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PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (6-6) vs. NORTHERN COLORADO BEARS (7-4)
Saturday, December 28, 2019, 2:05 p.m. • Viking Pavilion (3,094), Portland, OR
Live Stream: Pluto TV Channel 532, pluto.tv, WatchBigSky.com • Play-by-play: Matt Richert • Analyst: Devon Pouncey
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com

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PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (6-6) vs. SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS (7-4)
Monday, December 30, 2019, 7:05 p.m. • Viking Pavilion (3,094), Portland, OR
Live Stream: Pluto TV Channel 532, pluto.tv, WatchBigSky.com • Play-by-play: Matt Richert • Analyst: Devon Pouncey
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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THE OPENING TIP
Portland State opens its 24th season of Big Sky Conference basketball on Saturday afternoon when the Vikings host Northern Colorado in a 2:05 p.m. game at Viking Pavilion.
     
It will be the start of a busy week of action for the Vikings as they will play four games in eight days to open the Big Sky schedule. PSU hosts Southern Utah on Monday, Dec. 30, then travels to Idaho (Jan. 2) and Eastern Washington (Jan. 4) over the first week of action.
     
The Vikings go into league play with a 6-6 non-conference record, and 3-1 mark at home.
     
Big Sky Conference play consists of a 20-game schedule. The quirk of the 2019-20 conference schedule is that Portland State will be the "lone wolf" among the 11 Big Sky teams, meaning it will not have a travel partner. The result is a slightly different schedule than normal which includes five Monday games (three at home), two stretches of seven days off and one stretch of eight days off.
     
After two home games to open the season, PSU is on the road for six of its next eight and eight of the next 11. Five of the final seven games will be played at home.
     
For the second year in a row the Vikings open the conference schedule at home against Northern Colorado. Portland State will try to flip the script from that game last Dec. 31 as UNC beat the Vikings 73-60. In fact, the Bears have won five straight over PSU the past three seasons.
     
The Bears are 7-4 going into league play and have proven to be formidable. Northern Colorado has won four in a row and held opponents to a mere 60.7 points per game. Last year, the Bears were 21-11 overall, 15-5 in the Big Sky, placing second.
     
PSU and Northern Colorado had no common opponents in non-conference play.
     
On a side note, Viking JR G Holland Woods will enter that game with 420 career assists. He is just one shy of the Portland State school record, held by Terry Adolph (421, 1976-78).
     
On Monday, Portland State will host Southern Utah. The Thunderbirds are 7-4 going into league play. They have won three games in a row and are 2-4 on the road. Last season, SUU was 17-17 overall, 9-11 and seventh in Big Sky play.
     
The Vikings and T-Birds have two common opponents with different results. PSU lost at UC Santa Barbara (81-70), but won at Loyola Marymount (76-66). SUU beat UCSB at home (62-61), but lost at Loyola Marymount, 61-51.
     
Saturday's game with Northern Colorado is the only afternoon home game of the season for Portland State, tipping off at 2:05 p.m. The game with Southern Utah begins at 7:05 p.m. A live stream of the game is available on Pluto TV Channel 532, wwwpluto.tv and www.WatchBigSky.com. The pregame show begins 15 minutes prior to tip. Live statistics can be found at www.ViksLive.com.
 
COMING UP
Portland State will play its next four games on the road. The Vikings are at Idaho on Jan. 2, then Eastern Washington on Jan. 4. After a seven-day layoff, PSU travels to Montana State (Jan. 11) and Montana (Jan. 13).
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. NORTHERN COLORADO
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 18-11, and the Big Sky Conference series, 14-11. However, the Bears have won the last five meetings between the teams... PSU is 7-5 at home against UNC in league games, 9-5 at home overall.
• LAST YEAR: Dec. 31, 2018 at Viking Pavilion, UNC 73, PSU 60: Northern Colorado took advantage of poor shooting by the Vikings, breaking away from a halftime tie to win the Big Sky opener. Jordan Davis scored 27 points to lead the Bears, and Bodie Hume's five three-pointers led to 19 total points. The Vikings, who shot only .373 from the field, got 16 points from Derek Brown and 13 from Robert McCoy. Feb. 7, 2019 at Greeley, UNC 80, PSU 62: Northern Colorado picked up its biggest margin of victory ever over a Viking team, once again taking advantage of a significant shooting advantage. The Bears jumped to a big first-half lead as they shot .519 from the field for the game while the Vikings shot .358. Jordan Davis scored another 25 points while Jonah Radebaugh went for 28 to lead the Bears. Robert McCoy had 16 points for the Vikings while Holland Woods scored 14 with five assists.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Barret Peery (Southern Utah, 1996) is in his third season on the Park Blocks and has a 42-36 career record. Peery is 0-3 all-time against Northern Colorado... Peery's 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 Bears are coached by Jeff Linder (Western State) in his fourth season. He has a 65-45 record at Northern Colorado, including 5-0 against the Vikings.
 
NORTHERN COLORADO BEARS
• Northern Colorado is located in Greeley. UNC joined the Big Sky Conference in 2006-07. The Bears program has won one Big Sky Conference title and made one appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Bears were 21-11 last season, 15-5 and second place in the Big Sky Conference. Four starters and seven letterwinners return from that team. Guard Jonah Radebaugh was the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year last season. Bodie Hume was named Big Sky Freshman of the Year. Jeff Linder was selected as Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year.
• This season the Bears went 7-4 in non-conference play. They have scored 76.7 points per game while allowing only 60.7. UNC has been particularly strong at the three-point line, making 11.2 per game. Meanwhile, the Bears have held opponents to .254 three-point shooting and only 3.3 made per game.
• Radebaugh leads the Bears with 15.8 points per game. He also averages 7.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists.
• Hume is averaging 15.5 points and has made 31 three-point field goals.
• Senior guard Trent Harris has made a team-leading 36 three-pointers and averages 11.0 points per game.
• Senior forward Kai Edwards leads the team in rebounding at 7.4 per game. He shoots a league-leading .773 from the field while averaging 7.5 points.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. SOUTHERN UTAH
• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 11-2, and the Big Sky Conference series, 10-2. Southern Utah has never beaten the Vikings in Portland. PSU is 7-0 at home all-time, 6-0 in Big Sky games... the teams split the season series last year, but PSU won nine straight prior to that.
• LAST YEAR: Jan. 17, 2019 at Cedar City, SUU 83, PSU 69: Southern Utah beat Portland State for the first time since 2013. It was an odd game for the Vikings as they out-rebounded the Thunderbirds, 38-18. However, PSU shot only .392 from the field and had a season-high 25 turnovers. SUU shot .560 from the field. Cameron Oluyitan led five Thunderbirds in double figures with 18 points. PSU's Derek Brown led three Vikings in double figures with 16. Feb. 16, 2019 at Viking Pavilion, PSU 78, SUU 69: A month later PSU got revenge at home with a solid all-around performance. This time the Vikings shot .491 from the field and had only 10 turnovers. Holland Woods had 19 points and eight assists to lead the Vikings. Harrison Butler scored 16 points with 10 rebounds to lead SUU.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Barret Peery (Southern Utah, 1996) is in his third season on the Park Blocks and has a 42-36 career record. Peery is 2-1 all-time against Southern Utah... Peery's 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 Thunderbirds are coached by Todd Simon (Central Michigan, 2003) in his fourth season. He has a 43-67 record at Southern Utah, including 1-4 against the Vikings.
• YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN: Portland State Head Coach Barret Peery faces his alma mater for the fourth time. He holds a 2-1 record against Southern Utah... Peery played at Southern Utah from 1993-95 and was part of two conference championships for the Thunderbirds. Peery served as a graduate assistant with the program in 1995-96 then returned to be an assistant coach at Southern Utah from 1998-2002. The 2000-01 team won the Mid-Continent Conference title, reaching the NCAA Tournament, and compiled a 25-6 record.
• FRIENDS AND FOES: Portland State JR G Holland "Boo Boo" Woods and Southern Utah JR G Dre Marin played together in the same backcourt at Apollo High School in Arizona. Saturday's game will be the fourth time they square off against each other. So far, Boo Boo has the edge in wins, 2-1.
 
SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS
• Southern Utah is located in Cedar City. SUU joined the Big Sky Conference in 2012-13. The Thunderbird program has never won a Big Sky Conference championsionship, but has made one past appearance in the NCAA Tournament as a member of the Mid-Continent Conference (2001).
• The Thunderbirds were 17-17 last season, 9-11 and seventh place in the Big Sky Conference. Four starters and six letterwinners return from that team. Forward Cameron Oluyitan was a Big Sky Conference Newcomer of the Year and third team All-Big Sky Conference.
• This season, the Thunderbirds have had a strong start with a 7-4 record. The marquee win was a double-overtime victory at Nebraska. The T-Birds score 75.0 points per game and allow just 63.6. SUU shoots .471 from the field and has held opponents to only .384 shooting. Southern Utah leads the Big Sky Conference in rebounding margin (+8.0).
• Senior forward Cameron Oluyitan leads the Thunderbirds in scoring at 12.6 per game, and steals with 19.
• Junior guard John Knight III averages 12.1 points and a team-best 2.3 assists per game.
• Sophomore guard Harrison Butler leads the team with 7.8 rebounds per game.
 
WHO IS HOT
• SR C Sal Nuhu had his best game of the season with 18 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots in a win over Loyola Marymount.
• FR G Kyle Greeley has averaged 12.0 points the last three games, scoring 36 points in just 45 minutes. He has made 11-14 shots (.786), 7-9 three-pointers (.778) and 7-7 free throws (1.000)... Greeley leads the team in shooting overall with .581 from the field and .895 at the line.
• JR G Holland Woods had his sixth 20-point game of the season with 23 against Pepperdine. Woods ranks fifth in the Big Sky Conference in scoring (17.5)... he also shoots a career-high .850 at the free throw line.
• SR F Rashaad Goolsby has averaged 9.3 rebounds over the last eight games, leading the team in six of those games.
• PSU leads the Big Sky Conference in steals (9.2) and offensive rebounding (16.7 per game). The Vikings lead the nation in offensive rebounds.
 
WHO IS NOT
• Portland State's second-half shooting the last two games was 19-60 (.317).
• The Vikings have shot 28-45 from the free throw line in the last two games (.622).
 
PORTLAND STATE IN THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE
• Portland State is in its 24th season of Big Sky Conference play. PSU won the 2004-05 and 2007-08 Big Sky Conference regular season titles. The Vikings have had nine winning records in conference play and earned 14 Big Sky Tournament berths in 18 seasons eligible (the BSC tournament now includes all teams), winning the 2008 and 2009 Big Sky Conference Tournament titles.
• Portland State was picked to place sixth in the Big Sky Conference Preseason Coaches and Media Polls.
• This marks the fifth year in Big Sky history in which all teams will qualify for the post-season tournament. It is the second year that the tournament will be hosted in Boise, ID (it was held in Reno, NV the previous three years). The tournament takes place on Mar. 11-14 with the top five teams earning first-round byes into the quarterfinals.
• The Vikings are 12-14 all-time in the Big Sky Conference Tournament.
 
NON-CONFERENCE RECAP
Portland State came out of non-conference play with a 6-6 record, one-half game better than last season's mark (5-6). The Vikings were faced with injury problems throughout the first eight weeks of play. SR C Sal Nuhu missed six games with an ankle sprain, while SR F Alonzo Walker missed 3 1/2 games with a foot injury. Both were starters when they went down. SR G Lamar Hamrick also missed three games.
     
 
Highlights included road wins at San Jose State and Loyola Marymount.
      JR G Holland Woods spent most of the non-conference schedule at the top of the Big Sky in scoring and assists, averaging 17.5 points and 5.3 assists. He earned a Big Sky Player of the Week nod after three straight 20-point games against Grambling State, UC Santa Barbara and Oregon State. Woods also passed the 1,000-point mark for his career. SR G Matt Hauser proved to be a fine addition, averaging 16.1 points and making a team-best 34 three-pointers. Hauser made nine in a win over CSUN, which ranks as the second-most in school history, on his way to 29 points.
     
SR F Rashaad Goolsby stepped his game up in the absence of other Vikings' bigs, averaging 8.2 rebounds. Walker also proved to be a strong addition to the team when healthy (9.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg).
 
HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE
The completion of the Viking Pavilion prior to the 2018-19 basketball season was transformative for the entire Portland State Athletic Program. So far, the results on the court have been better than ever. PSU is 15-5 in the Viking Pavilion (.750 winning percentage). The previous main home court, the old Peter W. Stott Center gym, produced a .721 winning percentage after reinstating basketball and joining the Big Sky Conference between 1996-97 and 2017-18. In all, PSU's four different home venues prior to the Viking Pavilion produced a .709 winning mark. 
 
BENCH PRODUCTION
• PSU took a talented Oregon State team to the final minute before losing, 81-75. Golder (10 pts, 5 reb), Hamrick (4 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast) and Burke (6 pts, 2 reb, 2 st) were all part of the Viking rally down the stretch. In fact, Burke (+10), Golder (+9) and Hamrick (+8) all had the best plus/minus marks of any player on both teams with the exception of OSU's Zach Reichle (+11)... they combined for 20 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals.
• In the win over CSUN, those three combined again for 20 points, 15 rebounds and three assists. Golder had seven points and six rebounds. Hamrick added six points and six rebounds. And Burke had seven points, three rebounds and two assists. He had a game-best +17 plus/minus score in the game.
• Portland State got 55 of its 101 points off the bench in a win over Portland Bible. Golder moved into the starting lineup, but Burke (23 pts, 5 ast, 4 st, 4 reb, +46), FR G Kyle Greeley (17 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, +46) and Hamrick (10 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 2 st, +44) all came up big.
• Despite losing at Pepperdine, PSU got 25 points and 10 rebounds off its bench (Pepperdine had 5 and 7). Greeley led the way with nine points (3-3 3-pt FG) and four rebounds, while Hamrick scored seven points.
• The Viking bench had 43 points, 19 rebounds, four assists and five blocked shots in the win at Loyola Marymount. It was sparked by SR C Sal Nuhu (18 pts, 11 reb, 3 blk), Greeley (10 pts, 3-4 FG, 23- 3-pt, 2-2 FT) and Hamrick (9 pts, 2 ast, +10).
 
BOO BOO ON THE VERGE
Portland State point guard Holland "Boo Boo" Woods is on the verge of becoming the number one helper in Viking basketball history. That record is expected to come in the Vikings Big Sky Conference opener against Northern Colorado.
     
Woods has 420 career assists in 77 games (5.4 pg). That total has him ranked second all-time at PSU. Woods, a junior, is only one assist away from the record held by Terry Adolph in 1976-78. Adolph was a prolific assist man in his two-season career at PSU, no doubt benefiting from having the second all-time leading scorer in NCAA history playing alongside him in Freeman Williams. Adolph averaged 7.8 assists per game in each of his two seasons, totaling 421 in 54 games. Behind Adolph is teammate Chucky Smith (1974-78, 392 assists) and "modern-era" star Derek Nesland (1996-2000, 371 assists).
     
Woods passed 1,000 career points in the win over Portland Bible, becoming the 19th Viking in history to reach that milestone (currently 1,032). He now ranks 17th all-time.
     
And finally, Woods now has 121 career steals and is tied for second all-time at PSU. The school record is 128 by Calaen Robinson (2015-17), which means Woods should soon have that record as well.
 
BOO BOO, PART TWO
A few more highlights from Holland Woods:
• Ranks fifth in the Big Sky in scoring (17.5), third in assists (5.3), fifth in free throw percentage (.850) and sixth in steals (1.8).
• Has led the team in scoring six times and has six 20-point games.
• Boo Boo has led the team in assists nine times this season and in 62 of 77 career games.
• Scored 23 points (7-17 FG, 4-9 3-pt, 5-5 FT) with four assists at Pepperdine.
• Had second double-double with 14 pts (7-16 FG, 2-6 3-pt, 2-2 FT), 10 assists in win over CSUN.
• Went for 23 points (7-16 FG, 1-4 3-pt, 8-9 FT) and seven rebounds at Oregon State.
• Had 22 points (8-13 FG, 3-5 3-pt, 3-4 FT) and five assists at UC Santa Barbara.
• Tallied 20 points (6-14 FG, 2-4 3-pt, 6-6 FT) and five assists in a win over Grambling State.
• Posted 18 points (6-13 FG, 1-3 3-pt, 5-6 FT), 11 assists and three steals in the win over San Jose State.
• Scored 22 points (9-16 FG, 1-4 3-pt, 3-3 FT) with five assists and four rebounds against Portland.
• Had a game-high 27 points at Indiana (5-13 FG, 4-8 3-pt, 13-16 FT) and three assists.
• Named 2nd team All-Big Sky Conference in 2018-19. Was Big Sky Freshman of the Year in 2017-18.
• Led the Vikings in scoring (15.0), assists (5.3) and steals (1.6) last season.
 
TRIPLE THREAT
SR G Matt Hauser has stepped up his game as the Vikings' top three-point shooting threat.
• Hauser is averaging 16.1 points while shooting .407 from the field and .362 from three-point range. He has a team-high 34 three-point field goals.
• Ranks eighth in the Big Sky in scoring, fourth in three-pointers per game and eighth in steals.
• Has led the team in scoring four times this season and has three 20+ point games.
• Went for a career-high 29 points (10-22 FG, 9-16 3-pt) and seven rebounds in the win over CSUN. It was the second-most three-pointers in a game in PSU history.
• Posted 24 points (9-15 FG, 4-9 3-pt, 2-2 FT) with six rebounds, three assists and three steals in the win over San Jose State.
• Scored 21 points at Indiana (7-9 FG, 4-6 3-pt, 3-3 FT).
• Averaged 8.4 points and 2.4 assists in his 85-game career at Santa Clara. Included was a career-high 22 points against Portland State on Dec. 9, 2017 (a PSU win)... made 113 three-pointers in three seasons.
 
GOOD STARTS FOR GOOLSBY
SR F Rashaad Goolsby has moved into the Vikings' starting lineup over the last eight games and been brilliant.
• For the season, he is averaging 6.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. Last season, he averaged 4.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.7 steals in 18.3 minutes per game.
• Ranks second in rebounding and sixth in steals in the Big Sky Conference.
• Has led the team in rebounding eight times this season.
• Had a career-high 16 rebounds to go with a career-high four assists, three steals and two blocked shots in a win over CSUN.
• In his first start, a win at San Jose State, posted 10 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and three assists.
• Made a career-high five steals against Portland.
• Goolsby grabbed 10 rebounds in the win over Puget Sound.
 
YAHOO FOR NUHU
SR C Sal Nuhu opened the season just as Vikings fans would have expected; by swatting away shots.
• Scored 18 points with 11 rebounds and three blocked shots in a win over Loyola Marymount (12/19).
• Had had six blocks against Puget Sound (11/5) to go with 12 points and seven rebounds.
• Nuhu led the Big Sky Conference last season with 64 blocked shots (2.0 pg). That total ranked fourth in Portland State history for a season. Nuhu now ranks fifth all-time at PSU.
 
TALKING THE WALKER
The Vikings' other graduate transfer newcomer, SR F Alonzo Walker, has started all eight games he has played for PSU and been productive. In 23 minutes per night, he averages 9.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals.
• Walker has led the team in rebounding three times.
• Posted 13 points with nine rebounds and two blocked shots in the win at San Jose State.
• Scored 13 points with eight rebounds and two steals against Portland.