---

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (6-10, 1-4) at
        NORTHERN ARIZONA LUMBERJACKS (4-12, 2-4)
Saturday, January 19, 2019, 1 p.m. PT • JL Walkup Skydome (7,300), Flagstaff, AZ
Live Stream: Pluto TV Channel 239, pluto.tv, WatchBigSky.com • Play-by-play: Mitch Strohman (Northern Arizona stream)
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

---

THE OPENING TIP
Portland State moves on to a Saturday afternoon contest at Northern Arizona as the Vikings try to kick-start their Big Sky Conference season.
     
PSU is 1-4 in league play after a Thursday night loss at Southern Utah. The Vikings appeared to be on the right path two weeks ago after an overtime win at defending Big Sky Champion Montana. However, an overtime loss to Weber State last week, then Thursday's defeat in Cedar City has PSU looking for the key to creating momentum in Big Sky play.
     
The Vikings are now 6-10 on the season. They have lost two in a row and seven of their last eight games overall. PSU is 1-2 in Big Sky road games and only 1-5 in road games overall.
     
Portland State's recent history with the Lumberjacks has been successful. PSU has won three in a row in the series, including a 72-66 decision last year in Flagstaff. To get another win in the 7,000-foot elevation of the Northern Arizona town will require better shooting. The Vikings hit only .392 from the field and .211 from three-point range at SUU. Combined with a season-high 25 turnovers and it was a recipe for another conference loss.
     
SR G Derek Brown matched his career-scoring high with 16 points at Southern Utah, but the Vikings otherwise struggled on offense.
     
Northern Arizona also lost on Thursday night, dropping a 66-64 game to Sacramento State at JL Walkup Skydome. NAU is 4-12 on the season and just ahead of the Vikings in the Big Sky standings at 2-4 with wins over Montana State and Idaho State. NAU is 2-3 at home overall.
     
Saturday's game is the second of a stretch of six out of eight on the road for the Vikings. Tip off is 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT at Walkup Skydome. The game will be live streamed on Pluto TV Channel 239, www.pluto.tv and www. WatchBigSky.com. Live stats are available at www.ViksLive.com.
 
COMING UP
Portland State will be at home next weekend, hosting Eastern Washington on Thursday night, then Idaho on Saturday. Both games tip off at 7:05 p.m. at the Viking Pavilion. Following next week's play, PSU is on the road for four straight facing Weber State, Idaho State, Northern Colorado and Sacramento State.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 26-23, and the Big Sky Conference series, 24-22... PSU is 7-14 in Flagstaff in Big Sky Conference games... the Vikings have won three straight games in the series... the teams are tied 2-2 in Big Sky Tournament games.
• LAST YEAR: Feb. 24, PSU 72, NAU 66 at NAU: Portland State overcame a sluggish offensive performance to beat the Lumberjacks on the road. A 46-32 advantage on the glass, and in particular 16 offensive rebounds for 17 second-chance points helped the Viking cause. Holland Woods and Deante Strickland each scored a dozen points in the win and Brandon Hollins grabbed 12 rebounds. Torry Johnson tallied 15 points to lead NAU.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Barret Peery (Southern Utah, 1996) is in his second season on the Park Blocks and has a 26-24 career record. Peery is 1-0 against Northern Arizona... Peery's 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 (Arizona, 2002) in his seventh season. Murphy has a 72-141 career record and is 6-5 against the Vikings.
 
NORTHERN ARIZONA LUMBERJACKS
• Northern Arizona, located in Flagstaff, joined the Big Sky Conference in 1970. The Lumberjacks have won four Big Sky regular season titles, two Big Sky Tournament titles, and made two appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• Last year, Northern Arizona was 5-27 overall, 2-16 and 12th in the Big Sky Conference. Three starters and six letterwinners return from that team.
• This year, the Lumberjacks are 4-12, 2-4 in the Big Sky Conference. NAU scores 71.6 points per game and allows opponents 78.5 points per game. Opponents shoot .475 from the field. The 'Jacks shoot .430.
• Sophomore forward Bernie Andre leads NAU in scoring (12.5) and rebounding (7.1) this season.
• Sophomore guard Carlos Hines averages 12.4 points and 3.4 assists per game.
• Freshman guard Luke Avdolovic is shooting .532 from three-point range (33-62) to lead the Big Sky Conference.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 6-10 on the season, 4-4 at home, 1-5 on the road, 1-1 at neutral sites.
• PSU is 1-4 in Big Sky Conference play, 0-3 at home, 1-1 on the road.
• PSU has lost four straight home games and seven of the last eight overall.
• The Vikings are 1-1 in overtime... Head Coach Barret Peery is 3-2 all-time in overtime.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 186-202 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (12-13).
• PSU is 120-65 in home games, 60-125 in road games and 6-10 in neutral-site games.
 
WHO IS HOT
• Coming off the bench, SR G Derek Brown tied his career high with 16 points (5-10 FG, 6-6 FT) against Southern Utah.
• Alos coming off the bench, SR G Deante Strickland scored a season-high 13 points with four assists and six steals against Weber State. He followed with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists at Southern Utah.
• The Vikings out-rebounded Southern Utah, 38-18, and did not allow the Thunderbirds a single offensive board.
• JR C Sal Nuhu scored a season-high 20 points (8-16 FG, 4-5 FT), grabbed seven rebounds and blocked four shots against Weber State.
 
WHO IS NOT
• PSU has lost four in a row at home and seven of eight overall.
• Portland State had a season-high 25 turnovers at Southern Utah, giving up 30 points.
• After out-rebounding their first nine opponents this season, the Vikings have been out-rebounded in the five of the last seven games. They are 1-5 in those games.
• Portland State is shooting .280 from three-point range this season which ranks last in the Big Sky Conference.
 
GO FIGURE: Portland State is 4-7 in Big Sky home games, 6-6 in Big Sky road games over the last two years.
 
AT HOME ON THE ROAD?: Despite Thursday's loss at Southern Utah, since Barret Peery took over as Vikings' Head Coach, Portland State has proven to be a pretty good road team. In the 22 road games he has coached, PSU is 11-11 (3-4 neutral site). The Vikings are 6-6 in Big Sky Conference road games. Before Peery arrived PSU was 7-22 the previous two years on the road (2015-17).
 
YOU'VE GOT TO PUT THE BISCUIT IN THE BASKET: There is no question that shooting efficiency is the most important element in basketball. So far, the Vikings have been inconsistent when chucking the rock at the old peach basket, with distinct differences in shooting between wins and losses, and home and road games. Here is a breakdown:
• The Vikings are 5-0 when out-shooting their opponents, 1-10 when they don't.
• Field goal percentage: 435-1,059, .410 (10th in Big Sky)
• Three-point percentage: 107-382, .280 (11th in Big Sky)
• Shooting in wins: .479/.360
• Shooting in losses: .363/.235
• Shooting in home games: .456/.333
• Shooting in road/neutral site games: .365/.234
 
PEERY PRESSURE, PART II: Portland State Head Coach Barret Peery emphasizes a full-court pressure defense that forces turnovers and creates transition opportunities. Then, on the offensive end, his team relentlessly attacks the offensive glass. Here are the analytics of those two areas. In 2018-19:
• The Vikings have forced 17.6 turnovers per game and have a +2.3 turnover margin. PSU has scored 290 points off turnovers compared to 261 for opponents.
• The Vikings average 17.6 offensive rebounds per game while opponents average 8.8 (exactly twice as many, 282-141). PSU has also doubled its opponents in second-chance points this season (281-140).
• In all, the difference in total turnovers (37) and total offensive rebounds (141) is 178 extra possessions compared to opponents (11.2 per game).
• As a result, PSU has 189 more field goal attempts than the opponents. Opponents have 27 more free throw attempts.
 
CHEERING FOR BOO BOO: SO G Holland "Boo Boo" Woods leads the Vikings' in scoring (14.5) and assists (5.1). He ranks 10th in the Big Sky in scoring, leads in assists and is eighth in steals (1.4).
• He has led the team in scoring eight times and assists 12 times this season.
• Woods, the Big Sky leader in assists last season (5.6), has led the Vikings in assists in 37 of 49 career games. He ranks ninth all-time at Portland State with 267 career assists in less than two seasons.
• Scored in double figures 10 times with four 20+ point games.
• Went for 20 points and five assists at Stanford.
• Had 27 points (8-14 FG, career-high 5-7 3-pt, 6-6 FT) and six assists in a win over Portland.
• Scored 17 points with seven rebounds and seven assists at Montana State, making 10-10 FTs.
• Posted a season-high 28 points (6-11 FG, 3-4 3-pt FG, 13-15 FT) in a win at Montana, adding four rebounds and three assists.
• Had a season-high 10 assists against Weber State.
 
NU-COMERS PLAYING WELL: Portland State newcomers JR G Michael Nuga and JR C Sal Nuhu are having a big impact for the Vikings.
Nuga Nuggets:
• Nuga ranks second on the team in scoring at 13.1 points per game in 22 minutes per night.
• He leads the team with 26 3-pt FG and a .382 3-pt FG%.
• Has scored in double figures 10 times with two 20+ point games.
• Went for 17 points and nine rebounds against Stanford.
• Scored a season-high 24 points against CSU Bakersfield.
Yahoo For Nuhu:
• Nuhu averages 10.5 points in 20.6 minutes per game.
• He averages 5.8 rebounds to rank second on the Vikings and 13th in the Big Sky. He leads the Vikings and ranks sixth in field goal percentage (.573) and third in blocked shots (1.8).
• Has scored in double figures 10 times.
• Posted a double-double against Stanford with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
• Went for 10 points, nine rebounds and a season-high six blocked shots against Portland.
• Scored 16 points (5-6 FG, 6-8 FT) at Montana State.
• Tallied a season-high 20 points (8-16 FG, 4-5 FT) with seven rebounds and four blocked shots against Weber State.
 
THE REAL McCOY: In his first season as a Viking, JR F Robert McCoy has stepped into a key role. He has started 13 games and averages 22.6 minutes, ranking third on the team.
• McCoy averages 8.6 points and leads the Vikings in rebounding at 6.3 per game, ranking sixth in the Big Sky Conference. He leads the Big Sky in offensive rebounds (2.9 pg).
• He has led the Vikings in scoring once, rebounding five times and has two double-doubles.
• Has season-highs of 26 points, 12 rebounds and five steals.
• Scored 17 points with six rebounds, two blocks, two assists and two steals against Weber State.
 
IF YOU BUILD IT: The crowd of 2,020 that attended the game against Portland (12/5) in the Viking Pavilion is the largest crowd of the season so far. Portland State's home opener against UC Riverside had a crowd of 1,424. The largest recent crowd was a sellout of that 1,500 attended the Portland State/Oregon State game in the old Stott Center gym on Dec. 12, 2012... PSU is averaging 1,142 fans through eight home games - the most since the 2008-09 season (1,106).
 
Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in:
Rebounds Per Game                      42.6
Offensive Rebounds                        17.6
Rebounding Margin                        +8.8
Steals                                               9.8
Turnover Margin                             +2.3
Holland Woods, assists                    5.1
Robert McCoy, offensive rebounds  2.9