PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (2-3) at OREGON STATE BEAVERS (3-3)

Tuesday, December 22, 2020, 6 p.m., Gill Coliseum, Corvallis, OR
Television: Pac-12 Network
Live Stream: pac-12.com/mens-basketball/event/2020/12/22/portland-state-oregon-state
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com

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THE OPENING TIP

A late add to the schedule has a chance to be a present under the Christmas tree for the Portland State Vikings. PSU will take on Oregon State this Tuesday night in Corvallis in a game announced just three days ago.

The Vikings, 2-3, will try to build on a good performance Sunday in a 74-72 Big Sky Conference win over Weber State while seeking a first-ever win over OSU. The game will be the Vikings' fourth and final non-conference contest of a strange, COVID-tinged season.

PSU bounced back from a poor performance on Friday night in a loss to Weber State to pick up the win on Sunday. A change in the lineup may have kick-started the Vikings as SR G James "Monty" Scott moved over to point guard and produced his best performance to date with 26 points, six rebounds, six steals and three assists. His conventional three-point play with 31 seconds left put PSU ahead for good at  73-72. The Vikings also got a solid 20 points and a key three-point field goal late from SR F Khalid Thomas. A GR F John Hall blocked shot with 4.1 seconds to play preserved the victory.

"I thought Monty and Khalid really showed up and acted like seniors, stepping up and making big shots for the team," said Viking Coach Barret Peery. "That's what is expected of them, whether it was today or the entire season. I thought they really responded when we were challenging them.

Oregon State, 3-3, last played on Dec. 16. A scheduled Sunday Pac-12 game with USC was postponed. The Beavers are 3-2 at home while the Vikings are looking for their first road win (0-2).

This will be the 15th all-time meeting between the schools, though only the eighth since PSU joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97. 10 of the previous 14 games have been played in Corvallis, and the Vikings have never beaten the Beavers. Last season, OSU took an 81-75 victory at Gill Coliseum.

Tuesday's game will be televised nationally on the Pac-12 Network with tip off set for 6 p.m.

COMING UP

PSU returns to league play at Eastern Washington following Christmas (Dec. 31 and Jan. 2). The New Year's Eve game will tip off at 6 p.m. with the Jan. 2 game at 12:05 p.m. The games will be live streamed at www.pluto.tv, www.WatchBigSky.com and Pluto TV Channel 1053.

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. OREGON STATE 

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Oregon State leads the all-time series, 14-0, including eight games since PSU joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97... 10 of the previous 14 games have been played in Corvallis.Last season, OSU took an 81-75 victory at Gill Coliseum.
• PORTLAND STATE vs. THE PAC-12 CONFERENCE: Portland State is 7-56 all-time against current members of the Pac-12 Conference. Barret Peery is 2-5 as Vikings Head Coach... PSU has wins over Oregon (2), Arizona State (2), USC (1), Stanford (1) and Cal (1) in its history - all coming during PSU's Big Sky Conference era (7-42).
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Barret Peery (Southern Utah, 1996) is in his fourth season on the Park Blocks and has a 56-47 career record. Peery is 0-1 against Oregon 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)... the Beavers are coached by Wayne Tinkle (Montana, 2005) in his sixth season. Tinkle has an 96-99 record at Oregon State and is 254-190 in 15 seasons as a collegiate coach... Tinkle is 1-0 against Portland State as an OSU coach, and was 11-6 against the Vikings in eight seasons at Montana.

SCOUTING OREGON STATE

• Oregon State is a member of the Pac-12 Conference located in Corvallis, OR.
• The Beavers were 18-13 last season, 7-11 and tied for eighth in the Pac-12 Conference. Three starters and seven letterwinners return from that team.
• This season, Oregon State is 3-3 overall, including 3-2 at home. In common opponents, the Beavers have the same results as the Vikings, beating Northwest (114-42) and losing at Washington State (59-55) and to Portland (87-86 in OT) at home.
• The Beavers average 78.7 points per game and allow 64.7 points per game. They have out-shot opponents at every level - .444/.361/.745 to .385/.282/.688.
• Senior guard Ethan Thompson leads the team in scoring at 19.0 points per game. He shoots .464 from three-point range and averages 3.5 assists per game.
• Junior forward Warith Alatishe averages 10.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots per game.

WHO IS HOT

• SR G James "Monty" Scott scored a team season-high 26 points in the win over Weber State (12/20). He made 9-17 from the field, 3-5 from three-point range and 5-8 at the line. He added team-highs of six rebounds and six steals, and handed out three assists in his first game at point guard... Scott now has two 20-point games this season.
• SR F Khalid Thomas scored a season-high 20 points (7-14 FG, 3-6 3-pt, 3-5 FT) in the win over Weber State (12/20). He has made 12-20 from the field in the last two games, 5-8 from three-point range.
• PSU has six players shooting 80% or better at the free throw line. SO G Kyle Greeley (11-12, .917) and FR G Kiimani Holt (4-4, 1.000) lead the team

WHO IS NOT

• Portland State's .372 team field goal percentage ranks 304th in the nation of 327 teams ranked. Three-point shooting (.250) ranks 314th. 
• The Vikings are averaging 23.6 fouls per game and opponents have shot 20 more free throws through five games this season.

EVERYBODY REBOUNDS

Portland State has excellent size on the roster in 2020-21, with three players in the rotation standing at 6-10. The Vikings, who have always been a good rebounding team under Coach Barret Peery - particularly on the offensive glass, are showing it again. 

• Portland State has out-rebounded its opponents in four of five games and has a rebounding margin of +8.2.
• PSU has 81 offensive rebounds (16.2, fourth-most in the nation) in five games for 74 second-chance points.
• Four different players have led the Vikings in rebounding in five games.

THE FULL MONTY

The sample size is small, but SR G James "Monty" Scott has proven to be a solid transfer for the Vikings. He scored 21 points at Portland in his first game as a Viking. He has led the team in scoring in three of five games. Sunday's performance in the win over Weber State was his best of the year with 26 points, six rebounds, six steals and three assists... Scott leads the team in scoring (15.2), rebounding (5.8) and steals (2.0).

SHOOTING STAR

SR F Khalid Thomas comes off his best game of the season, tallying 20 points (7-14 FG, 3-6 3-pt, 3-5 FT) with six rebounds and two steals in the win over Weber State on Sunday. Thomas is the team's second leading scorer at 11.6 points per game. He also leads the team with 10 three-point field goals (10-25, .400).