SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS (11-6, 5-2) at PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (4-12, 2-6)

Thursday, January 27, 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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Game presented by Pepsi

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THE OPENING TIP

Portland State plays the final game of its four-game home stand on Thursday night still looking for a win. The Vikings have played three tightly contested games in the past week, with only one having a double-digit margin. Unfortunately, the Vikings took losses in all three and now must try to salvage the final game against preseason Big Sky Conference favorite Southern Utah. The Vikings and Thunderbirds meet Thursday night at Viking Pavilion in a 7 p.m. game presented by Pepsi.
     
PSU (4-12, 2-6) has lost four games in a row overall, and nine of its last 10. It has been a rough stretch if for no other reason than how close the majority of the games have been. The Vikings lost by five to Idaho on Monday (84-79) but were down only a point with less than a minute to go. On Saturday against Montana State, it was a two-point contest at halftime before the Bobcats pulled away for a 13-point win in the second half. And, PSU had a lead inside the final two minutes of last Thursday's game with Montana before falling 66-64. Five of PSU's nine losses in this 10-game stretch have been by five points or less.
     
This Thursday, the Vikings meet an opponent still fresh in their minds. It will have been only 10 days between games with the Thunderbirds. SUU beat PSU, 86-76, on Jan. 17 in Cedar City. Again, the Vikings trailed by just a point with five minutes to play in that game. PSU shot it well and made a season-high 12 three-point field goals, but Southern Utah put on a 13-point run in the closing moments to seal the win.
     
PSU has battled injury and illness throughout the season, particularly lately as only nine Vikings suited up for the game with Idaho. However, the addition of JR G Damion Squire, who has begun play after recovering from a hip injury, has helped. Squire scored 15 points with three rebounds, three assists and five steals on Monday against the Vandals. In five games this season, he is averaging 10.6 points to rank second on the team.
     
The Thunderbirds (11-6, 5-2) were playing for first place on Monday night against Weber State, but lost and dropped all the way to fifth place in a tight top half of the Big Sky standings. Southern Utah is the defending Big Sky Conference regular season champion. The T-Birds lead the league in scoring (79.6) and rebounding margin (+5.6).
     
Thursday's game streams live on ESPN+. Live stats can be found at www.ViksLive.com.
 

COMING UP

The Vikings travel to Northern Arizona for a 1 p.m. PT game on Saturday. It will be the seventh game in a 10-game-in-22-days stretch for Portland State. The Vikings then turn around and come home for a Monday game with Northern Colorado.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. SOUTHERN UTAH

• THE SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 11-7, and the Big Sky Conference series, 10-7... the Thunderbirds have won the last four meetings... PSU is 6-3 in Big Sky games played in Portland, however, the Thunderbirds have won the last three at Viking Pavilion.
• THIS SEASON: Jan. 17, 2021, at Cedar City, UT: SUU 86, PSU 76: A late 13-point run by Southern Utah allowed the Thunderbirds to pull away from a pesky Vikings team. The T-Bird charge down the stretch nullified one of the best performances of the season by PSU. In fact, the Vikings had their best shooting night since November, made a season-high 12 three-point field goals, and were within a point (70-69) with 5:30 to go... That's when Southern Utah, the defending Big Sky regular season champion, took over. Tevian Jones and Maizen Fausett combined to score all 13 points over the next four minutes... Viking guard Ezekiel Alley scored a season-high 16 points, hitting 5-9 from the field, 4-5 from three-point range and 2-2 at the line. Alley also had five assists in 22 minutes of action. Khalid Thomas matched Alley for team honors with 16 points, making 6-12 shots, 4-9 from distance. He added a team-best five rebounds. Michael Carter III went for 15 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals... The Vikings shot 27-59 from the field (.458) and made a season-high 12-25 from three-point range (.480)... The Thunderbirds had a brilliant shooting night, hitting 32-52 from the field (.615) and 7-17 from distance (.412). Fausett scored 21 points with 10 rebounds. Jones and Harrison Butler each had 18 points for the T-Birds.
• 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 Thunderbirds are led by Head Coach Todd Simon (Central Michigan, 2003) in his sixth season. He is 84-88 overall, 6-4 against the Vikings. Simon is 93-96 in seven years as a collegiate head coach.

 

SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS

• Southern Utah is located in Cedar City. SUU joined the Big Sky Conference in 2012-13. The Thunderbird program won its first Big Sky Conference regular season championsionship in 2020-21.
• The Thunderbirds were 20-4 last season, 12-2 and first place in the Big Sky Conference.
• This season, the Thunderbirds are 11-6 overall, 5-2 in the Big Sky. They average a Big Sky-best 79.6 points per game and allow 74.0 points. SUU also leads the Big Sky in rebounding margin (+5.3).
• Guard John Knight III leads the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game. He also averages 4.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and shoots .556 from the field.
• Tevian Jones averages 14.4 points and 4.2 assists. Maizen Fausett averages 13.4 points and 8.8 rebounds.

 

WHO IS HOT

• SR F James Jean-Marie is 19-31 from the field in the last three games (.613) and shoots .522 for the season. He leads the team in scoring (12.9) and rebounding (8.9). Jean-Marie ranks third in the Big Sky in rebounding and second in field goal percentage.
• JR G Damion Squire is getting up to speed after returning from injury. He made his first 14 free throws of the season and is now 16-17 overall (.941). Squire has scored in double figures in the last three games, averaging 14.3 points. In five games played this season, he averages 10.6 points.
• FR G Paris Dawson has picked up his production in the last two games, averaging 11.0 points and 3.0 rebounds. He has made 8-14 from the field (.571) and 4-7 from three-point range (.571)... Dawson is 30-34 at the free throw line this season (.882) to lead the Big Sky Conference.
• Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in steals (8.9) and blocked shots (3.6).

 

BATTERED AND BRUISED

Portland State has had a rough go of it health-wise this season. While the Vikings have been impacted by COVID-19 like virtually every other program in the country, they have also had a variety of injuries preventing them from fielding a full squad virtually every game this year. Hips, knees, fingers and non-COVID illnesses have all played a role in player availability.

• Just nine of 14 players were available to face Idaho on Monday night.
• Only two players, SR F Khalid Thomas and SR G Ezekiel Alley, have been healthy enough to play in every game this season.
• The Vikings have started 11 different players this season.
• Head Coach Jase Coburn has had to start six different lineups in the last nine games.