Complete notes and stats in pdf

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PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (15-15) vs. NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS (19-9)
Big Sky Conference Tournament Quarterfinal Round Game
Thursday, Mar. 9, 2017, 12:05 p.m. • Reno Events Center (5,000), Reno, NV
Live Streaming Video and Audio: www.GoViks.com/Live • Play-by-play: Scott Garrard • Analyst: Joe Cravens
Live Stats: www.GoViks.com (click on the stats link on game day information)

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THE OPENING TIP
To the victors go the spoils, and that means for the Portland State Vikings a chance to face the top team in the Big Sky Conference Tournament in a quarterfinal round game on Thursday. The Vikings (15-15) meet North Dakota (19-9), a team they just played last Saturday night in Grand Forks when UND beat PSU, 82-73, and clinched the Big Sky regular season title. Both teams will play for the right to advance to a semifinal game in the Big Sky Tournament.
     
Portland State earned the rematch with North Dakota by defeating Northern Arizona on Tuesday afternoon in a Big Sky Tournament first-round game, 80-67. The Vikings put on a 16-3 run late in the second half to pull away from the Lumberjacks. JR G Deontae North scored 20 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, including nine straight in the decisive rally. Brandon Hollins came off the bench for 14 points and six rebounds as the Vikings' sixth- and seventh-men were instrumental in the win.
     
Portland State shot .544 from the field in the victory and used a full-court trapping press to force 19 Northern Arizona turnovers. It added up to a big win for PSU and a chance to move on.
     
North Dakota beat the Vikings on Mar. 4, but was also routed by PSU, 99-62, on Dec. 29 in Portland. UND has won seven of its last eight games, and 10 of its last 12. The Fighting Hawks were 7-6 in road games, 1-1 at neutral sites this season. They feature first-team All-Big Sky Conference guard Quinton Hooker, second team All-Big Sky guard Geno Crandall and the Big Sky's Top Reserve Cortez Seales.
     
Portland State (85.8) and North Dakota (80.0) are the Big Sky's top two scoring teams this season.
     
This is the second all-time meeting between PSU and UND in the Big Sky Tournament. The Fighting Hawks won a Big Sky semifinal in 2014 in Ogden, UT, 79-63.
     
Thursday's game, and all Viking games, will be live streamed at www.GoViks.com/Live. The entire tournament is live streamed at www.eversport.tv/big-sky. Tip off is 12:05 p.m. at Reno Events Center.
 
DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN
This is familiar territory for the Vikings. They were the number-eight seed in last season's Big Sky Tournament as well. PSU took an opening-round win over Northern Colorado (74-67) then put a scare in eventual champion Weber State by leading with just over two minutes to play before falling, 78-74.
 
PORTLAND STATE IN THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Portland State is making its 14th appearance in the Big Sky Conference Tournament this season. Prior to 2015-16, Big Sky teams had to qualify for the tournament. This is the second year that all 12 teams automatically qualify though Northern Colorado is not participating due to a self-imposed post-season ban, leaving just 11 teams in the field.
     
The Vikings are now 11-11 all-time in Big Sky Conference Tournament games with titles in 2008 and 2009. PSU is 2-0 in first-round games, 5-5 in quarterfinals, 2-6 in semifinals and 2-0 in the championship. The Vikings are 6-7 all-time in neutral site games (also 4-1 in Portland, 1-3 at away sites).
     
Portland State is 0-1 all-time against Northern Arizona in the Big Sky Tournament.
      Mar. 14, 2014      North Dakota 79, PSU 63 (semifinal) at Ogden, UT
 
THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
RENO, NV | Reno Events Center | Mar. 7-11, 2017
 
Tuesday, March 7, 2017 • First Round | Session 1
Game 1 - #8 Portland State 80, #9 Northern Arizona 67
 
Tuesday, March 7, 2017 • First Round | Session 2
Game 2 - #7 Sacramento State 91, #10 Idaho State 76
Game 3 - #11 Southern Utah 109, #6 Montana State 105 (3ot)
 
Thursday, March 9, 2017 • Quarterfinal Round | Session 1
Game 4 - #1 North Dakota (19-9, 14-4) vs. #8 Portland State (15-15, 7-11) - 12:05 p.m.
Game 5 - #4 Idaho (17-12, 12-6) vs. #5 Montana (16-15, 11-7) - 2:35 p.m.
 
Thursday, March 9, 2017 • Quarterfinal Round | Session 2
Game 6 - #2 Eastern Washington (21-10, 13-5) vs. #7 Sacramento State (13-17, 9-9) - 5:35 p.m.
Game 7 - #3 Weber State (17-12, 12-6) vs. #11 Southern Utah (6-25, 3-15) - 8:05 p.m.
 
Friday, March 10, 2017 • Semifinal Round
Game 8 - Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5 - 5:35 p.m.
Game 9 - Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 7 - 8:05 p.m.
 
Saturday, March 11, 2017 • Championship Game
Game 10 - Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 9 - 5:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. NORTH DAKOTA
• ALL-TIME SERIES: North Dakota leads the all-time series, 8-4, and the Big Sky Conference series, 6-4... UND also leads 1-0 in Big Sky Tournament games... the teams split the season series.
• Dec. 29 in Portland, PSU 99, UND 62: Portland State had runs of 26-2 in first half and 22-1 in the second half to blow the game wide open. The Vikings made a season-high 19 steals, second most in school history, and scored 51 points off turnovers. Seven Vikings scored in double figures. Calaen Robinson had 18 points, seven assists and a career-high six steals. De'Sean Parsons scored 16 points with seven rebounds. Connor Avants had 16 points and eight rebounds to lead North Dakota. Mar. 4 in Grand Forks, UND 82, PSU 73: North Dakota shot .519 from the field and .913 at the free throw. The Fighting Hawks also outrebounded the Vikings, 35-22. Quinton Hooker went for 29 points and six steals. Geno Crandall had 21 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. The Vikings got 17 points from Traylin Farris, 15 from Calaen Robinson.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Tyler Geving (112-132/8th season) is 4-6 all-time against the Fighting Hawks... North Dakota Head Coach Brian Jones (163-178/11th season) is 6-4 all-time against the Vikings.
 
NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS
• North Dakota, located in Grand Forks, joined the Big Sky Conference in 2012-13. The Fighting Hawks won their first Big Sky Championship this season.
• North Dakota returns its entire starting lineup from last season. The Fighting Hawks are 19-9 overall, 14-4 in the Big Sky Conference.
• Senior guard Quinton Hooker was a first team All-Big Sky Conference selection against this year. This season, he leads the team in scoring at 19.0 points per game. Hooker also averages 3.3 assists, has made 71 three-point field goals (.449) and shoots a Big Sky-best .889 at the free throw line.
• Sophomore guard Geno Crandall averages 15.6 points and team-bests of 4.1 assists and 2.0 steals. He was named second team All-Big Sky Conference.
• Junior forward Drick Bernstine is the team-leader in rebounding at 7.1 per game.
• North Dakota ranks second in the Big Sky in scoring (80.0) behind the Vikings and leads in scoring margin (+7.4).
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 15-15 this season, 10-3 at home, 4-12 on the road, 1-0 at neutral sites.
• With 15 wins this season, PSU has improved on last year's record (13-18).
• 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.
• The Vikings' longest losing streak this season is four games.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 175-187 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (11-11).
• PSU is 116-58 in home games, 54-122 in road games and 5-8 in neutral-site games.
 
WHO IS HOT?
• JR G Deontae North had his sixth 20-point game of the season with 25 (10-15 FG, 4-5 FT) against Northern Arizona.
• JR C Traylin Farris has shot 50% or better from the field in 25 of 29 games played this season. He shoots .620 overall to rank third in the Big Sky Conference and fourth-best in school history.
• JR F Brandon Hollins has scored 54 points (10.8) with 26 rebounds (5.2) in 23 minutes per game over the last five.
• JR G Bryce Canda is 10-16 from three-point range (.625) over the last five games.
• SR G Khari Holloway has made 13 straight free throws and leads the team with an .882 free throw percentage this season (30-34).
 
TASTY TIDBITS: A sampling of some unusual notes this season:
• A NEW RECORD... WITH A POSSIBLE ASTERISK: In just two seasons, SR G Calaen Robinson has set a new Portland State career record for steals with 127 (Anthony Lackey, 1998-2002, 121). It is a great achievement, especially considering Robinson ranks eighth in the nation with 2.4 steals per game this year (72 total). The school record for steals in a season is 94 by Terry Adolph in 1977-78. Adolph, who played alongside Freeman Williams from 1976-78, may well have made more than 127 steals, but prior to the '77-'78 season steals were not kept as an official statistic. So, speculation aside, Robinson is Portland State's all-time leader in steals. Teammate Zach Gengler stands in third with 118 steals.
• ANOTHER NEW RECORD... FOR CERTAIN: Portland State has 298 steals through 30 games this season (9.9), breaking the school record of 263 set last season in 31 games (8.48). The Vikings now rank third in the nation in steals behind West Virginia (10.9).
• A BAD TIME IN OVERTIME FOR THE VIKS: Portland State played four overtime games in a span of six starts (1/28-2/16), losing all four. For the season, the Vikings have played five overtime games and a total of eight overtime periods. Both are new school records... PSU played four overtime games in two other seasons (1998-99 and 2013-14)... Portland State has played in four triple-overtime games in its history (including a 130-124 loss at Eastern Washington on Feb. 4 this season), and one quadruple overtime game (a 92-91 win at Northern Arizona on Jan. 4, 2009).
• NUMBER 35: SR F De'Sean Parsons become the 18th different Viking player in history to score at least 35 points in a game with his performance at Eastern Washington (2/4). The feat has been accomplished 77 times with Freeman Williams doing it 41 times. Players have scored exactly 35 points on nine occasions, including Parsons. It is the eighth time in Portland State's Big Sky era that a player has scored 35 or more points.
• 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 616 burn points this season (20.6 per game) to 384 for the opponents (12.8). That is a margin of +7.8 points per game.
• 100 WATCH: Portland State has had a number of meetings with the number 100 this season. Here are the highlights:
• Coach Tyler Geving won his 100th career game on Dec. 3 against UTRGV. Geving has the second-most career wins by a coach in PSU history (112).
• The Vikings have scored 100 or more points five times.
• SR G Zach Gengler played in his 100th career game on Jan. 19 against Montana. Gengler is on pace to finish his career among the top five in games played all-time at PSU. He has now played in 113 games... Gengler also has passed 100 career steals (118).
• SR G Calaen Robinson passed 100 career steals (127) and 100 career three-pointers (124).
• SR G Calaen Robinson passed 100 assists for the season (124).
 
IT TAKES A THIEF: For the second year in a row Portland State has set a school record for steals. The Vikings now have 298 after last year's previous mark of 263.
• The Vikings currently rank third in the nation in steals (9.9) behind West Virginia (10.9).
• PSU has had nine or more steals in 22 games this season.
• SR G Zach Gengler tied a school record with eight steals in a win over Idaho State (2/9).
• SR G Calaen Robinson leads the Big Sky Conference and ranks eighth in the nation in steals (2.40). He set a career- high with six against North Dakota (12/29).
• Robinson now holds the career record for steals at Portland State (127) and ranks second for a season (72). Gengler ranks third (118).
• Three Vikings rank in the top 10 in steals in the Big Sky: Robinson, Gengler, and SR F De'Sean Parsons.
• PSU had a season-high 19 steals in a win over North Dakota (12/29).
 
HOT SHOTS: Portland State is averaging 85.8 points per game - the most of any team in the Big Sky Conference. The Vikings have scored 99 or more points in six games this season. The scoring can be attributed to good shooting, an up-tempo pace, an ability to force opponent turnovers, and a few overtimes don't hurt.
• The Vikings shot .530 or better in nine of their wins.
• Portland State shoots .485 from the field overall and has failed to score at least 70 points only three times this season.
• PSU is forcing 16.9 turnovers per game while making 9.9 steals per game.
• Last year, PSU averaged 77.7 points. The last time PSU averaged over 82 points was 1976-77 when the Vikings aver-aged 91.0 points per game.
 
BIG SKY CONFERENCE LEADERS: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in:
• Scoring, 85.8 points per game
• Assists, 15.9 per game
• Steals, 9.9 per game
• Turnover margin, +4.9
• Assist-to-turnover ratio, 1.3 (479/371)
• SR G Calaen Robinson leads in steals, 2.4