PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (12-13, 6-7) vs. EASTERN WASHINGTON EAGLES (16-7, 9-3)
Saturday, February 15, 2020, 7:05 p.m. • Viking Pavilion (3,094), Portland, OR
Television: Eleven Sports
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 returns to Viking Pavilion for its longest stretch of home games this season when it hosts second-place Eastern Washington this Saturday.
     
It's only three home games in a row, but they are quite welcome as the Vikings have played 16 of their first 25 this season away from home. In addition, PSU should come in with some momentum off an impressive 83-71 win at Northern Colorado on Monday. The Vikings have won their last three home games.
     
PSU (12-13, 6-7) did nearly everything right in the win at UNC. The Vikings shot a season-best .571 from the field and .900 at the free throw line, they out-rebounded the Bears 34-30, and they held the league's most prolific three-point shooting team to 30% from distance. It was a great bounce-back win after a poor outing at Southern Utah on Saturday with extensive travel in between.
     
SR F Alonzo Walker led a dominant inside game that saw the Vikings score 60 of their 65 points from the field in the paint. Walker had 22 - one off his career high - making 10-15 shots from the field. SR C Sal Nuhu was also big inside with 13 points and eight rebounds. The duo of SR F Rashaad Goolsby and SR G Lamar Hamrick came off the bench for 22 points and 12 rebounds, combining for 9-12 field goals.
     
Portland State now hopes the win is a harbinger of things to come as it plays five of the final seven conference games at home. The run-up to the Big Sky Tournament starts with a talented Eastern Washington team later this week.
     
Eastern Washington begins the week at 16-7 overall, 9-3 in the Big Sky Conference. The Eagles are one-half game behind first-place Montana (10-3). Eastern hosts Idaho on Thursday night in Cheney before traveling to play the Vikings on Saturday.
     
The Eagles are the top offensive team in the Big Sky, averaging 81.6 points per game. A trio of players lead the team including Jacob Davison (17.8 ppg), Mason Peatling (16.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg) and Kim Aiken Jr. (14.0 ppg, 10.1 rpg).
     
Eastern Washington is also the top road team in the Big Sky with a 7-6 record away from home, including 5-2 in Big Sky games.
     
Saturday's game is a 7:05 p.m. tip-off at Viking Pavilion. The game will be televised on Eleven Sports and live streamed on Pluto TV Channel 532, www.pluto.tv and www.WatchBigSky.com. Live statistics can be found at www.ViksLive.com.
 
COMING UP
Portland State remains home for its next two games. The Vikings play Idaho on Monday, followed by Montana State on Feb. 20. The Big Sky schedule continues with games at Idaho State (Feb. 27) and Weber State (Feb. 29). PSU wraps up the regular season at home hosting Northern Arizona (Mar. 5) and Sacramento State (Mar. 7). The Big Sky Conference Tournament takes place Mar. 11-14 in Boise, ID.
 
IF THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT STARTED TODAY...
The Big Sky Conference Tournament takes place Mar. 11-14 at CenturyLink Arena in Boise, ID. First-round games are on Wednesday, March 11. The top five teams in league play earn a bye into the quarterfinals on Thursday. Last season, the Vikings tied for fourth place and opened against Weber State in a quarterfinal game.
     
There is a long way to go in the Big Sky regular season, but currently the Vikings are tied for seventh place at 6-7 with Weber State. PSU holds the tie-breaker (a 92-76 win) with the Wildcats, so they would be the seventh seed and Weber State would be number eight. If the Big Sky Tournament began today, Portland State would be playing 10th-place Idaho State (3-10) in a first-round game. A win in that game would set up a quarterfinal round matchup with the second-place team (currently Eastern Washington). That is likely to change before the end of the season as seven games remain on the schedule.
     
The Vikings are one game behind fifth-place Northern Arizona (7-6) and a first-round bye.
 
GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. EASTERN WASHINGTON
• THE SERIES: An extremely close series over the years, PSU has the all-time advantage at 27-26. Eastern Washington leads the Big Sky Conference series 25-24... Portland State leads in games played in Portland, 17-9, including 15-7 in Big Sky games... the home team has won eight straight games in the series, with EWU winning a neutral site Big Sky Tournament game in 2018 in the midst of that run.
• Jan. 4, 2020 at Cheney, Eastern Washington 71, PSU 69: A rousing comeback in the closing moments came up just short as Portland State lost, 71-69. The Vikings trailed by 10 inside the final two minutes, but made a number of key plays to mount the comeback. Markus Golder and Matt Hauser hit three-pointers inside the final minute to close the game to 71-69 with 44.5 seconds to play. Hauser missed a go-ahead three-pointer inside the final 10 seconds and the Vikings took the loss. Holland Woods scored 22 points with seven assists to lead the Vikings. Golder had season-highs of 14 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots. Nuhu added 10 points and seven rebounds. The Eagles shot 30-61 (.492) from the field, hitting over 56% of their shots in the second half. Jacob Davison scored 26 points to lead all scorers. Mason Peatling added 20 points and 12 rebounds. Kim Aiken Jr. had 15 points and 15 rebounds.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Barret Peery (Southern Utah, 1996) is in his third season on the Park Blocks and has a 48-43 career record. Peery is 2-4 all-time against Eastern Washington... 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 Eagles are coached by Shantay Legans (Fresno State, 2004) in his third season. Legans, a former Eagles' assistant, is 52-40 overall. He is 4-2 against the Vikings.
 
EASTERN WASHINGTON EAGLES
• Eastern Washington University is located in Cheney. The Eagles' program has won two Big Sky Conference Championships and made two appearances in the NCAA Tournament. The most recent came in 2015.
• The Eagles were 16-18 last season, 12-8 and tied for third in the Big Sky Conference. Four starters and nine letterwinners return from that team. Mason Peatling was a second team All-Big Sky Conference selection last year, Jacob Davison earned third team honors.
• This season, Eastern Washington is 16-7 overall, 9-3 in the Big Sky Conference. The Eagles are in second place heading into a Thursday night game with Idaho. They average 81.6 points and allow 73.8 points per game. Eastern shoots .462 from the field and makes 9.4 three-pointers per game. The Eagles lead the Big Sky in scoring and assists (17.6).
• Junior guard Jacob Davison leads the Eagles in scoring at 17.8 points per game. He also averages 4.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals.
• Senior forward Mason Peatling averages 16.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots per game. He shoots .541 from the field to lead the Big Sky and ranks second in rebounding.
• Sophomore forward Kim Aiken averages 14.0 points and a Big Sky-leading 10.1 rebounds per game. He also averages a league-leading 1.8 steals and 1.2 blocked shots and has made a team-high 56 three-point field goals.
• Freshman guard Ellis Magnuson leads the team with 5.0 assists per game.
 
SUSTAINABLE AND RECYCLABLE VIKING QUICK NOTES
WINNING LINES
• Portland State is 12-13 on the season, 7-2 at home, 4-11 on the road and 1-0 in neutral site games.
• The Vikings have won three in a row at home.
• The Vikings have won two of their last three overall.
• With 12 wins, PSU now has double-digit wins in 16 of the last 17 seasons... the Vikings have won at least 12 in each of the last seven seasons, and 15 of the last 16.
• Last season, PSU was 11-14 after 25 games.
Home Court(s)
• Portland State opened the Viking Pavilion at the Peter W. Stott Center in 2018-19. The Stoller Family Court is PSU's fifth home court since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97. Previously, the main home court was the old Peter W. Stott Center. However, the Vikings also used the Rose Garden (now Moda Center) and Memorial Coliseum occasionally over the years. In 2017-18, PSU used Lewis & Clark College's Pamplin Sports Center as a home court while the Viking Pavilion was being completed. Here is the breakdown:
  - Viking Pavilion - 25 games, 19-6, .760
  - Peter W. Stott Center - 233 games, 168-65, .721
  - Rose Garden (Moda Center) - 28 games, 19-9, .679
  - Memorial Coliseum - 19 games, 13-6, .684
  - Lewis and Clark (2017-18) - 12 games, 7-5, .583
  - 24th season - 317 games, 226-91 at home overall, .713
• Portland State has lost only 11 non-conference home games in the last 13 seasons (56-11). PSU is 29-11 against Division I schools, and 27-0 against lower division schools over that span.
Big Sky Battles
• Portland State is 202-215 all-time in all Big Sky Conference games, including the Big Sky Tournament (12-14).
• PSU is 132-66 in home games, 64-138 in road games and 6-11 in neutral-site games.
 
WHO IS HOT
• Portland State had its best shooting percentage of the season (32-56, .571) in the win at Northern Colorado, and its second-best free throw percentage (18-20, .900).
• SR F Rashaad Goolsby scored 14 points (4-6 FG, 6-7 FT) with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals in 23 minutes against Southern Utah, It was the second-highest scoring game of his career... he followed that with nine points and six rebounds in the win at Northern Colorado. He made 7-10 field goals (.700) and 9-10 free throws (.900) in the two games, averaging 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds... Goolsby has made 14 of his last 20 field goals (.700).
• SR F Alonzo Walker scored 22 points (10-15 FG) in the win at Northern Colorado. It was the second-highest scoring game of his career.
• SR G Lamar Hamrick continues to play well off the bench. He had 13 points (6-8 FG, 1-1 3-pt), and season-highs of six rebounds and five assists in the win at Northern Colorado.
• With four steals at Northern Colorado, JR G Holland Woods has moved into the Big Sky lead for steals with 47.
• PSU leads the Big Sky Conference and ranks third in the nation in offensive rebounding (14.6 per game).
 
WHO IS NOT
• Portland State is allowing the most points (76.2) and best field goal percentage (.480) in Big Sky Conference games this season.
• The Vikings were 3-30 from three-point range in the last two games (.100).
 
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 19-6 in the Viking Pavilion (.760 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. 
 
BOO BOO IS REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK
      Portland State point guard Holland "Boo Boo" Woods has set three new Portland State records this season, and now holds four in his career.
• Woods passed the PSU career record for assists 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. Appropriately enough, he scored 30 points and hit the game-winning shot with 2.4 seconds left in that game.
• Against Montana (1/30), Woods made 21-21 free throws to establish a new school and Big Sky record for most free throws made in a game without a miss. They were also school records for most attempted and most made in a game. Woods finished with a career-high 39 points in the win.
• Ironically, Woods now holds records for free throw and field goal shooting in a game at PSU. His previous record came his freshman season, when he went 10-10 in a win over Eastern Washington (2/3/18), to set a PSU mark for most field goals in a game without a miss. 
• In addition, Woods became the 19th Viking in history to pass 1,000 career points. He now has 1,255 points to rank sixth all-time. Woods has scored more points than any Viking in the past 15 years.
 
VIKINGS CAREER ASSIST LEADERS

1.	Holland Woods (2017-20)	487
2.	Terry Adolph (1976-78)	421
3.	Chucky Smith (1974-78)	392
4.	Derek Nesland (1996-00)	371
5.	Will Funn (2003-05)	328

 
VIKINGS CAREER STEALS LEADERS

1.	Holland Woods (2017-20)	146
2.	Calaen Robinson (2015-17)	128
3.	Anthony Lackey (1998-02)	121
4.	Zach Gengler (2013-17)	120
5.	Jeremiah Dominguez (2007-09)	115

 
VIKINGS CAREER SCORING LEADERS

1.	Freeman Williams (1974-78)	3,249
2.	John Nelson (1962-66)	2,123
3.	Willie Stoudamire (1969-72)	1,845
4.	Seamus Boxley (2000-05)	1,498
5.	Anthony Lackey (1998-02)	1,304
6.	Holland Woods (2017-20)	1,255
7.	Leo Franz (1970-73)	1,245
8.	Charlie Stoudamire (1969-72)	1,179
9.	John Winters (1955-59)	1,169
10.	Derreck Brooks (1973-77)	1,155

 
BOO BOO, PART TWO
      A few more highlights from Holland Woods:
• Ranks fifth in the Big Sky in scoring (17.2), second in assists (5.2), fifth in free throw percentage (.835) and first in steals (1.9).
• Has led the team in scoring 11 times and has 10 games of 20 or more points, including two games with 30+ points.
• Boo Boo has led the team in assists 21 times this season and in 73 of 90 career games.
• Made 27 straight free throws at one point this season.
 
TRIPLE THREAT
SR G Matt Hauser had become the Vikings' top three-point shooting threat. However, he missed  seven games due to an ankle sprain. He finally returned to play last week.
• Hauser is averaging 14.1 points and has a team-high 42 three-point field goals.
• Has led the team in scoring five times this season and has four 20+ point games.
 
YAHOO FOR NUHU
SR C Sal Nuhu is on a roll in Big Sky play with three double-doubles for the Vikings. He is averaging 9.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots.
• In conference play he averages 10.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks.
• Has four double-doubles this season and has led the team in rebounding eight times.
• Missed seven games this season (six due to an ankle sprain, one due to illness).
 
VIKINGS CAREER BLOCKED SHOTS LEADERS

1.	Scott Morrison (2004-08)	187
2.	Seamus Boxley (2000-05)	128
3.	Collin Spickerman (2014-16)	117
4.	Jamie Jones (2008-10)	105
5.	Sal Nuhu (2018-20)	101
6.	Chehales Tapscott (2010-12)	62
	Julius Thomas (2006-10)	62
8.	Jamaal Sanford (1996-98)	60
9.	Ryan Edwards (2017-18)	57
10.	Seth Scott (2002-04)	48

 
GOOLSBY GOALS
SR F Rashaad Goolsby has upped his game in his senior season.
• He is averaging 6.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals per game and 1.1 blocked shots 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 averaged 7.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocked shots.
• Ranks ninth in rebounding, 10th in steals and sixth in blocked shots in the Big Sky Conference.
• He leads the Big Sky Conference in offensive rebounding (3.0).
• Has led the team in rebounding 12 times this season and has two double-doubles.
 
TALKING THE WALKER
Graduate transfer newcomer, SR F Alonzo Walker, has started all 22 games he has played for PSU and been productive. In 24 minutes per night, he averages 10.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and has 16 blocked shots.
• Walker has led the team in rebounding five times and has three 10+ rebound games.
• Went for 22 points (10-15 FG, 2-2 FT) in a win at Northern Colorado (2/10).
 
HAMMER TIME
SR G Lamar Hamrick has become the Vikings' key player off the bench. He averages 8.5 points, 3.2 rebounds per game and shoots .534 from the field and .448 from three-point range.
• In Big Sky Conference games his averaging 10.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and shoots .554.