sky Conference 21 seasons ago is nine (Jan. 13-Feb. 20, 2008). The school record is 12 (1954-55).

TUCKER HAS KNEE PROCEDURE: JR F Braxton Tucker, who has missed the last 11 games, underwent an arthroscopy on his left knee on Jan. 5. He will likely be out for the remainder of January. Tucker missed the 2015-16 season with a knee injury. He came back to play in the first five games this season, averaging 16.8 points and 5.8 rebounds, leading the team in scoring in the first four games.

BIG SKY CONFERENCE LEADERS: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in:
• Scoring, 87.1 points per game
• Field Goal Percentage, .497
• Assists, 17.4 per game
• Steals, 10.6 per game
• Turnover margin, +4.9
• Assist-to-turnover ratio, 1.5 (279/182)
• SR G Calaen Robinson leads in steals, 2.63

VIKINGS IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS (top 30): 
• Portland State ranks 3rd in steals per game, 10.6
• Portland State ranks 8th in turnover margin, +5.4 
• Portland State ranks 9th in assist-to-turnover ratio, 1.53
• Portland State ranks 11th in scoring, 87.1 per game 
• Portland State ranks 14th in field goal percentage, .497
• Portland State ranks 16th in turnovers forced, 16.8
• Portland State ranks 18th in assists per game, 17.4
• SR G Calaen Robinson ranks 8th in steals, 2.63 per game

MR. ROBINSON'S NEIGHBORHOOD: SR G Calaen Robinson has upped his play this season. He ranks second on the team in scoring at 13.9 points and first in assists (4.1) and steals (2.6).
• Robinson leads the Big Sky with 2.6 steals per game and ranks eighth in the nation. 
• He ranks 13th in scoring, 10th in three-pointers made (2.3) and fifth in assists in the Big Sky Conference.
• Scored in double figures in 12 games with four 20-point games.

THE DE'SEAN PARSONS PROJECT: SR F De'Sean Parsons has moved into the starting lineup this season after finishing 2015-16 strong... he is averaging 12.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists and has a team-leading 14 blocked shots. Those numbers are up from 6.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists last year. 
• Parsons has scored in double figures in 11 games with one 20-point game. He also has two double-doubles.
• He ranks 19th in scoring, 13th in rebounding 10th in field goal percentage and fifth in steals in the Big Sky.

THE FARRIS WHEEL: JR C Traylin Farris has moved into the starting lineup due to JR F Braxton Tucker being unable to play. He averages 10.5 points and 5.4 rebounds in 21 minutes per game. 
• Shooting .608 from the field to rank fourth in the Big Sky Conference.

NORTH-ERN EXPOSURE: JR G Deontae North is picking up the pace as the season progresses. 
• He is the leading scorer off the bench with 11.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. North has scored in double figures in 11 of the last 12 games.

CANDA CAN-DO: Newcomer JR G Bryce Canda has stepped into the starting lineup as a combo guard and been very productive. Canda is averaging 11.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. 
• He ranks 27th in the Big Sky in scoring and fifth in steals (1.5).
• Has scored in double figures in 10 games.

GENGLER'S GAMES: SR G Zach Gengler is the most experienced player on the Viking team, having played in 99 career games. He is on pace to finish in the top five in career games played at PSU.
• Gengler is averaging career-highs of 9.6 points and 2.8 assists per game. He is shooting .551 from the field, .488 from three-point range and .882 at the line.
• Ranks seventh in field goal percentage, fourth in three-point percentage and ninth in steals in the Big Sky Conference.
• Scored in double figures nine times this season.
• In his 99 career games, Gengler has only 77 turnovers.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL
• Despite the 106-100 double-overtime loss to Cal State Fullerton (11/13), the Vikings got career-high scoring performances from JR F Braxton Tucker (22 pts) and SR G Khari Holloway (13 pts).
• The Vikings won their first game of the season, a 113-81 decision over George Fox (11/17). The Vikings shot .655 from the field. JR F Braxton Tucker posted a career-high 24 points (8-10 FG, 8-11 FT) with 10 rebounds. SR G Calaen Robinson also had a career-high with 23 points (8-14 FG, 3-8 3-pt, 4-7 FT).
• JR F Brandon Hollins tied a PSU record by making 7-7 field goals in a game, scoring 18 points in the win over George Fox (11/17).
• Portland State forced 20 turnovers with 15 steals and shot .530 from the field in a 91-85 win at Pepperdine (11/27). SR G Calaen Robinson led the way with 22 points (8-14 FG, 4-8 3-pt, 2-2 FT), five rebounds, five assists and five steals. For the second time this season, six Vikings scored in double figures.
• The Vikings won their second game in a row in an 87-74 decision over UTRGV (12/3). PSU shot .571 from the field and .591 from three-point range (13-22). It was Head Coach Tyler Geving's 100th career win at Portland State. Five players were in double figures led by 20 points each from SR F De'Sean Parsons and SR G Calaen Robinson. Parsons added six rebounds, six assists, five steals and a blocked shot. 
• SR F De'Sean Parsons was named College Sports Madness Big Sky Conference Player of the Week following the win over UTRGV (12/3). Parsons scored 20 points (8-14 FG, 1-1 3-pt 3-5 FT) with six rebounds, six assists, five steals and a block in the 87-74 win.
• JR G Deontae North posted a team season-high 25 points (9-13 FG, 2-4 3-pt, 5-7 FT) with seven rebounds and four steals in 27 minutes at CSU Bakersfield (12/10). 
• Portland State scored 100 points for the third time this season with a 110-79 victory over New Hope Christian (12/13). The Vikings shot .570 from the field and were led by the 26 points and 11 rebounds from JR C Traylin Farris, who established a new PSU record for field goal percentage in a game (12-13, .923) with at least 10 shot attempts.
• The Vikings picked up an 82-78 road win at San Francisco (12/16) to improve to 5-4 on the season. Although they shot only .435 from the field, a season-best 22-26 (.846) from the free throw line made the difference. SR G Calaen Robinson tied his career high with 23 points (7-11 FG, 5-7 3-pt, 4-4 FT). JR C Traylin Farris scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half as the Vikings came back from a 13-point deficit with 16:45 to play.
• SR G Calaen Robinson was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 19 by College Sports Madness.
• The Vikings stretched their winning streak to three with a 77-75 win at Portland (12/20), ending a five-game losing streak to the Pilots. Six Vikings scored in double figures. SR G Calaen Robinson hit a go-ahead three-point field goal with 19 seconds left (75-72) on an assist from SR G Zach Gengler. Gengler then made a steal and hit two free throws in the closing seconds to ice the game.
• Portland State set a school-record, hitting 21-39 three-pointers in a 118-59 win over Walla Walla (12/22). The Vikings shot 45-77 (.584) for the game. They reached 100 points with over 10 minutes remaining in the game and scored the most points in 38 years. JR G Bryce Canda led the Vikings with 19 points (7-8 FG, 5-6 3-pt) in 15 minutes.
• PSU extended its winning streak to five games - the longest in eight years - with a 99-62 victory over North Dakota (12/29). The Vikings shot .565 from the field, had 19 steals, and scored 51 points off 26 UND turnovers. Seven players scored in double figures, led by SR G Calaen Robinson with 18 points (7-12 FG, 4-8 3-pt), seven assists and a career-high six steals.
• JR C Traylin Farris scored 15 of his game-high 19 points in the second half as the Vikings pulled away for an 83-76 win over Sacramento State (1/7). Farris also grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds. Five Vikings scored in double figures as PSU shot .528 from the field. It was the sixth win in seven games.
• Portland State won its third straight road game with an 88-77 decision at Southern Utah (1/14). It was the seventh win in eight games and ninth in 11 games. Five Vikings scored in double figures, led by 16 from JR G Bryce Canda and SR G Zach Gengler. SR F De'Sean Parsons had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.