MONTANA GRIZZLIES (11-6, 4-2) at PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (4-9, 2-3)

Thursday, January 20, 2022, 7 p.m. • Viking Pavilion (3,094), Portland, OR
Live Stream: ESPN+ • 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's 2022 Big Sky Conference schedule really revs up this week as the Vikings begin a stretch of four straight games at home in eight days while continuing a 10-game in 22-days run.
     
The compacted schedule is thanks to re-scheduled contests based on earlier COVID-related postponements. However, the Vikings can take comfort in the fact that six of the next eight overall are home games.
     
PSU (4-9, 2-3) started their frenetic mid-season romp through league play on Saturday with a win at Sacramento State (67-62), then moved on to defending Big Sky-regular season champion Southern Utah on Monday. The Vikings lost that one, 86-76, after a highly competitive first 35 minutes that had them within a point of the lead.
     
The challenge continues on Thursday when the Vikings host Montana (11-6, 4-2) at Viking Pavilion, followed by Montana State (12-5, 4-2) on Saturday, then Idaho (3-13, 0-6) on Monday. The fourth home game is a return engagement with Southern Utah (10-5, 4-1) at The Ship on Thursday, January 27.
     
Despite Monday's loss, the Vikings are trending to the positive on offense. After a sluggish stretch of shooting through December, PSU shot a respectable .442 from the field, .375 from three-point range and .733 at the line in the past two games while averaging 71.5 points. PSU made a season-high 12 three-point field goals at Southern Utah, keeping the game close into the waning moments.
     
Increased production has come from SR G Ezekiel Alley (14.5 pts, 4.0 ast in the last two games), SR F Khalid Thomas (14.5 pts, 7.5 reb), JR G Michael Carter III (11.5 pts, 3.0 ast) and SO F Jacob Eyman (career-high 14 pts, 8 reb in win at Sacramento State).
     
Meanwhile, the Vikings are getting close to fully healthy again. SR F James Jean-Marie saw his first action since Dec. 21 at Southern Utah (10 pts, 3 reb in 22 min), and JR G Damion Squire made his debut in the past two games after recovering from hip surgery.
     
PSU will need its offensive game to be sharp when it takes on the Grizzlies Thursday night. Montana has built an impressive early-season record on defense, holding opponents to a league-low 63.2 points per game, .417 field goal shooting, and maintains league-bests of a +10.5 scoring margin and +4.4 turnover margin.
     
The Griz did not play last week as numerous league games were postponed due to health and safety protocols. Their last game was a 66-59 loss at Montana State on Jan. 9. However, Montana won six of seven games prior to that, including impressive wins over Weber State and at Eastern Washington.
     
A perfect 9-0 at home, Montana is 2-6 on the road this season.
     
Thursday's game is a 7 p.m. tip and will be live streamed on ESPN+. Live stats are available at www.ViksLive.com.
 

COMING UP

Portland State continues its home stand against Montana State on Saturday, then Idaho on Jan. 24 (makeup of a postponement) and Southern Utah on Jan. 27. All games tip off at 7 p.m. at Viking Pavilion and can be seen on ESPN+.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. MONTANA

• THE SERIES: Montana leads the all-time series, 40-27, and the Big Sky Conference series, 32-18... the series is tied 13-13 in Big Sky games played in Portland... last season, the teams split the series, with both games being played in Viking Pavilion... PSU has won four of the last six meetings, including three of the last four at home.
• LAST SEASON: Feb. 4, 2021 at Viking Pavilion, UM 70, PSU 64 (OT): Portland State led for nearly 37 of the 45 minutes against Montana but a Robby Beasley three-point bomb at the regulation buzzer allowed the Grizzlies to get the game to overtime and eventually win.... PSU led the entire second half and by as many as eight... a steal and fastbreak basket by Khalid Thomas with 30 seconds left put the Vikings up 54-51. However, both teams made mistakes in the closing ticks of the clock. After missed opportunities on both ends, Beasley raced up the floor and tossed in a tying 28-footer as the regulation horn sounded... Brandon Whitney took over in the extra session for Montana. He hit a pair of driving shots in the paint and a moment later bagged a pair of free throws. Suddenly, the Vikings were down six with 90 seconds to play. They would not recover... PSU got a team-high 13 points from Thomas. John Hall came off the bench to score 11 points with five rebounds... the Vikings shot only 25-69 from the field (.362), 6-29 from distance (.207) and had their chances at the line, but converted only 8-16... Montana was 24-53 from the floor (.453) and 18-22 at the line (.818). The Grizzlies won the rebound battle, 41-37... Beasley and Whitney each had 14 points to pace Montana. Feb. 6, 2021 at Viking Pavilion, PSU 61, UM 56: This time the offense delivered as Portland State bounced back to defeat Montana... PSU shot a season-best .512 from the field (22-43) and made 12-16 at the free throw line (.750) to pull out another grind-it-out game against the Grizzlies... the game looked a lot like the teams' first encounter. Neither team led by more than seven and Montana held a slight edge, 28-27, at intermission. In the second half, the game was tied three times before the Vikings finally pulled into the lead.... tt wasn't a comfortable lead though, as it never got higher than six until the closing minutes. Ahead 50-46 with just under three minutes to play, freshman guard Paris Dawson buried a three-pointer from the right wing. Following a Montana miss, a driving junior guard Ian Burke found Jacob Eyman under the rim. The sophomore center flushed the dunk and PSU led 55-46 – the largest lead of the game – with 2:04 to play. The Vikings then made six of nine free throws down the stretch to hang on for the win... Dawson led the Vikings with 15 points. He hit 3-6 three-pointers and 6-8 at the line. Khalid Thomas performed well again with 13 points and a game-high seven rebounds... the Vikings out-rebounded Montana, 28-23. The Griz shot 21-44 from the field (.477) and 11-16 at the line (.688)... Derrick Carter-Hollinger scored 14 points and had four rebounds to lead the Grizzlies.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his first season as Head Coach. He has spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Grizzlies are led by Head Coach Travis DeCuire (Montana, 1994) in his eighth season. He is 153-90 overall and has led the Grizzlies to two Big Sky Conference Championships. DeCuire is 10-5 against the Vikings.

 

MONTANA GRIZZLIES

• The University of Montana is located in Missoula. An original member of the Big Sky Conference, Montana has won 10 Big Sky regular season titles, 11 Big Sky Tournament titles, and made 12 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Griz were 15-13 overall last season, 7-9 and sixth place in the Big Sky Conference. They return five starters and eight letterwinners from that team.
• This season, the Griz are 11-6 overall, 4-2 and tied for third in the Big Sky Conference. They average 73.7 points per game and allow 63.2 points per game - a league low. Montana also leads the Big Sky in scoring margin (+10.5), turnover margin (+4.4), free throw percentage (.817) and commits the fewest turnovers (10.0).
• Sophomore forward Josh Bannan leads the team in scoring (12.4) and rebounding (8.2). Sophomore guard Robby Beasley averages 11.2 points and has made a team-high 36 three-point field goals. Senior guard Cameron Parker leads the Big Sky Conference with 5.9 assists per game.

 

WHO IS HOT

• SR G Ezekiel Alley averaged 14.5 points and 4.0 assists in the two-game road trip. Alley shot 11-17 from the field (.647), 5-8 from three-point range (.625) and 2-2 at the line. He had a season scoring high of 13 points at Sacramento State, then followed that with another season high of 16 points at Southern Utah... Alley leads the Vikings with 3.4 assists per game this season.
• SR F Khalid Thomas has picked up his play of late, averaging 16.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals in the last three games. Included were a pair of double-doubles, a 20-point game and a career-high 12 rebounds against Eastern Washington... Thomas ranks ninth in the Big Sky in rebounding (6.5) and second in steals (1.7).
• SO F Jacob Eyman matched his career high with 11 points (5-8 FG, 1-3 FT) against Eastern Washington (12/30), then followed that with another career high in the win at Sacramento State with 14 points (6-10 FG, 2-4 FT) and eight rebounds... Eyman is shooting a team-best .541 from the field this season.
• FR G Paris Dawson is shooting .903 at the free throw line to lead the Big Sky Conference.
• DEFENSE TRAVELS: Head Coach Jase Coburn likes to say, "defense travels" meaning regardless of where you play, or how much you score, you can always have a consistent defensive effort. The Vikings have had that in 2021-22, leading the Big Sky Conference in steals (9.0), offensive rebounds (12.7) and blocked shots (3.5). They rank second in points allowed (68.2) and turnovers forced (15.5).

 

ANOTHER COUNTRY IS HEARD FROM

JR G Damion Squire, a native of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, made his long-awaited debut last Saturday at Sacramento State, scoring seven points (3-3 FG, 1-1 3-pt) in 15 minutes. Squire, a transfer from UC Davis, got a late start to his season after having off-season hip surgery. He averaged 11.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists for the Aggies last season and figures to be a key rotation player for the Vikings now that he is back on the court.