Big Sky Conference Tournament Quarterfinal

#7 PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (13-16, 10-10) vs. #2 SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS (20-10, 14-6)

Thursday, March 10, 2022, 5:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. PT • Idaho Central Arena, Boise, ID
Live Stream: ESPN+ • Play-by-Play: Tony Parks • Analyst: Joe Cravens
Live Stats: www.statbroadcast.com/events/central.php?gid=bsc
Complete notes and stats in pdf

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THE OPENING TIP

Portland State moves on to the next "biggest game of the season" on Thursday evening when it takes on Southern Utah in a Big Sky Conference Tournament Quarterfinal round game. The Vikings and Thunderbirds meet in a 5:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. PT contest at Idaho Central Arena. The winner advances to a Big Sky Tournament Semifinal on Friday night.
     
The Vikings, who are the number-seven seed in the Big Sky Tournament, advanced to the quarterfinal by virtue of a 66-52 first-round win over Idaho State. PSU has won nine of the last 12 games and is now 13-16 on the season.
     
The Thunderbirds, won are the number-two seed in the tournament, have been laying in wait. SUU earned a first-round bye by virtue of its second-place finish in conference play. The T-Birds are 20-10 overall and have won four of their last five games.
     
PSU needed a second-half burst on Wednesday against Idaho State to pull out the win. The Vikings trailed 30-28 at halftime. But their defensive pressure ratcheted up in the second half, forcing the Bengals into 14 turnovers and allowing only 5-22 shooting after intermission. PSU outscored ISU 38-22 after halftime on the way to the 14-point win.
     
SR F Khalid Thomas continued his fine play, leading both teams in scoring with 17 points. SR G Ezekiel Alley added 15 points for the Vikings.
     
Portland State's win makes it 4-1 all-time in first-round tournament games. The Vikings are 5-8 all-time in Big Sky Quarterfinal games. The Vikings have never faced Southern Utah in a Big Sky Tournament game, and this will be the first and only time they ever will. SUU leaves the Big Sky for the Western Athletic Conference next season.
     
Southern Utah swept the season series from the Vikings, but both games were close. SUU won 86-76 in Cedar City on Jan. 17, then 85-82 in overtime at Viking Pavilion on Jan. 27.
     
Portland State is now 3-0 all-time in games against Idaho State in the Big Sky Tournament.  The Viking program is 13-15 all-time in Big Sky Tournament games. They were victorious in first-year Head Coach Jase Coburn's first-ever tournament game. (For a complete look at Portland State's Big Sky Tournament history and records, turn to page 11 of these game notes).
 

THE 2022 BIG SKY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

 
Wednesday, March 9, 2022, live streamed on ESPN+
Game 1 – No. 8 Sacramento State 58, No. 9 Idaho 54          
Game 2 – No. 7 Portland State 66, No. 10 Idaho State 52
Game 3 – No. 6 Eastern Washington 78, No. 11 Northern Arizona 75
 
Thursday, March 10, 2022, live streamed on ESPN+
Game 4 – No. 1 Montana State (24-7, 16-4) vs. No. 8 Sacramento State (11-17, 6-14), Noon        
Game 5 – No. 4 Weber State (20-11, 13-7) vs. No. 5 Montana (18-13, 11-9), 2:30 p.m.
Game 6 – No. 2 Southern Utah (20-10, 14-6) vs. No. 7 Portland State (13-16, 10-10), 5:30 p.m.
Game 7 – No. 3 Northern Colorado (18-14, 13-7) vs. No. 6 Eastern Washington (18-14, 11-9), 8 p.m.
 
Friday, March 11, 2022, live streamed on ESPN+
Game 8 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner (Semifinals), 5:30 p.m.
Game 9 – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner (Semifinals), 8 p.m.
 
Saturday, March 12, 2022, televised on ESPNU
Game 10 – Championship Game, 6 p.m.
 
All times listed are Mountain
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. SOUTHERN UTAH

• THE SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 11-8, and the Big Sky Conference series, 10-8... the Thunderbirds have won the last five meetings... the teams have never met in the Big Sky Tournament.
• THIS SEASON: Jan. 17, 2022, 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. Jan. 27, 2022 at Viking Pavilion: SUU 85, PSU 82 (ot): In a game filled with heroic plays, Southern Utah's Dre Marin made the two most important of them all. The Thunderbird guard splashed a clutch three-pointer with 3.3 seconds remaining in regulation to send the contest with Portland State to overtime. Then, Marin hit a big three with 33.3 seconds remaining in the extra session, putting SUU ahead, 83-81. Marin tacked on a pair of late free throws for the final score, nullifying a crazy comeback by the Vikings... PSU was down 64-50 inside of nine minutes to play and it looked close to hopeless. But then the Vikings put on a remarkable comeback, going on a 22-6 run capped by a three-pointer from Ian Burke. His shot put PSU ahead 72-70 with 1:13 left. After one free throw from the Thunderbirds, Burke hit another three, this time up against an expiring shot clock and near the mid-court logo. PSU led 75-71 with 25 seconds to play... Just five seconds later, Tevian Jones, who scored a game-high 36 points from Southern Utah, raced to the other end and drained a three for the Thunderbirds... SUU fouled the Vikings' Paris Dawson with nine seconds left and he made both free throws, putting the lead back at 77-74. That's when Marin answered with his first big three pointer in the closing moments, sending the game to overtime... The lead changed hands five times in overtime, with Michael Carter III scoring all five Viking points. But Marin scored the last five of the game in the final 33.3 seconds... The Vikings shot 34-77 for the game (.442) while Southern Utah shot 26-60 (.433). The difference came at the line with Southern Utah getting 38 attempts and making 25 (.658), while PSU was just 8-13 (.615)... Khalid Thomas led five Vikings in double figures with 18 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Dawson had 14 points and five rebounds off the bench. Carter scored 13 with six rebounds and six assists. Ezekiel Alley also had 13 points, six rebounds and three steals... Jones finished with 36 points on 11-19 from the field, 5-8 from three-point range and 9-11 at the line. He also had a game-high 10 rebounds. Marin scored 19 points with five assists for the Thunderbirds.
• 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 93-92 overall, 7-4 against the Vikings. Simon is 102-100 in seven years as a collegiate head coach.

 

WHO IS HOT

• In the last 12 games, PSU has averaged 78.9 points... during a four-game winning streak (Jan. 29-Feb. 5), PSU averaged 88.8 points, shot .492 from the field, and .480 from three-point range (making 11.8 per game).
• Portland State's defense has been on display in the last 12 games, forcing 19.5 turnovers per game and making 9.4 steals per game... for the season, PSU forces 17.2 turnovers per game - the most in the Big Sky... PSU leads the Big Sky in turnover margin (+4.8), ranking eighth in the nation... the Vikings average a Big Sky-best 9.3 steals per game, which ranks 10th in the nation.
• Portland State has had 12 different starting lineups this season. The group of Alley, Squire, Carter III, Burke and Thomas is now 5-0.
• SR F Khalid Thomas scored a career-high 27 points (11-19 FG, 5-6 FT) with seven rebounds and four steals in the win over Idaho State (2/26). Thomas averaged 22.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals, 2.0 assists and 1.0 blocks in two wins earning Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Mar. 1... he then had double-doubles against Idaho (14 pts, 11 reb) and Eastern Washington (24 pts, 11 reb)... over the last five games he is averaging 19.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.2 steals, 1.4 assists and 1.0 blocked shots... Thomas leads the team in scoring (12.6), rebounds (6.3) and steals (1.9). He ranks second in the Big Sky in steals, 11th in rebounding and 19th in scoring.
• • JR G Marlon Ruffin scored 34 points off the bench in last week's two games, making 14-25 from the field (.560). Ruffin matched his season high with nine rebounds at Eastern Washington... he followed with eight points on 4-7 against Idaho State.
• • SR G Ezekiel Alley has been red-hot, averaging 16.2 points over the last 12 games... Alley scored a season-high 26 points (10-18 FG, 4-8 3-pt, 2-3 FT) with two rebounds, two assists and five steals in the win over Sacramento State (2/5) and was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week (Feb. 8).