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PORTLAND STATE (4-2) vs. STANFORD (3-4)
PK80 Invitational Presented by State Farm, Motion Bracket 7th Place Game 
Sunday, November 26, 2017, 6:30 p.m. • Memorial Coliseum (12,000), Portland, OR
Television: ESPNU • Play-by-play: Kevin Brown • Analyst: Sean Farnham
Live Stats: www.statbroadcast.com/events/tournament.php?tid=689
Complete notes and stats in PDF

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THE OPENING TIP
Portland State gets a third chance to make a good impression on Sunday evening in the seventh-place game of the PK80 Invitational Motion Bracket. The Vikings earned fans for their performance against top-ranked Duke and in a two-point loss to Butler, but they didn't earn any wins. And that's what they play for.
           
Sunday evening's game will pit the Vikings against Stanford as part of the 16-team PK80 Invitational over the course of Thanksgiving weekend. 
           
The Vikings battled top-ranked Duke well on Thursday, leading at halftime and six minutes into the second half, before losing 99-81. Friday's loss, 71-69 to Butler, was a different sort. The Vikings trailed the majority of the game but never by double digits. And they had a contested three-point shot in the closing seconds to win.
           
Now, PSU must regroup once again to take on another power conference program from the Pac-12. Portland State has played Stanford twice, losing in 2001 (87-63) and 2009 (83-64) - both times at Stanford. PSU is 5-51 all-time against members of the Pac-12.
           
So far, the Vikings have gotten good production from their senior guards. In two games, Deontae North has scored 42 points with eight assists, while Bryce Canda has 28 points and 16 rebounds. The Vikings have made 24-59 (.407) three-point field goals in two games, but have only been able to force 24 turnovers with their relentless full-court pressure.
           
PSU's Sunday game will be at Memorial Coliseum, tipping off at 6:30 p.m. It will be televised on ESPNU.
           
The Vikings will be playing their fifth game in nine days. So far, PSU won a road contest at UC Riverside (94-82) on Saturday, beat Utah State at the Coliseum on Monday (83-79), then lost to Duke and Butler. 
 
COMING UP
Portland State's next home game is Dec. 2 against Portland Bible at Lewis and Clark College. The Vikings will play four of six pre-Christmas games on the road. They play two West Coast Conference schools and two Pac-12 schools: at Loyola Marymount (Dec. 6), Santa Clara (Dec. 9), Oregon (Dec. 13) and Cal (Dec. 21).
  
WHO IS HOT
• The Vikings three-point shooting. PSU is shooting .410 from long range and averaging a Big Sky Conference-best 11.0 three-pointers per game.
• Ball-handling. The Vikings have just 19 turnovers in two games of the PK80 Invitational. They had averaged 16.5 going into the tournament. 
• SR G Deontae North has 42 points and eight assists in two PK80 Invitational games. He scored a season-high 24 points in 20 minutes against Duke, making 8-13 shots, 4-5 three-pointers and 4-4 free throws... against Butler, North had 18 points and four assists... North leads the team in scoring (18.0).
• SR G Bryce Canda posted a career-high 20 points to go with 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals at UC Riverside. He followed that with 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists against Utah State. He was also named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday... Canda has 28 points, 16 rebounds and five assists in two PK80 Invitational games.
• JR G Michael Mayhew scored a career-high 13 points, all in the first half, at UC Riverside as the Vikings built a 47-36 lead. He followed that game with another career-high in his first-ever start: 17 points, three assists and two steals in a win over Utah State... Mayhew scored 17 more against Butler, hitting 5-9 three-point field goals, and had five rebounds.
 
WHO IS NOT
• Portland State is 78-132 at the free throw line this season (.591).
• The Vikings have been out-rebounded in their last three games.
• PSU has committed 152 fouls in six games (25.3). Opponents have shot 164 free throws to 132 for PSU.
• SR F Traylin Farris sat out the game against Butler due to an ankle sprain.
 
HUSTLE CHART: Portland State Head Coach Barret Peery has emphasized that his team's full-court pressure style of play will be about forcing turnovers, creating fast breaks and getting to the offensive glass. So far, mission accomplished. Here is a look at PSU's hustle chart through four games:
  • Offensive rebounds: 97 for 92 second chance points (15.3 per game)
  • Turnovers forced: 115 for 115 points (19.2 per game)
  • Fast break points: 77 (11.84 per game)
 
LEADERS OF THE PACK: Portland State's seniors have stepped up with strong play right out of the blocks. 
• SR G Bryce Canda averages 16.8 points while leading in rebounding (8.0) and steals (15)... he had a career-high 20 points at UC Riverside... Canda made a career-high six steals against Willamette... Canda was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week (11/21).
• SR G Deontae North is averaging a team-leading 18.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists... he had a season-high 24 points against Duke and followed that with 18 against Butler.
• SR F Traylin Farris had a double-double in his first game (11 points, 12 rebounds, career-high four assists)... he averages 7.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and shoots .611 from the field.
• SR F Brandon Hollins is averaging 7.7 points and 6.2 rebounds in 21 minutes per game off the bench... he grabbed a career-high 14 caroms against Willamette... Hollins is shooting .606 from the field (20-33).
 
NEWCOMER NOTES: Portland State has had four new players play significant minutes, including two new starters, in 2017-18.
• JR G Deante Strickland has started at point guard, averaging 6.7 points and 3.2 assists while making 10-22 three-point field goals (.455)... Strickland had a season-high seven assists against Utah State.
• SR C Ryan Edwards starts in the middle, is averaging 9.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots.
• FR G Holland Woods is averaging 30 minutes, 8.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists off the bench... Woods leads the Big Sky in assists.
• JR F Jamie Orme is averaging 3.4 points and 3.8 rebounds in 13 minutes per game.
 
IT'S A TEAM GAME: Portland State has had a total of 27 double-figure scorers through three games (4.5 per game)... seven players are averaging 7.5 points or more... nine players are averaging 13.4 or more minutes.
 
SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL
• Nov. 11, PSU 80, Portland 75: Portland State scored the final 12 points of the game to pull out a come-form-behind win over Portland. The Vikings trailed 75-68 with 2:33 to go but forced two turnovers and four missed shots by the Pilots down the stretch. SR G Bryce Canda hit the big shot, a three-pointer with 34.3 seconds left, to give the Vikings a 78-75 lead. Canda led all scorers with 18 points. SR F Traylin Farris added 11 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high four assists.
• Nov. 14, PSU 111, Willamette 60: The Vikings set a school record with 22 steals in a win over Willamette. The Vikings forced 30 turnovers in all, turning them into 40 points. Seven players scored in double figures, led by SR G Deontae North's 19 points and seven assists. SR F Brandon Hollins had 12 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. SR G Bryce Canda added 15 points, nine rebounds and six steals.
• Nov. 18, PSU 94, UC Riverside 82: Portland State improved to 3-0 with a road at UC Riverside. The Vikings led for nearly 34 minutes, and UCR never got closer than seven points in the second half. SR G Bryce Canda scored a career-high 20 points to lead five Vikings in double figures. JR G Michael Mayhew scored a career-high 13 points off the bench. The Vikings forced 23 Highlander turnovers for 20 points. PSU is now 2-0 on the road.
• Nov. 20, PSU 83, Utah State 79: Portland State started strong, building an 18-point first half lead. But Utah State roared back to lead briefly in the second half. The Vikings forced nine Aggie turnovers in the last eight minutes of the game. SR G Bryce Canda and JR G Michael Mayhew, making his first career start, each scored 17 points as five players were in double figures. The win improved PSU to 4-0, 2-0 at home.
• Nov. 21, Canda Named Big Sky Conference Player Of The Week: In three wins over seven days, Canda averaged 17.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.7 steals and 3.3 assists per game. He shot 21-41 from the field (.512) as the Vikings beat Willamette (111-60), UC Riverside (94-82) and Utah State (83-79). 
• Nov. 23, Duke 99, PSU 81: Portland State gave top-ranked Duke a great challenge in the opening game of the PK80 Invitational. The Vikings led 49-45 at halftime and as late as 14 minutes remaining in the game. But the Blue Devils out-shot, out-rebounded and used a huge disparity in free throws (42 attempts to 12 for PSU) to engineer the win. SR G Deontae North had a game-high 24 points for the Vikings. PSU takes its first loss, dropping to 4-1.
• Nov. 24, Butler 71, PSU 69: Portland State took it to the final shot, but couldn't pull off a come-from-behind win. The Vikings trailed the majority of the game, though never by double digits. Down by seven with 1:19 to play they pulled within two, but a late three-point attempt fell short. SR G Deontae North had a team-high 18 points and four assists. JR G Michael Mayhew had 17 points and SR G Bryce Canda added 14 points and six rebounds. PSU made 12 three-pointers, but the Bulldogs had the advantage in the paint, out-scoring PSU down low, 44-20.