SACRAMENTO STATE HORNETS (6-15, 2-6) at
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (13-8, 4-4)

Saturday, February 3, 2024, 4 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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Game Presented by Les Schwab Tires

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OPENING TIP

A revitalized Portland State Vikings basketball team will resume its four-game home stand against the Sacramento State Hornets this Saturday. The Vikings took the first two games over Montana and Montana State last week, and now look ahead to the Hornets followed by first-place Eastern Washington next Monday night.
     
PSU (13-8, 4-4) picked up a pair of big wins in decidedly different fashion last week. The Vikings routed the Grizzlies, 72-46, marking the biggest win over Montana in 15 seasons. Then, PSU made a stirring comeback from 15 points down in the final four minutes to shock Montana State, 94-91. Both opponents were standing in second place in the Big Sky Conference at the time of the respective games, giving PSU a pair of high-quality wins. With 13 total wins the Vikings have already passed last season's win total (12-19).
     
Portland State moved up to fifth place in the Big Sky at 4-4. They now have five games at home and five on the road as February and the home stretch of league play is ahead.
     
A brilliant full-court defense was the key in the win over Montana, which went into the game as perhaps the best shooting team in the league. The Vikings held the Griz to 31% shooting and 33 points under their season scoring average. Then, a resilient "never say die" performance against the Bobcats made the difference as PSU closed out the game on a 24-6 run in the last 4:06, including 11-0 in the final minute.
     
The most noticeable difference for the Vikings last week was the return of the team's shooting touch. After a few rough weeks of field goal shooting hovering around the 39% mark, PSU was 57-117 (.487) in the two games, including 26-49 (.531) from three-point range.
     
Leading the offense was SR F KJ Allen, who had a career-high 26 points in the win over Montana State, including 7-12 from the field, 4-4 from three-point range and 8-10 at the line. SR G Isiah Kirby has come on strong as of late, averaging 12.8 points in the last five games on 26-44 from the field (.591). He had a career-high 20 points against the Bobcats. SO G Ismail Habib scored a career-high 19 points in the win over Montana, and totaled 13 assists in the two games. SR G Bobby Harvey averaged 15.0 points in the two wins, hitting 7-14 three-point field goals.
     
Efficient offense may be the key for the Vikings when they take on Sacramento State (6-15, 2-6). The Hornets are in ninth place in the Big Sky and on a four-game losing streak. They have managed to pass 67 total points only twice in their last 10 games.
     
PSU takes a 7-1 home record into the contest. The Hornets are just 1-9 on the road this season.
     
Saturday's game tips off at 4 p.m. It can be seen on ESPN+ with live statistics at www.ViksLive.com.
 

COMING UP

Portland State will host Eastern Washington on Monday, wrapping up the Vikings' four-game home stand. Later in the week, the Vikings play at Weber State and Idaho State.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. SACRAMENTO STATE

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 34-22, and the Big Sky Conference series, 33-21... PSU is 21-5 in games played in Portland... the Hornets swept the season series last year.
• Dec. 31, 2022 at the Hornets Nest, SAC 74, PSU 63: A massive second-half run by Sacramento State turned a big Portland State lead into a Big Sky Conference-opening loss. The Hornets trailed by 15 in the second half, but a 42-11 rally down the stretch led the Hornets to a 74-63 victory... The Vikings played well for the first 25 minutes of the game and had a comfortable 47-32 advantage. However, the Vikings would only make one field goal over the next 9:40 of play and Sacramento State would completely flip the script... Hornets' leading scorer Zach Chappell got things going, scoring 11 of the first 15 points in the run. Then Akol Mawein scored the next eight in a row. The Hornets captured the lead on a Mawein layin with 7:40 remaining in the game. But they weren't done scoring, getting the next seven points, and eventually 19 of the next 23 points... The turnaround was inexplicable for the Vikings. PSU had a 33-20 lead late in the first half, then the 15-point lead a little more than five minutes into the second half. PSU allowed only 26 points in the first half, but gave up 48 points in the second half... Sacramento State shot .346 from the field in the first half, but came back to shoot .533 in the second half, and out-rebound the Vikings 23-10 after intermission... Chappell led the Hornets with a game-high 18 points. Mawein had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Austin Patterson scored 15 points on 5-9 three-pointers... Isaiah Johnson paced the Vikings with 11 points and four rebounds. Jorell Saterfield and Mikal Starks each had 10 points. Feb. 27, 2023 at Viking Pavilion, SAC 76, PSU 74: Gianni Hunt scored seven points in the final 1:21 of the game for Sacramento State as the Hornets erased a three-point deficit and beat Portland State... The teams were evenly matched and the largest lead of the night was a mere six points by Portland State. There were 16 ties and 13 lead changes in the contest... The lead changed hands seven times in the second half. Sacramento State took its largest lead of the game at 64-59 with 5:37 to go. But the Vikings charged back, scoring on their next five possessions in a row to go back on top 70-67... That's when Hunt took over. First, he scored on a drive to the basket. Following an empty possession by the Vikings, Hunt buried a three-pointer - the only three of the game for the Hornets. Finally, Hunt made two free throws for a 76-74 lead with 3.6 seconds on the clock. Portland State raced up court, but a 25-foot, game-winning attempt by Keshaun Saunders bounced off the front iron and the Hornets had the win... Cameron Parker led the Vikings in scoring with 21 points and seven assists. Isaiah Johnson scored a career-high 17 points. Callum McRae led the Hornets with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Hunt scored 15 points and had five assists.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his third season as Head Coach. He spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach. Coburn has a 39-44 record overall. He is 2-2 against Sacramento State... the Hornets are led by second-year Head Coach David Patrick (Louisiana, 2000) who is 20-33, 2-0 against the Vikings.

 

SCOUTING SACRAMENTO STATE

• Sacramento State was 14-18 last season, 7-11 and sixth place in the Big Sky Conference. The Hornet program joined the Big Sky Conference the same year as Portland State, 1996-97.
• The Hornets are 6-15 on the season, 2-6 in the Big Sky Conference... Sacramento State averages 69.3 points and allows 71.8 points per game... the Hornets lead the Big Sky in rebounding margin (+8.1) and offensive rebounds (12.2 per game) and rank last in turnover margin (-5.0).
• Junior guard Zee Hamoda leads the Hornets in scoring at 12.9 points per game and has a team-high 44 three-point field goals... sophomore forward Duncan Powell averages 12.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.

 

WHO IS HOT

• THREE-POINT SHOOTERS: PSU went into last week shooting only .319 for the season from three-point range. Then, the Vikings got hot. PSU matched a season-high with 12-24 threes against Montana (.500). The Vikings bettered that with a new season-high 14-25 from distance against Montana State (.560)... SR F KJ Allen was 6-7, SR G Bobby Harvey was 7-14 and SR G Isiah Kirby was 4-8 in the two games... Harvey currently leads the Big Sky Conference in three-pointers made per game with 2.4.
• GOOD DECISIONS: Lately, when SR G Isiah Kirby has the ball in his hands, good things happen. Kirby has averaged 12.8 points over the last five games on 26-44 from the field (.591). Kirby also has 12 assists in those five games, and leads the Vikings in assist-to-turnover ratio at 43/21... Kirby scored a career-high 20 points (6-11 FG, 3-4 3-pt, 5-6 FT) with four assists in the win over Montana State on Saturday... he shoots .509 from the field this season to rank second on the team.
• KJs TRIUMPHANT RETURN: The absence of SR F KJ Allen from the lineup two weeks ago coincided with a pair of bad losses for the Vikings. With Allen back last week - voila' - the Vikings picked up a pair of wins. Allen had 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench in the win over Montana, then posted a career-high 26 points (7-12 FG, 4-4 3-pt, 8-10 FT) and seven rebounds in the win over Montana State... Allen leads the Vikings in scoring (11.5) and rebounding (6.8) this season.
• ZAY'S DAY: JR F Isaiah Johnson may have turned in his most complete game of the season in the win over Montana State with 16 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot... and those dunks! He had four in the game, and all were of the highlight-reel variety... Johnson is second in scoring (9.7) and rebounding (4.7) for the Vikings.
• GOOD DECISIONS, PART 2: Portland State had a season-low four turnovers in the win over Montana.
• THE BENCH BUNCH: The Vikings have been producing all season when they make substitutions. PSU has scored 573 bench points (27.3 per game) to rank 39th 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.
• BLOCK PARTY: JR C Hayden Curtiss has seen a gradual rise in his minutes during the season. He has 27 blocked shots to lead the team and ranks fourth in the Big Sky Conference. Twenty-four of those blocks have come in the last 12 games... PSU leads the Big Sky Conference in blocks with 3.7 per game. STRONG INDICATORS: Portland State is 7-1 when playing at home... 8-1 when leading at halftime... 8-0 when out-rebounding an opponent... 7-1 when out-shooting an opponent... 10-1 when scoring 70 or more points... 8-1 when starting a new lineup.
• LATE GAME HEROICS: Once again this season Portland State has had numerous close games and game winning shots. Through 21 games, 12 have been decided by seven points or less. The Vikings are 9-3 in those games. PSU is now 5-0 in games decided by three points or less.

 

SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL

• Saterfield Gets Preseason Honors: SR G Jorell Saterfield was picked to the six-man Preseason All-Big Sky Conference team. Saterfield averaged 13.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and made 65 three-point field goals last season.
• Nov. 6, PSU 62, Air Force 55: The Vikings opened the season with a seven-point win on the road, beating Air Force for the second straight season. The Vikings out-rebounded the Falcons, 41-34, including 14 on the offensive glass for 16 second-chance points. SR G Jorell Saterfield had 10 points and seven rebounds. JR F Isaiah Johnson grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds.
• Nov. 9, PSU 82, UC Santa Barbara 76: Portland State knocked off defending Big West Conference Champion and preseason favorite UC Santa Barbara. After a close first half, the Vikings led for virtually the entire second half. Five players scored in double figures as PSU got 48 points in the paint and 22 on the fast break. The Vikings made 12 steals, forcing 18 turnovers.
• Nov. 12, PSU 70, Linfield 53: SR F KJ Allen sparked a sluggish Vikings team in the first half with back-to-back three-point plays and went on to lead the team to its third straight win. Allen had 18 points (6-8 FG, 6-7 FT), seven rebounds and five steals in the game. PSU made 12 steals and blocked seven shots in holding Linfield to 53 points.
• Woods Gets 1,000: SR F Hunter Woods reached 1,000 points in his collegiate career in the win over Linfield (11/12). Woods scored nine points in the game on three three-point field goals giving him 327 points in 34 games at Portland State and 676 points in 84 games at Elon.
• Nov. 17, PSU 66, California Baptist 63: SO G Ismail Habib buried a half-court shot at the buzzer to give the Vikings their fourth straight win to open the season. It was part of a 14-point comeback in the final nine minutes of the game. 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 led the Vikings with 16 points (7-10 FG, 2-4 FT) as he, Habib and SR F KJ Allen sparked a 22-5 rally down the stretch.
• Nov. 18, PSU 73, Cal Poly 57: Portland State won its fifth game in a row for the best start in the Big Sky era and matching the best start ever for the program (5-0). The Vikings jumped to a double-digit lead early, pushed it as high as 25 in the second half and cruised to the win. SR F KJ Allen had the first double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. PSU out-rebounded the Mustangs, 43-31, and held them to .373 shooting.
• Allen Named Lancer Joust All-Tournament: SR F KJ Allen was named to the Lancer Joust All-Tournament team on Sunday. He averaged 12.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists while shooting .458/.556/.667 as the Vikings won two of three games.
• Nov. 28, PSU 75, Portland 74: SO G Ismail Habib made a driving lay-in with 0.8 seconds on the clock to complete a 12-point comeback by the Vikings. Habib also hit a pair of three-pointers in the final two minutes as the Vikings improved to 6-1 - matching their best seven-game start in school history. Habib had 18 points (6-11 FG, 5-9 3-pt) and four assists, while JR F Isaiah Johnson added a career-high 18 points (7-12 FG, 4-5 FT) and 10 rebounds.
• Dec. 6, PSU 106, Lewis & Clark 60: The Vikings shot a season-high .581 from the field and posted a season scoring high in an easy win over the Division III Pioneers. The Vikings out-rebound LC 49-34 and commit only seven turnovers. JR C Hayden Curtiss set a new career-highs with 19 points (8-10 FG, 1-1 3-pt, 2-2 FG) and seven rebounds while blocking five shots. SR G Keshaun Saunders added 15 points (6-10 FG, 2-3 3-pt, 1-1 FT) and three steals in 18 minutes off the bench.
• Dec. 9, PSU 83, George Fox 77: SR G Jorell Saterfield had a near triple-double with 25 points (8-15 FG, 4-9 3-pt, 5-6 FT) and career-highs of 10 rebounds and eight assists to lead PSU to the win. JR C Hayden Curtiss (14 pts, 10 reb) and SR F Hunter Woods (12 pts, 11 reb) also had double-doubles.The Vikings were up 20 in the second half, but had to hang on for the victory. PSU out-rebounded the Bruins, 49-31.
• Dec. 18, PSU 75, Fresno State 72 (ot): SR F KJ Allen continued the buzzer-beating madness for Portland State, but hitting a three-point field goal on the final play of overtime to decide it. Allen scored eight points in a 10-point rally by the Vikings to close out the game. He had 15 points (4-10 FG, 3-3 3-pt, 4-4 FT) and eight rebounds. It marked the third buzzer-beater of the season for the Vikings as they improved to 9-3, matching a best-ever record in program history.
• Dec. 30, PSU 77, Idaho 72: The Vikings trailed by 11 in the first half and eight at halftime, but came back to win on the road again. SR F KJ Allen had a big game with 16 points (4-7 FG, 8-9 FT) and 11 rebounds to lead the way.  The Vikings out-rebounded Idaho, 41-35, forced 14 turnovers and were 22-29 at the free throw line. It was PSU's fourth straight win over Idaho, seventh in the last eight games, and ninth in the last 11.
• Jan. 11, PSU 69, Weber State 66: A mid-game 25-3 run by the Vikings pushed their lead over the Wildcats to 24 points in the second half. A five-minute scoring drought late in the game allowed the Weber State to catch up but PSU held on. SR G Isiah Kirby had a season-high 14 points (7-8), while SR F KJ Allen had his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.
• Jan. 25, PSU 72, Montana 46: The Vikings did everything right in their biggest win over Montana in 15 seasons. A full-court press held the Griz 33 points under their season average and held them to 31% shooting. On the other end, PSU shot 49%, matched their season-high with 12 three-point field goals and had a season-low four turnovers. SO G Ismail Habib tallied a career-high 19 points (7-12 FG, 4-7 3-pt, 1-2 FT) with six assists.
• Jan. 27, PSU 94, Montana State 91: In one of the great comebacks in program history, PSU rallied from 15 points down with 4:25 to play. The Vikings were down 12 with 2:01 left and eight with 1:06 to play. PSU went on a 24-6 run to close out the game, including 11-0 in the final minute. SR F KJ Allen had a career-high 26 points (7-12 FG, 4-4 3-pt, 8-10 FT) with seven rebounds. SR G Isiah Kirby went for a career-high 20 points (6-11 FG, 3-4 3-pt, 5-6 FT) and SR G Bobby Harvey scored a season-high 17 points (6-10 FG, 4-7 3-pt, 1-2 FT). The Vikings made a season-high 14-25 three-point field goals (.560).