LEWIS AND CLARK PIONEERS (3-4)
at PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (6-2)

Wednesday, December 6, 2023, 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

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OPENING TIP

The Portland State Vikings will finally get some extended time at home as they play a pair of games in Viking Pavilion this week. PSU hosts non-conference games against Lewis and Clark College on Wednesday evening, then George Fox University on Saturday.
     
Through one month of the season, the Vikings (6-2) have played six of eight games away from home. It hasn't hurt them, as they have started the season very well, going 3-1 in true road games and 1-1 in neutral site games while winning both home games. PSU matched the program's best-ever starts for five games (5-0), six games (5-1) and seven games (6-1). Following a 71-61 loss at Washington State on Saturday, the Vikings can come back to match the best-ever nine-game start (7-2) on Wednesday against the Pioneers... and 10-game start against the Bruins (8-2). But, one game at a time, right?
     
Lewis and Clark (3-4) is a Division III member of the Northwest Conference. The matchup is the first in 15 seasons against the southwest Portland school and necessitated by a late change to PSU's schedule. Originally, Portland State had an additional non-conference home game against Western Illinois as part of the Big Sky - Summit Challenge series. However, Western Illinois left the Summit League in July, leaving a gap in the Vikings' schedule. So, PSU added Lewis and Clark late as a convenient game for both schools. That has the Vikings with a scheduling rarity this season - three lower-division opponents. Normally, PSU would play one or two lower division schools during a season.
     
All that said, Wednesday night is a matchup for which the Vikings need to be ready. PSU comes off a loss to the Cougars in a game that could have turned out much differently. The Vikings led as late as 12 minutes to go in the game but were undone by their worst shooting night of the season. Just three field goals down the stretch by PSU allowed Washington State to finish on a 27-13 run. Portland State shot a season-low .309 from the field and .214 from three-point range scoring a season-low 61 points.
     
Solid defense, offensive rebounding and excellent ball-handling have been a trademark of Portland State's early season successes. But the Vikings' best shooting night from the field so far has been only .462 in a win over UC Santa Barbara. That leaves the team field goal percentage at .405 overall (last in the Big Sky Conference), compared to .445 for Viking opponents. As good as the Vikings' non-conference performance has been so far, just imagine what they may accomplish in 2023-24 with an expected rise in their shooting percentages of .405/.327/.669. That quest begins this week at home as the Vikings can sleep in their own beds and enjoy some home cooking.
     
PSU and Lewis and Clark meet on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Viking Pavilion. The game can be seen on ESPN+ with live statistics available at www.ViksLive.com.
 

COMING UP

Portland State's final two games before Big Sky Conference play are Dec. 15 at San Diego and Dec. 18 at Fresno State. PSU begins Big Sky play on the road at Eastern Washington on Dec. 28.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. LEWIS AND CLARK

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 22-18. Thirty-seven of those 40 games were played between 1946 and 1966... PSU is 3-0 against the Pioneers since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996. The last meeting between the schools was in 2008.
• PORTLAND STATE vs. LOWER DIVISION SCHOOLS: The Vikings are 57-2 against lower division schools in 29 seasons as a member of the Big Sky Conference and Division I (1996-2024). Head Coach Jase Coburn is 5-0 against lower division schools... PSU and Lewis and Clark have one common opponent. The Vikings defeated Linfield, 70-53, on Nov. 12, while Lewis and Clark beat Linfield, 80-77, on Saturday.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his third season as Head Coach and is 32-38 overall. Coburn has never faced Lewis and Clark. He spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Pioneers are coached by Tim McCrory (Vermont) in his first season.

 

SCOUTING LEWIS AND CLARK

• Lewis and Clark College is an NCAA III member of the Northwest Conference, located in Portland... The Pioneers were 13-12 last season, 7-9 and tied for fifth in the NWC. Ten players return from that roster.
• The Pioneers are 3-4 this season, with all counting games coming at home at Pamplin Sports Center in southwest Portland. LC shoots. 430 from the field, .333 from three-point range and .652 at the free throw line.
• Though he has played in only the last two games, sophomore guard TJ Muhammad is the team's leading scorer at 14.5 points per game while playing only 12.8 minutes per game. Junior guard Mikey Medlock Jr. averages 13.6 points and has a team-high 16 three-point field goals. Junior forward Isaac Ticeson averages 12.4 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting .629 from the field.

 

WHO IS HOT

• THE VIKINGS: Portland State has matched the best five-, six- and seven-game records in program history so far this season... the best nine-game start is 7-2, set on six previous occasions. PSU could match that with a win on Wednesday (see below).
• POSSESSION IS 9/10 OF THE LAW: After losing point guard Cameron Parker to graduation last season, one concern for the Vikings in 2023-24 was ball-handling. Well, fear not... the Vikings average a mere 9.4 turnovers per game this season which ranks first in the Big Sky Conference and 21st in the nation... in last week's two games, PSU had a total of 13 turnovers... PSU's turnover margin is a +4.3 per game.
• SHOOTING STAR, PART ONE: SO G Ismail Habib has already produced two game-winners among the Vikings' six wins this season. Habib went viral on Nov. 17 when he hoisted a half-court shot at the buzzer against California Baptist that banked home for the win, 66-63... last Tuesday night, he pulled victory from the jaws of defeat, making a drive through the entire Portland Pilots team in the final six seconds for a game-winner with 0.8 on the clock. The JC transfer also hit a pair of three-pointers in the final two minutes to aid in a come-from-behind victory... Habib now averages 10.1 points and leads the team in three-point shooting (18-43, .419).
• SHOOTING STAR, PART TWO: JR F Isaiah Johnson averages 11.3 points to lead the Vikings in scoring despite coming off the bench and ranking fourth in minutes played. Johnson leads the team in shooting with a .574 mark and ranks second in rebounding (5.6).
• THE BENCH BUNCH: Portland State averaged 27.9 points per game off the bench last season to rank 12th in the nation. Nothing has changed as PSU has 210 bench points (26.3) so far this season.

 

CONFERENCE CALL

Portland State nearly pulled off a rare feat at Washington State on Saturday. The Vikings had a chance to get a victory against a team from every conference in the western United States (not including the Big Sky Conference, yet). PSU led the Cougars in the second half, but succumbed to the Pac-12 school, 71-61. Still, the Vikings are 5-0 against teams from the Mountain West (Air Force), Big West (UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly), Western Athletic (California Baptist) and West Coast Conferences (Portland). The Pac-12 would have been five of five, but alas it did not happen.
 

BEST STARTS FOR THE VIKINGS IN PROGRAM HISTORY

While level of play and quality of schedule has varied over the years, it is worth noting that the Vikings have matched their best-ever five-, six- and seven-game records in program history this year. The program competed at the NAIA level in the 1950s (while actually being a two-year school up until 1954), and the NCAA College Division level for much of the 1960s (forerunner of Division II), and Division I independent in the 1970s.
     
PSU's five- and six-game records this season are the best-ever during the Big Sky Conference era (1996-present). Best records by games played are listed below with Division I-level records underlined. The current Vikings have a chance for a few more entries on this list.
 
5-game 5-0: 1976-77, 2023-24
6-game 5-1: 1976-77, 2023-24
7-game 6-1: 1976-77, 2008-09, 2023-24
8-game 7-1: 2008-09
9-game 7-2: 1950-51, 1955-56, 1958-59, 1976-77, 2008-09, 2017-18
10-game 8-2: 1950-51, 1958-59, 2017-18
11-game 9-2: 1950-51, 1955-56
12-game 9-3: 1950-51, 1955-56, 2008-09, 2017-18
13-game 10-3: 1950-51, 1966-67, 2008-09, 2017-18
 

GAME WINNERS: THEY ARE BECOMING A HABIT

Portland State already has two game-winning shots among its six wins this season. This comes after the Vikings had three late-game-winners last season - twice at the buzzer and one with eight seconds left.

• Four of the five game-winning shots flipped the lead, while one broke a tie.
• Notably, the Vikings also scored in the flow of the game in four of the five contests, not calling a timeout to set up a last-second play as is common, including both of this season's last-second winners.
• HABIB'S HEAVENLY HEAVE: SO G Ismail Habib banked home a half-court heave at the buzzer to beat California Baptist, 66-63 (11/17). It was part of a 14-point comeback in the final nine minutes of the game. The Vikings had trailed, 58-44, but went on a 22-5 run down the stretch. PSU took a 63-61 lead with 30 seconds left on a JR F Isaiah Johnson spin move inside. The Lancers tied it with 2.4 seconds left on a short jumper. Johnson inbounded to Habib who raced up court and let the shot go just before the buzzer. Johnson, Habib and SR F KJ Allen led the Vikings comeback.
• LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE: As cool as could be, SO G Ismail Habib put the ball between his legs, sized up the defense, then sliced through four Portland Pilot defenders to the basket for a game-winning lay-in with 0.8 seconds on the clock. And for the second time in two weeks, Habib delivered his Portland State team the deciding basket at the end. The Vikings came away with a thrilling, come-from-behind 75-74 victory in the crosstown rivalry game at Viking Pavilion (11/28). Big contributions in a comeback from 12 points down came from SR G Bobby Harvey (13 points in the second half), JR F Isaiah Johnson (12 points, six rebounds in the second half) and Habib, who hit a pair of three-point field goals in the final two minutes before his scramble to the rim for the game-winner.

 

READY WHEN YOUR NUMBER IS CALLED

Continuing the trend of last season, Head Coach Jase Coburn continues to go deep into his bench. The Vikings have 620 bench minutes out of 1600 total minutes, getting 210 points and 115 rebounds from the backups.

• The bench is shooting better than the starters. PSU shoots 79-182 (.434) off the bench and 117-302 (.387) from the starters.
• The Vikings have had all 12 players appear in six of eight games.
• Last season, PSU's bench logged 36% of the total minutes and 37% of the points. The Vikings ranked 12th in the nation in bench scoring at 27.9 points per game. Bench players (330-698, .473) out-shot the starters (505-1,167, .433) from the field and had 52 of the team's 105 blocked shots (49%).