PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (5-4) at CAL POLY MUSTANGS (4-3)

Saturday, December 10, 2022, 7 p.m. • Mott Athletics Center (3,032), San Luis Obispo, CA
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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THE OPENING TIP

Portland State goes down the stretch of non-conference play with three of its next four games on the road. Add in the first three Big Sky Conference games also on the road and the Vikings have six out of their next seven away from Viking Pavilion.
     
PSU (5-4) begins that challenging stretch of play this Saturday at Cal Poly (4-3). It will be exactly one calendar year since the previous meeting with the Mustangs as the Vikings try to avenge last season's 61-58 home loss. Saturday's game takes place at Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo at 7 p.m. It will be live streamed on ESPN+.  
     
Portland State comes off a stretch of five games in 10 days that included the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament and a pair of home contests. The Vikings have some momentum, having won their last three games. They can also boast the best non-conference record in the Big Sky as of Dec. 5.
     
The most recent win was PSU's lowest-scoring game, but perhaps the most thrilling, a 68-64 victory over Air Force.  SR G Cameron Parker and JR G Jorell Saterfield each scored 24 points in leading the Vikings to a comeback victory. Those two combined for 25 of the Vikings' 29 points in the final seven minutes of the game as PSU came back from a 12-point deficit.
     
Saterfield leads the Vikings in scoring this season (17.2 ppg) while Parker averages 15.8 points, shoots .610 from the field and averages a Big Sky-best 5.6 assists.
     
PSU is now 3-0 in home games, 1-2 in road games and 1-2 in neutral site games this season. The Vikings have also won eight in a row at home dating to last season. Speaking of last season, the Vikings were only 3-6 after nine games and did not win their fifth contest until Jan. 29 (on the way to a 14-17 record).
     
All four of Portland State's remaining non-conference opponents have winning records.
     
Like the Vikings, Cal Poly has played well recently and is also on a three-game winning streak. The Mustangs beat Idaho, Pacific and California Baptist in its three-game run.
 

COMING UP

Portland State will play at Santa Clara (7-2) on Dec. 13. PSU is home on Dec. 17 against UC Santa Barbara (5-2), then wraps up non-conference play at California Baptist (5-4) on Dec. 22.
     
Big Sky Conference play begins Dec. 31 at Sacramento State.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. CAL POLY

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series with Cal Poly, 5-4. The Vikings are 1-3 all-time at Cal Poly.
• LAST MEETING: Dec. 11, 2021 at Viking Pavilion, CP 61, PSU 58: A late Portland State rally came up short. PSU trailed 60-50 with 3:57 to play. An 8-1 run down the stretch made it close but a late three-pointer to tie the game rimmed out... Michael Carter III led PSU with 20 points, hitting 5-10 from the field, 2-3 from three-point range and 8-12 at the line. James Jean-Marie had 14 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots... Jacob Davison had 16 points and six rebounds to lead Cal Poly... Portland State could point to shooting as their ultimate demise. PSU was 20-53 from the field for the game (.377), 5-17 from distance (.294) and 13-21 at the free throw line (.619). Cal Poly hit 19-46 (.413), but made 6-11 from three-point range (.545) and 17-22 at the line (.773).
• PORTLAND STATE vs. THE BIG WEST CONFERENCE: Portland State is 29-40 all-time against current members of the Big West Conference... Head Coach Jase Coburn is 0-2 against the Big West with losses to Cal Poly and CSUN.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his second season as Head Coach and has an 19-21 record overall. He is 0-1 against Cal Poly. Coburn spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Mustangs are coached by John Smith (Dominican, 1994). He has a career record of 22-67, including 1-0 against Portland State.

 

SCOUTING CAL POLY

• Cal Poly is a member of the Big West Conference located in San Luis Obispo.
• The Mustangs were 7-21 last season, 2-12 and tied for ninth in the Big West. All five starters and nine letterwinners return from that team.
• Cal Poly is 4-3 with a three-game winning streak heading into this week's game. The Mustangs average 65.9 points and shoot .436 from the field. They have held opponents to 64.9 points and .411 shooting.
• Senior forward Alimamy Koroma leads the Mustangs in scoring at 13.7 points per game while averaging 4.9 rebounds and shooting .579 from the field.
• Trevon Taylor, also a senior forward, averages 10.4 points and a team-leading 5.4 rebounds.

 

WHO IS HOT

• HOME COOKING: Portland State is 3-0 at home this season and has won the last eight in a row at home dating to last season... in the last 14 seasons, PSU is 64-14 in non-conference home games.
• FREE IS A GOOD PRICE: The Vikings are shooting .764 at the free throw line this season, easily a school-record pace. PSU shot 19-21 (.905) at Oregon State (11/19), then made 15-17 (.882) against Gonzaga (11/24)... SR G Cameron Parker made 13-13 at the line against West Virginia (11/25) - the fifth-most in school history without a miss. Parker shoots .870 at the line this season (47-54)... JR G Jorell Saterfield is shooting .885 (23-26) and ranks second in the Big Sky Conference.
• THE MARKSMAN: SR G Cameron Parker is shooting a blistering .610 from the field this season, including 9-12 in his last two games - wins over Oregon State and Air Force - .467 from three-point range and .870 at the line... he is averaging a career-high 15.8 points and 5.6 assists this season... Parker matched his collegiate career high with 23 points (8-13 FG, 2-5 3pt, 5-7 FT) and six assists at Portland (11/11), then eclipsed that total with 24 points (5-6 FG, 14-16 FT) in the win over Air Force (12/3).
• THE BENCH: Portland State has had solid bench play all season. They got a bench boost against Oregon State (11/27) from SR G Bobby Harvey (11 pts, 4-8 FG, 3-5 3-pt), JR G Keshaun Saunders (10 pts, 3-4 FG, 4-6 FT) and SO C Hayden Curtiss (6 pts, 3-6 FG, 4 reb, 1 blk)... the win over Portland Bible (11/30) was another story altogether. PSU had 122 bench minutes, scoring 72 of the 114 total points. Harvey led the way with 18 points (7-12 FG, 4-8 3-pt), Curtiss had 14 points (6-8 FG, 2-3 3-pt) and six rebounds. JR Gs Emmanuel Taban (11 pts) and Isiah Kirby (10 pts) were also in double figures.
• CAREER HIGHS: SR G Cameron Parker scored a career-high 24 points (5-6 FG, 14-16 FT) in the win over Air Force. That eclipsed the career-high 23 points he scored at Portland (11/11)... JR C Jacob Eyman had career-highs of 11 rebounds and three assists in 16 minutes against Portland Bible (11/30)... JR G Keshaun Saunders handed out a career-high 11 assists and made a career-high four steals and SO C Hayden Curtiss scored a career-high 14 points in that game.
• BIG SKY LEADERS: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in several categories. Individually, JR G Jorell Saterfield leads in three-point field goals made per game (3.1), JR F Hunter Woods leads in steals (1.9), SR G Cameron Parker leads in assists (5.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6)... as a team, the Vikings lead in scoring (85.3), scoring margin (+13.8), rebounding margin (+3.9), turnover margin (+5.2), assists (16.1), steals (8.67) and blocked shots (3.11).

 

PARKER PASSES 1,000

SR G Cameron Parker has had a long and successful collegiate career. On Saturday against Air Force he passed 1,000 career points.
 
Parker's Career Points
2022-23: 126 in 8 games (Portland State)
2021-22: 291 in 32 games (Montana)
2020-21: 234 in 28 games (Montana)
2019-20: 179 in 18 games (Sacred Heart)
2018-19: 189 in 31 games (Sacred Heart)
Total: 1,019 points in 117 games
 

SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL

• Nov. 16, Portland State 113, Evergreen 40: PSU scored its most points in four years in winning its home-opening game. The Vikings led wire-to-wire, making 15 three-point field goals. Seven players scored in double figures, led by 16 points from Isiah Kirby. The Vikings shot .547 from the field and out-rebounded the Geoducks, 59-26.
• Nov. 19, Portland State 79, Oregon State 66: The Vikings ended a long drought to the Beavers in picking up its first-ever win over the Pac-12 program. Jorell Saterfield led the way with a career-high 26 points (8-17 FG, 4-9 3-pt, 6-6 FT) and five rebounds. Hunter Woods came off the bench to score 19 points (7-12 FG, 3-7 3-pt, 2-2 FT) and led a 42-point bench effort. The Vikings forced 18 OSU turnovers and turned them into 21 points.
• Nov. 27, Portland State 83, Oregon State 71: For the second time in eight days Portland State knocked off Oregon State. The Vikings led for all 40 minutes and had six players score in double figures. PSU out-rebounded the Beavers, 35-30, and forced them into 18 turnovers.
• Nov. 30, Portland State 114, Portland Bible 31: The Vikings scored the first 38 points of the game and led 63-9 by halftime. They won every facet of the game, out-shooting the Arrows, .605 to .250, out-rebounding them, 51-17, and forcing 25 turnovers while only committing six. It was PSU's second win in a row and seventh straight at home dating to last season. Five Vikings were in double figures, led by 18 points from SR G Bobby Harvey.
• Dec. 3, Portland State 68, Air Force 64: After leading for most of the opening 30 minutes, the Vikings found themselves down 51-39 with 7:53 to play. They went on a 14-2 run, and 29-13 down the stretch to beat Air Force Academy. SR G Cameron Parker and JR G Jorell Saterfield scored 24 points each, combining for 32 in the second half and 25 of the Vikings' last 29 points. They were a combined 15-23 from the field (.652) and 15-18 at the line (.833). PSU shot .500 from the field overall in winning its third straight game and eighth in a row at home dating to 2021-22.
• Dec. 3, Cameron Parker Reaches 1,000 Points: SR G Cameron Parker passes 1,000 career points in his 116th career collegiate game, and he did so in style. Parker scored a career-high 24 points (5-6 FG, 14-16) with six assists in a 68-64 win over Air Force. Parker had 18 of his 24 in the second half as the Vikings rallied from 12 points down to win.