PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (11-6, 2-2)
at NORTHERN ARIZONA LUMBERJACKS (7-10, 0-3)

Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, 6 p.m. MT/5 p.m PT • Walkup Skydome (3,300), Flagstaff, AZ
Live Stream: ESPN+ • Play-by-play: Mitch Strohman
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com

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OPENING TIP

Portland State takes a two-game road trip this week to Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado with an eye on building on their recent win over Big Sky Conference-favorite Weber State and climbing in the league standings.
     
PSU (11-6, 2-2) is currently in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Big Sky which leaves a lot of room for movement in the standings this week.
     
The Vikings broke out of a mid-season slump with a win over the Wildcats, 69-66, on Saturday at Viking Pavilion. PSU had lost three of four games, and had been shooting under 40% over its previous six outings. But, they got hot mid-game against Weber State, built a big lead, then hung on for a win over the talented Wildcats.
     
SR G Isiah Kirby was one of four Vikings to score in double figures, leading the team with 14 points (7-8) in 19 minutes off the bench. SR F KJ Allen also had a big game with 13 points, a career-high 14 rebounds and three assists. SR Gs Jorell Saterfield and Bobby Saterfield combined for seven three-pointers and 25 points. PSU shot a modest .448 from the field, but it was their best shooting effort in seven games.
     
The Vikings hope that solid performance translates to this week's road games. PSU has had plenty of road success already this year with a 5-4 record. The Vikings are 6-5 overall in games away from the Pavilion.
     
NAU (7-10, 0-3) is looking for a bounce back after a rough week on the road that resulted in losses at Montana State and Montana. The 'Jacks have a sub-.500 record, but have only played three games at home to date. They are 3-0 in those contests with wins over Pacific, Southern Utah and North Dakota.
     
PSU has won four in a row against the Lumberjacks, sweeping the last two season series. Notably, the Vikings won last year's two games with a shot at the final horn each time. The first came as the Vikings made a pair of three-pointers in the last10 seconds of the game, and the second on a length of the court pass, catch and shoot with 0.4 seconds left. Hunter Woods buried a three-pointer as time expired in Portland for a 75-74 win at Viking Pavilion. A month later, Isaiah Johnson made the miraculous catch-and-shoot on a pass from Woods with 0.4 seconds left for an 88-87 victory at Walkup Skydome.
     
Thursday night's game tips at 6 p.m. MT/5 p.m. PT at JL Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff. The game can be seen on ESPN+ with live statistics at www.ViksLive.com.
 

COMING UP

The Vikings travel to Northern Colorado for a Saturday game that also tips off at 5 p.m. PT and can be seen on ESPN+. PSU comes home for four straight games beginning on Jan. 25 against Montana.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series with Northern Arizona, 32-26, and the Big Sky Conference series, 30-25... the Vikings are 9-16 all-time in Big Sky games played in Flagstaff... PSU has won four straight games over Northern Arizona and nine of the last 12 dating back to 2017.
• LAST SEASON: Jan. 12, 2023 at Viking Pavilion, PSU 75, NAU 74: A buzzer-beating three-point field goal by Hunter Woods had Viking fans dancing in the aisles as Portland State beat Northern Arizona. In fact, Woods made two late three-pointers as PSU pulled off a miraculous finish. Woods' shots both came in the final 10 seconds, bringing the Vikings back from five points down to win. Ironically, Woods had just missed a tying three-pointer a minute earlier. But that did not prevent him from taking the two biggest shots of the night... Portland State trailed most of the second half and was resorting to fouls in the final minute... NAU's Oakland Fort swished a pair of free throws with 28 seconds left and the Lumberjacks led, 73-67... Viking point guard Cameron Parker raced back up court with the ball, got to the rim and scored to make it 73-69 with 19 seconds left... PSU then fouled Nik Mains who made one of two free throws with 17.8 seconds remaining... Again, the Vikings pushed the ball up court, Parker came off a Woods' screen at the top of the arc and pitched it back to Woods on the wing. He swished the three-pointer with 9.8 seconds to play. PSU now trailed only 74-72... This is where it gets crazy. Mains went to the line again and missed both free throws with 8.4 seconds on the clock. However, Carson Towt grabbed the offensive rebound for the 'Jacks. He was fouled and NAU had two more free throws with 7.1 seconds to go. Then, Towt missed both free throws... Woods rebounded, quickly passedto Parker and it was a footrace to the other end. Parker went left and Woods went right. When pressure got to Parker just before the three-point line he winged a pass cross court to Woods directly in front of the PSU bench. Woods let fly just before the buzzer sounded and ripped the net... Woods finished the game with 18 points, five rebounds and three steals. He made 5-10 from the field, 4-8 from three-point range and 4-5 at the line... Parker scored 19 points with a season-high 11 assists, six rebounds and two steals. Jorell Saterfield added 11 points and Keshaun Saunders scored 10... NAU was led by 19 points and 16 rebounds from Towt. Xavier Fuller had 19 points and six rebounds.  Feb. 11, 2023 at Walkup Skydome, PSU 88, NAU 87: The Vikings won it. They lost it. Then, they won it again. In what may be the craziest finish of the college basketball season, Portland State stunned Northern Arizona at the buzzer, 88-87… again. The Vikings appeared to have the game in the bag, leading 86-78 with just 1:22 remaining at JL Walkup Skydome. But NAU had other ideas... PSU turned the ball over twice and missed three free throws on their next four possessions as the Lumberjacks scored six points in a row, closing to 86-84 with 5.9 seconds to play. Hunter Woods was at the line for the Vikings, but missed and the 'Jacks rebounded... NAU's Liam Lloyd raced up the court and rose up for a three-pointer from just in front of the Lumberjacks' bench. He splashed the three, giving NAU an 87-86 victory... The Vikings had lost... Or had they?.. Officials looked at the replay monitor and determined that 0.4 seconds remained in the game after the ball went through the hoop... Desperation was all that was left for PSU. Following a timeout, Woods took the ball out of bounds, heaving a high-arcing pass to the opposite end of the floor. Isaiah Johnson leaped in the air between two NAU defenders, caught the pass, and all in one motion tossed up a shot off the glass from 12 feet out on the right side of the key. Buzzer, glass, swish... 88-87, Vikings. Game over... Cameron Parker led the Vikings in scoring with 21 points on 7-12 from the field, 1-1 from three-point range and 6-7 at the line, adding six rebounds and seven assists... Strong support came from Jorell Saterfield with 19 points on 7-14 shooting, including 4-7 three-pointers, and four assists... The Vikings shot 35-61 from the field for a .574 mark. PSU also forced 13 turnovers for 13 points and had eight blocked shots... Xavier Fuller had 18 points to lead five 'Jacks in double figures. Carson Towt added 17 points and nine rebounds.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his third season as Head Coach and is 37-42 overall. Coburn is 4-0 against Weber State. He spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Lumberjacks are coached by Shane Burcar (Ottawa, 2004) in his fifth season. He has a 50-86 career record, including 2-5 against the Vikings.

 

SCOUTING NORTHERN ARIZONA

• Northern Arizona joined the Big Sky Conference in 1970. NAU has won four Big Sky regular season championships and two Big Sky Tournament titles, making two appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• Northern Arizona was 12-23 last season, 5-13 and ninth place in the Big Sky Conference.
• This year, the Lumberjacks are 7-10 overall, 0-3 in the Big Sky. They average 64.5 points to rank last in the Big Sky, while allowing 77.6 points per game and allowing the highest opponent field goal percentage (.485)... the 'Jacks are getting out-rebounded by 7.5 per game.
• Junior guard Trent McLaughlin leads NAU with 14.4 points per game. He has a team-high 36 three-point field goals... junior forward Carson Basham averages 8.6 points and has team-highs of 5.7 rebounds and 20 blocked shots.

 

WHO IS HOT

• SEEING THE SHOTS FALL: SR G Jorell Saterfield led the Vikings in scoring against Idaho State with 16 points (5-10 FG, 3-5 3-pt, 3-5 FT) and averaged 14.5 points in last week's two games. It continues a trend for Saterfield who has shot the ball better in the past four games. Over that stretch, he has averaged 13.8 points while shooting 16-36 (.444) from the field, 11-28 (.393) from three-point range and 12-15 (.800) at the line... Saterfield averages 10.4 points for the season.
• SEEING DOUBLE: SR F KJ Allen posted 13 points and 14 rebounds in the win over Weber State. It was his third double-double in four games and fourth for the season. The 14 boards were also a career high... Allen continues to lead the Vikings in scoring (10.7) and rebounding (6.8)... Allen leads the Big Sky in boards in league games (8.3).
• BENCH BOOST: SR G Isiah Kirby had his most productive game of the season with a team-high 14 points (7-8 FG), three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 19 minutes against Weber State... JR C Hayden Curtiss had four points (1-1 FG, 2-2 FT), two rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals in 10 minutes. His numbers were modest, but he sparked PSU's first-half rally with the steals and blocks, leading to a 25-3 run.
• THE BENCH BUNCH: The Vikings have been producing all season when they make substitutions. PSU has scored 450 bench points (26.5 per game) to rank 57th in the nation and second in the Big Sky... last year, the Vikings averaged 27.9 points per game off the bench to rank 12th in the nation.
• ON THE RUN: Everyone would agree the Vikings are at their best when they are pushing the pace. In the win over Weber State, PSU had 23 fast break points. That increased PSU's fast break point average to 12.7 per game - best in the Big Sky Conference.
• GOOD DECISIONS: SR G Isiah Kirby is the team leader in assist-to-turnover ratio. In 14 minutes a game as a ball handler, Kirby has 33 assists and only 14 turnovers. Despite being eighth in minutes played, he is third on the Vikings in assists... Kirby also shoots .500 from the field.
• KEYS TO VICTORY: The Vikings have never lost this season when... leading at halftime (7-0)... out-rebounding an opponent (7-0)... scoring 80 or more points (3-0).
• VIKING BASKETBALL IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART: Once again this season Portland State has had numerous close games and game-winning shots. Through 17 games, 11 have been decided by seven points or less. The Vikings are 8-3 in those games.