PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (10-10, 4-4) at SACRAMENTO STATE (10-6, 3-4)
Thursday, January 23, 2020, 7:05 p.m. • The Hornets Nest (1,012), Sacramento, CA
Television: None
Live Stream: Pluto TV Channel 533, pluto.tv, WatchBigSky.com
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats

---

THE OPENING TIP
Something will have to give on Thursday night at the Hornets Nest as the Portland State Vikings take on the Sacramento State Hornets. PSU comes off two of its best offensive performances of the season in wins over Idaho State and Weber State (86.0 ppg, .486 FG%), but will face the Big Sky's best and nation's third-best defense as the Hornets have held opponents to 55.9 points per game and .379 shooting this season.
     
PSU's (10-10, 4-4) defensive pressure and up-tempo attack was on full display in the two wins at home on Saturday and Monday. The Vikings, now alone in fifth place in the Big Sky, will try to build on that success despite playing four of their next five games in a row on the road. Portland State is right in the middle of a stretch of eight out of 11 games on the road. Thursday night's contest will be the fifth of those road games. 
     
By the end of this week, the Vikings will have played 10 league games in the space of 29 days. The second 10 league games will now be stretched over the next 42 days.
     
The positives for the Vikings are growing as the season progresses. Despite missing number-two scorer SR G Matt Hauser the past four games (ankle), others have stepped up to make big contributions. In Saturday's win over Idaho State, SR F Markus Golder posted a season-high 18 points with three rebounds and two blocked shots. In Monday's win over Weber State, the inside game was on full display as SR F Alonzo Walker had a career-high 23 points and nine rebounds, and was complemented by SR C Sal Nuhu's 14 points and career-highs of 15 rebounds and three assists. Meanwhile, JR G Holland Woods continues to be steady at 17.7 points and a team-best 5.7 assists per game.
     
One other area that has been particularly effective has been the Viking bench. PSU's bench outscored ISU and WSU by a combined 63-20 in the two wins. SR G Lamar Hamrick had 25 points in the two games while FR G Kyle Greeley scored 20 on 8-10 field goals. SR F Rashaad Goolsby had 14 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots.
     
Sacramento State is 10-6 this season, 3-4 in Big Sky Conference games. Notably, the Hornets are undefeated at home (7-0), including all three league wins. A half-court team, Sacramento State ranks last in the Big Sky in scoring (60.9), but the Hornet defense has been the highlight. Big Sky shot-blocking leader Joshua Patton leads the Hornets with 14.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots per game.
     
Thursday's game will tip off at 7:05 p.m. at The Hornets Nest in Sacramento. A Pluto TV live stream is available on Channel 533, www.pluto.tv and www.WatchBigSky.com. Live statistics can be found at www.ViksLive.com.
 
COMING UP
Portland State travels to Northern Arizona on Saturday. PSU will be home on Jan. 30 to host Montana in a game televised on Eleven Sports. Another road trip follows at Southern Utah (Feb. 8) and Northern Colorado (Feb. 10). The Vikings then play five of the final seven regular season games at home.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. SACRAMENTO STATE
• THE SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 31-19, and the Big Sky Conference series, 30-18... the Vikings are 10-13 all-time in Big Sky games in Sacramento... the teams split the season series last year, with each winning on their home court... PSU's last win in Sacramento came in 2016.
• LAST YEAR: Feb. 11, 2019 at Sacramento, SAC 78, PSU 67: Sacramento State shot .593 from the field while the Vikings were at only .358. The Hornets shot .708 in the first half to build a 12-point lead and did not give in. Marcus Graves and Ethan Esposito each had 16 points in the game. Osi Nwachukwu made 7-7 shots on his way to 15 points. Michael Nuga scored 19 off the bench for the Vikings. Feb. 23, 2019 at Viking Pavilion, PSU 65, SAC 57: Portland State out-rebounded Sacramento State, 40-33, and tied a school record with 10 blocked shots as its defense led the way to the win. Sal Nuhu had 12 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks to lead the Vikings. Jamie Orme and Holland Woods added 11 points each. Joshua Patton scored 12 to lead the Hornets.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Barret Peery (Southern Utah, 1996) is in his third season on the Park Blocks and has a 46-40 career record. Peery is 2-3 all-time against Sacramento State... 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)... Brian Katz (Sacramento State, 1980) is in his 12th year leading the Hornets. He has a 136-212 career record. Katz is 10-14 all-time against the Vikings. 
 
SACRAMENTO STATE HORNETS
• Sacramento State joined the Big Sky Conference the same year as Portland State (1996-97). The Hornets have never won a Big Sky title or appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament.
• Sacramento State was 15-16 last season, 8-12 and tied for eighth in the Big Sky Conference. Center Joshua Patton was a third team All-Big Sky Conference selection.
• This season, Sacramento State is 10-6, 3-4 in the Big Sky Conference. The Hornets average 60.9 points per game and allow 55.9 points. They hold opponents to .379 shooting, .285 from three-point range. Sacramento State out-rebounds opponents by 5.6 per game. They lead the Big Sky in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense, and rank third in the nation in scoring defense.
• Senior center Joshua Patton leads the team in scoring (14.1), rebounding (5.5) and blocked shots (39). He shoots .599 from the field. Patton leads the Big Sky in both shooting and blocks (2.4).
• Junior forward Ethan Esposito averages 9.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. 
• Sophomore guard Brandon Davis averages 3.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game to lead the team.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
 
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 10-10 on the season, 6-2 at home, 3-8 on the road and 1-0 in neutral site games.
• The Vikings have won two in a row and two in a row at home.
• The Vikings lost their last road game.
• With 10 wins, PSU now has double-digit wins in 16 of the last 17 seasons.
• Last season, PSU was 9-11 after 20 games.
 
WHO IS HOT
• The Vikings' 92 points against Weber State were the most against a Division I opponent this season. PSU averaged 86.0 in the two home wins.
• SR F Alonzo Walker scored a career-high 23 points (11-17 FG) and grabbed nine rebounds in a win over Weber State. Walker has averaged 15.3 points over the last three games.
• SR C Sal Nuhu had 14 points, and career-highs of 15 rebounds and three assists in the win over Weber State... Nuhu, a career 67% free throw shooter, has made 13 of his last 15 free throws (.867).
• THE VIKING BENCH: PSU's bench outscored Idaho State and Weber State 63-20 in the two wins... SR F Rashaad Goolsby, SR G Lamar Hamrick and FR G Kyle Greeley combined for 27 points (12-24 FG) and 15 rebounds off the bench in the win over Idaho State... Goolsby had 10 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Greeley scored eight points (3-4 FG, 2-2 FT) with four rebounds and Hamrick had nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals... Greeley and Hamrick combined for 27 points and eight rebounds in the win over Weber State... Greeley had 12 points (5-6 FG, 2-2 3-pt), four rebounds, two assists and two steals... Hamrick scored 15 points (6-12 FG, 2-3 3-pt, 1-1 FT) with four rebounds... Hamrick is averaging 11.3 points off the bench in Big Sky games while shooting .516 from the field and .467 from three-point range... Greeley leads the team in shooting this season at .569 from the field, .429 from three-point range and .875 at the line... Goolsby leads the team in rebounding this season at 6.9 per game. He has blocked 20 shots to rank fourth in the Big Sky.
• PSU leads the Big Sky Conference and and the nation in offensive rebounding (15.7 per game)... the Vikings average 14.6 second-chance points per game.
 
WHO IS NOT
• Opponents are shooting .500 from the field against the Vikings in league games.
• JR G Holland Woods is 0-11 from three-point range in the last three games.
• SR G Matt Hauser missed the last four games with an ankle sprain.
 
TRENDING
• Portland State is 0-7 when trailing at halftime, but 10-3 when tied or ahead at the break.
• PSU has out-rebounded 12 of 20 opponents, and that is important. The Vikings are 8-4 when they get more boards, 2-6 when they don't.
• Shooting is always the most important factor: the Vikings have not lost when shooting a higher percentage from the field than their opponent (6-0).
 
INJURY ANGST
Portland State has had bad luck with injuries so far this season. SR G Matt Hauser (ankle sprain) has become the third starter to be sidelined.
• Hauser has missed four games with an ankle sprain.
• SR C Sal Nuhu missed six games early this season with an ankle sprain, and a seventh due to illness.
• SR F Alonzo Walker missed three games with a foot injury.
• SR G Lamar Hamrick has missed four games with thumb and back injuries.
• PSU has lost a total of 18 player games to injury, 14 to starters.
• Nine different players have started three or more games this season.
• The current starting lineup of Woods, Burke, Golder, Walker and Nuhu is now 3-0.
 
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 18-6 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.  
 
PEERY PRESSURE AND PACE
Portland State continues to turn up the pressure in the third season of the Barret Peery Era. The Vikings maintain relentless full-court pressure and crash the offensive glass with abandon.
• This season, PSU has 102 more offensive rebounds than their opponents (5.1 more per game) and has forced 53 more turnovers than they have committed (2.7 per game). The 155 extra possessions amounts to more than 7.8 per game.
• So far this season, PSU has an edge over opponents in points off turnovers (313-254) and second chance points (294-208).
• In 2017-18, the Vikings offensive rebound and turnover margin totals amounted to 9.7 more possessions per game than opponents.
• In 2018-19, the Vikings offensive rebound and turnover margin totals amounted to 7.4 more possessions per game than opponents.
 
BOO BOO IS REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK
Portland State point guard Holland "Boo Boo" Woods has set two new Portland State career records this season. Woods passed PSU's career record for assists (now 469) in a Dec. 28 win against Northern Colorado. His second Portland State career record came in a win at Montana State on Jan. 11 when he eclipsed the steals mark (now 134). Appropriately enough, he scored a career-high 30 points and hit the game-winning shot with 2.4 seconds left in that game.
      In addition, he became the 19th Viking in history to pass 1,000 career points. He now has 1,176 points to rank eighth all-time. Woods has scored more points than any Viking in the past 15 years.
 
BOO BOO, PART TWO
      A few more highlights from Holland Woods:
• Ranks fifth in the Big Sky in scoring (17.7), second in assists (5.7), fifth in free throw percentage (.810) and fifth in steals (1.8).
• Has led the team in scoring 10 times and has nine games of 20 or more points.
• Boo Boo has led the team in assists 18 times this season and in 70 of 85 career games.
 
TRIPLE THREAT
SR G Matt Hauser has become the Vikings' top three-point shooting threat. However, he has missed the last four games due to an ankle sprain and is questionable for the foreseeable future.
• Hauser is averaging 15.3 points and has a team-high 42 three-point field goals.
• Ranks 11th in the Big Sky in scoring, fourth in three-pointers per game and ninth in steals (1.6).
• Has led the team in scoring five times this season and has four 20+ point games.
 
YAHOO FOR NUHU
SR C Sal Nuhu opened the season just as Vikings fans would have expected; by swatting away shots.  Despite missing seven games this season, he is averaging 2.0 blocks to go with 8.8 points and 6.5 rebounds.
• Has two double-doubles this season and led the team in rebounding four times.
 
GOOLSBY GOALS
SR F Rashaad Goolsby has upped his game in his senior season.
• He is averaging 6.7 points, a team-high 6.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Last season, he averaged 4.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.7 steals in 18.3 minutes per game.
• In nine starts Goolsby has averaged 7.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocked shots.
• Ranks seventh in rebounding and steals and fourth in blocked shots (20) in the Big Sky Conference.
• He leads the Big Sky Conference in offensive rebounding (3.3).
• Has led the team in rebounding 11 times this season and has two double-doubles.
 
TALKING THE WALKER
The Vikings' other graduate transfer newcomer, SR F Alonzo Walker, has started all 17 games he has played for PSU and been productive. In 25 minutes per night, he averages 10.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and has 14 blocked shots.
• Walker has led the team in rebounding four times and has three 10+ rebound games.
 
HAMMER TIME
SR G Lamar Hamrick is quickly becoming the Vikings' key player off the bench. He averages 8.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in 17.3 minutes per game.
• In Big Sky Conference games his averaging 11.3 points.
• Shoots .505 from the field, including .516 in conference.
 
BIG GAMES OFF THE BENCH
• FR G Kyle Greeley had 12 points (5-6 FG, 2-2 3-pt) with four rebounds, two assists and two steals in a win over Weber State (1/20).
• SR G Lamar Hamrick scored 15 points (6-12 FG, 2-3 3-pt, 1-1 FT) with four rebounds in a win over Weber State (1/20).
• SR F Rashaad Goolsby had 10 points (5-9 FG), eight rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot in the win over Idaho State (1/18).
• SR G Lamar Hamrick had 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals at Montana (1/13).
• SR G Lamar Hamrick had 13 points (6-9 FG, 1-2 3-pt), four rebounds three assists and two steals against Southern Utah (12/30).
• SR G Lamar Hamrick scored 16 points (6-9 FG, 3-4 3-pt, 1-2 FT) with five rebounds in 16 minutes of a win over Northern Colorado (12/28).
• SR C Sal Nuhu scored 18 points (5-8 FG, 8-17 FT) with 11 rebounds and three blocked shots in a win at Loyola Marymount (12/19).
• FR G Kyle Greeley had 17 points (5-7 FG, 2-3 3-pt, 5-5 FT), seven rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes against Portland Bible (12/12).
• SO G Ian Burke scored 23 points (8-13 FG, 5-8 3-pt 2-2 FT), four rebounds, five assists and four steals in 23 minutes against Portland Bible (12/12).
• SR F Markus Golder had 12 points (4-8 FG, 3-3 FT), three rebounds and three steals in 18 minutes in a win over Grambling State (11/26).
• FR G Kyle Greeley scored 12 points (4-6 FG, 4-4 FT) with three rebounds in 12 minutes against Puget Sound (11/5).