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PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (17-11, 7-8) vs.
NORTHERN ARIZONA LUMBERJACKS (5-23, 2-13)
Saturday, February 24, 2018, 5 p.m. PT • JL Walkup Skydome, Flagstaff, AZ
Live Video and Audio: www.WatchBigSky.com, www.Pluto.tv 
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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THE OPENING TIP
Has momentum found the Vikings at the right time of the season? Saturday night's game at Northern Arizona may provide further data to that question for Portland State.
           
PSU (17-11, 7-8) will go into its first meeting of the season with the Lumberjacks having won two in a row, three of its last four and four of six games. And the losses during that stretch don't look that bad either - a road defeat at first-place Montana and an overtime loss to second-place Weber State.
           
The Vikings pulled one out of the fire on Thursday night when they overcame a nine-point second-half deficit to defeat Southern Utah, 96-91, in overtime. A clutch three-point field goal by FR G Holland Woods with 3.2 seconds remaining tied the game and sent it to the extra session. Once there, Woods hit another three and JR G Michael Mayhew buried a pair of long-range bombs. Combined with 7-8 free throw shooting, the Vikings were able to pick up their 17th win of the season. Woods had 20 points and seven assists in the game. Mayhew scored 14 points, and SR F Brandon Hollins racked up his fourth straight double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
           
Portland State's win total (17) is significant in that it marks the fifth-most in the Vikings' 22-season Big Sky Conference history with at least four more games to play this season. The 17 wins for Head Coach Barret Peery ties for the most ever by a first-year Viking basketball coach (Joel Sobotka, 17-11, 1998-99).
           
Moreover, the Vikings are 9-5 on the road this season (4-4 in Big Sky road games). That is the most road wins for a Viking team in 22 seasons in the Big Sky Conference except for the two NCAA Tournament teams (2007-08, 10-9; 2008-09, 11-9)
           
PSU's meeting with the Lumberjacks is just the first of the season despite the fact the teams are playing their 16th conference game. That anomoly is set up by the 12-team Big Sky's quirky unbalanced schedule. In fact, PSU will face two more first time opponents next week when it wraps up its season at home (Northern Colorado, North Dakota).
           
Northern Arizona has had a difficult season at 5-23 and ranks 12th in the Big Sky Conference at 2-13. However, the Lumberjacks stopped a six-game losing streak on Thursday with a 58-53 victory over Sacramento State. That win stands out to the Vikings as they were unable to beat the Hornets in two previous meetings this season.
           
Saturday's game from Flagstaff is a 5 p.m. Pacific Time start. A live video stream is available at www.WatchBigSky.com and www.Pluto.tv. Live stats are available at www.ViksLive.com.
           
Portland State remains in seventh place in the 12-team Big Sky Conference. If the season were to end today, they would take on the 10th-seeded team in first round of the Big Sky Tournament. That opponent right now would be Southern Utah. That projection may certainly change as three games remain in the Big Sky regular season. Remarkably, the 12 teams all stand exactly one game apart with three games to play.
 
Current Big Sky Conference Standings (upcoming PSU opponents)
Montana, 13-2
Weber State, 12-3
Idaho, 11-4
Eastern Washington, 10-5
Northern Colorado, 9-6 (vs. PSU, 3/1)
Idaho State, 8-7
Portland State, 7-8
Montana State, 6-9
North Dakota, 5-10 (vs. PSU 3/3)
Southern Utah, 4-11
Sacramento State, 3-12
Northern Arizona, 2-13 (PSU @ NAU, 2/24)
 
COMING UP
Portland State will close out the regular season at home next week, hosting Northern Colorado (Mar. 1) and North Dakota (Mar. 3). The Big Sky Conference Tournament runs Mar. 6-10 in Reno, NV.
           
All Viking home games take place at Lewis and Clark College this season as construction on the new Viking Pavilion is being completed. Thursday games tip at 8 p.m. with Saturday games at 1 p.m.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA 
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 25-23, and the Big Sky Conference series, 23-22... NAU leads 14-6 in games played in Flagstaff, including winning the last four in a row... the Vikings have won the last two meetings, including an 80-67 Big Sky Tournament first round win last season... PSU and NAU are tied 2-2 in Big Sky Tournament games.
 • Jan. 16 in Flagstaff, NAU 83, PSU 76: Portland State rallied from 11 down with 5:07 to play to tie the game. But NAU's Mike Green hit a three-pointer with 32 seconds left, breaking the 76-76 tie... despite 20 turnovers, the Lumberjacks shot .491 from the field and out-rebounded the Vikings, 51-26. Green scored 26 points with nine rebounds for NAU. De'Sean Parsons had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Vikings. Feb. 25 in Portland, PSU 84, NAU 72: The Vikings closed down the Stott Center era with a convincing win, leading by as many as 26 points in the second half. PSU forced 23 turnovers for 34 points, making 15 steals. Calaen Robinson and De'Sean Parsons each scored 16 to lead the Vikings. JoJo Anderson and Jordyn Martin had 13 points apiece to top the Lumberjacks. Mar. 7 in Reno, Big Sky Tournament first round, PSU 80, NAU 67: Portland State led for nearly 30 minutes of the game, but needed a late second-half 16-3 run to put it away. The Vikings shot .544 from the field and forced 19 turnovers. Deontae North scored 20 of his game-high 25 points in the second half. Jordyn Martin had 16 points and 16 rebounds for the 'Jacks.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Barret Peery is in his first season on the Park Blocks. His only other head coaching experience is at the junior college level where he was 178-30 in six seasons (2005-08, College of Southern Idaho;  2011-14, Indian Hills (IA) CC)... the Lumberjacks are coached by Jack Murphy. In six seasons he has compiled a 68-124 record. Murphy is 6-4 against Portland State.
 
NORTHERN ARIZONA LUMBERJACKS
• Northern Arizona joined the Big Sky Conference in 1970. The Lumberjacks have won four Big Sky regular season titles and two Big Sky Tournament titles, making two appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Lumberjacks were 9-23 last season, 6-12 and 10th in the Big Sky Conference. They were picked to place 11th in the preseason coaches poll and 10th in the preseason media poll.
• NAU averages 66.2 points per game and allows 78.8 points per game. The 'Jacks rank last in scoring, field goal percentage (.398) and three-point percentage (.309).
• Junior guard Torry Johnson and sophomore guard JoJo Anderson both average 11.7 points per game to lead Northern Arizona. Anderson has 53 assists while Johnson leads the team with 29 steals.
• Sophomore forward Brooks Debisschop is one of the top rebounders in the Big Sky Conference, averaging 7.5 per game.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES 
• Portland State is 17-11 this season, 7-4 at home, 9-5 on the road, 1-2 at neutral sites.
• In Big Sky Conference games, PSU is 7-8 (3-4 at home, 4-4 on the road). 
• The Vikings have won two in a row, three of four and four of their last six games. 
• PSU is 7-5 in games decided by five points or less or overtime.
• The Vikings are 1-1 in overtime.
 
WHO IS HOT
• After totaling 12 points and 13 rebounds at Southern Utah, SR F Brandon Hollins has racked up four straight double-doubles and now has six on the season. In that span, Hollins scored a career-high 22 points (10-12 FG, 1-2 3-pt, 1-1 FT) with 11 rebounds against Weber State. He followed that with 13 points (5-9 FG, 3-5 FT) and a career-high 16 rebounds - the most by a Viking in two years - against Idaho State... in the last four games, he has averaged 15.8 points and 13.5 rebounds while making 24-38 shots (.632). He ranks second in the Big Sky Conference with a .588 shooting percentage.
• SR C Ryan Edwards scored a career-high 21 points (9-11 FG, 3-4 3-pt) against Idaho State in just 18 minutes of action. He followed that with 14 points and seven rebounds at Southern Utah. Edwards has averaged 10.8 points in conference play after averaging 7.4 in non-conference games.
• JR G Deante Strickland posted a career-high of 18 points (6-11 FG, 4-7 3-pt, 2-4 FT) with seven rebounds and eight assists in the win over Idaho State. He has hit 18 of his last 36 threes (.500) and is shooting a team-best .422 from distance.
• SR F Braxton Tucker had a season-high 14 points (7-11 FG) in 18 minutes against Idaho State. He followed that with 10 points in 16 minutes against Southern Utah.
• FR G Holland Woods' streak of free throws made ended at 23. But he has still made 42 of his last 47 free throws (.893). 
 
WHO IS NOT
• In Portland State's eight Big Sky losses, it has been easy to point at shooting as the downfall. PSU has shot .392 from the field and .265 from three-point range in seven Big Sky losses. 
• Portland State averages 22.5 fouls per game, ranking 351st in the nation (among 351).
 
THE COMEBACK: Portland State's come-from-behind victory at Southern Utah marked the ninth time this season that Portland State has erased a second-half deficit (four by double digits) and pulled out a win. Six of those have been on the road, two at Memorial Coliseum. Here is a list of the comebacks: 
• Beat Portland, 80-75, on Nov. 11 (R) - trailed by seven with 2:33 remaining.
• Beat Utah State, 83-79, at Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 20 - trailed by three with 7:16 remaining.
• Beat Stanford, 87-78, at Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 26 - trailed by 11 with 18:10 remaining (trailed by 14 in first half).
• Beat Santa Clara, 87-84, on Dec. 9 (R) - trailed by 17 with 14:51 remaining/trailed by 10 with 7:08 remaining.
• Beat Idaho, 73-72, on Jan. 6 (R) - trailed by five with 2:59 left.
• Beat Idaho State, 87-83, on Jan. 18 (R) - trailed by 16 with 18:30 remaining.
• Beat Montana State, 80-77, on Feb. 10 (R) - trailed by 10 with 12:12 remaining.
• Beat Idaho State, 91-77, on Feb. 17 (H) - trailed by seven with 19:46 remaining.
• Beat Southern Utah, 96-91 in overtime, on Feb. 22 (R) - trailed by nine with 13:59 remaining, six with 4:36 left (trailed by 14 in the first half). 
 
CLUTCH SHOOTERS: FR G Holland Woods hit the fourth truly "clutch" shot of the season for the Vikings (and the second by him) when he buried a three-pointer with 3.2 seconds left at Southern Utah to tie the game at 80-80 and second it to overtime. PSU went on to win 96-91. Here is a look at the Vikings' other "Big Shots" this season:
• Woods hit a game-winning shot with 0.6 points left against Idaho on Jan. 6 giving PSU a 73-72 win. It marked the first time a PSU player has made a clincher in the final five seconds of a game since Feb. 27, 2016. On that date, Calaen Robinson made a three-pointer with two seconds left to win at Northern Colorado, 89-86.
• Although they didn't come in the last five seconds, SR G Bryce Canda hit decisive three-pointers on two occasions this season, with both coming on the road. His three at Portland with 34.3 seconds left broke a 75-75 tie in an 80-75 win. Later in the season (Feb. 10), Canda hit a three with 18.9 seconds left to break a 77-77 tie in an 80-77 win at Montana State.
 
THE ROAD - NOT AS ROUGH AS IT SEEMS: Portland State is 9-5 in road games this season (4-4 in Big Sky road games). That is the most road wins for a Viking team in 22 seasons in the Big Sky Conference except for the two NCAA Tournament teams (2007-08, 10-9; 2008-09, 11-9)... in fact, PSU's road winning percentage (.643) is better than its home winning percentage (7-4, .636).
 
MORE ABOUT WINS: With 17 wins so far this season, the Vikings now rank fifth in the win column in 22 seasons as a Big Sky member (with at least four games remaining)... PSU's 17 wins are the most since the 2013-14 season (17-15)... Here is a list of PSU's Big Sky teams with the most wins:
 
Most wins in a season, Big Sky era:
2007-08: 23-10
2008-09: 23-10
2004-05: 19-9
2006-07: 19-13
2017-18: 17-11 
1998-99: 17-11
2011-12: 17-15
2013-14: 17-15
 
FIRST-YEAR COACHING RECORDS: New Portland State Head Coach Barret Peery (17-11) has had a good first year on the Park Blocks. He is now tied for most wins by a first-year coach in PSU history (Joel Sobotka 17-11, 1998-99).
 
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. Here is a look at PSU's hustle chart and the points they produce:
• Turnovers forced: 521 (18.6 to lead the Big Sky and rank second in the nation) for 619 points (22.1 per game)
• Fast break points: 302 (10.8 per game)
• Offensive rebounds: 412 (14.7 to lead the Big Sky and rank second in the nation) for 426 second chance points (15.2 per game)
 
PUTTING THE BISCUIT IN THE BASKET: Portland State is averaging 87.2 points per game this season. That is the most by a Viking team since 1976-77 (91.0) when Freeman Williams trod the (former) Stott Center hardwood. Here is a look at PSU's top scoring averages in 22 seasons as a member of the Big Sky Conference.
 
Year               PPG
2017-18         87.2
2016-17         85.3
1998-99         79.1
2006-07         78.2
 
OTHER TASTY TIDBITS
• MORE QUICK STATS: FR G Holland Woods' 164 assists already ranks as fifth-most for a season in Portland State history... SR C Ryan Edwards' 48 blocked shots ranks as fifth-best in a season in PSU history... the Vikings are 9-0 when they out-shoot an opponent, 8-11 when they don't.
• BEST RECORDS: Earlier this season, Portland State matched its best four-game (4-0), five-game (4-1), nine-game (7-2), 10-game (8-2), 11-game (8-3), 12-game (9-3), 13-game (10-3) and 14-game (10-4) records in 22 seasons as a member of the Big Sky Conference.
• WEST COAST DOMINANCE: Portland State went 3-0 against its three West Coast Conference opponents this season (Portland, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara)... PSU was 2-1 against the Pac-12 (W - Stanford, W - Cal, L - Oregon)... the Vikings are also 1-0 against the Big West and 1-0 against the Mountain West... that made them 7-1 against teams from other Division I basketball conferences in the west.
 
BIG SKY LEADERS: The Vikings lead the Big Sky Conference in:
• Scoring, 87.2
• Steals, 10.1
• Assists, 17.0
• Turnover Margin, +6.1
• Assist-to-Turnover Ratio, 1.4
• Offensive Rebounds, 14.7
• 3-pt FG Made, 9.5
• Assists, Holland Woods, 5.9
• Field Goal Percentage, Brandon Hollins, .588