UTAH TECH TRAILBLAZERS (1-5) at
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (3-3)

Saturday, November 30, 2024, 5 p.m., Viking Pavilion (3,094), Portland, OR
Live Stream: ESPN+ • Play-by-play: Matt Richert • Analyst: Devon Pouncey
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
 

OPENING TIP

Holiday weekend home hoops is something to look forward to for the Portland State Men's Basketball Program. The Vikings have played five of six games on the road in the opening month of the season, but on November's final day will get a home date with Utah Tech of the Western Athletic Conference.
           
The Vikings (3-3) meet the Trailblazers (1-5, with two more games this week) at 5 p.m. on Saturday on the back side of a Portland State doubleheader. PSU's women host UC Davis at 2 p.m. Both games will air on ESPN+.
           
Portland State comes off a challenging weekend of basketball in Milwaukee, WI where the team went 1-2, picking up a final-day 79-74 victory over Wofford of the Southern Conference. SR F Isaiah Johnson scored a career-high 21 points with nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot to lead the way. SR G Jaylin Henderson scored 18 points and he and JR G Ismail Habib hit four straight three-pointers down the stretch to help ice the win. PSU had suffered losses to Milwaukee and St. Thomas on the previous two days of the tournament.
           
Now the Vikings can get comfortable at home. They have one win in Viking Pavilion over NAIA Evergreen State on Nov. 7, 131-84. The game with Utah Tech begins a stretch of three of the next four at home. PSU has traditionally been strong at home in non-conference games, going 69-15 over the last 16 seasons. PSU is 31-14 against Division I schools, and 38-1 against lower division schools over that span.
           
Portland State will attempt to maintain its high-scoring ways (87.7 ppg) while continuing to create opportunities with pressure defense (17.7 forced turnovers per game).
           
Utah Tech will be a first-time opponent for the Vikings. A relatively new member of the WAC, the Trailblazers are 1-5 this season, and have games on Monday against Montana and Tuesday against Denver at the Stew Morrill Classic in Missoula.
           
Saturday's doubleheader will be Youth Day at Viking Pavilion. It will also be ViksGiving, supporting PSU students who are on campus over the holiday.
 

COMING UP

The game with Utah Tech begins a stretch of three of four games at home for Portland State. PSU plays at Seattle, also of the WAC, on Dec. 4, then hosts Denver, from the Summit League on Dec. 7, followed by Northwest Indian College on Dec. 14.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. UTAH TECH

• ALL-TIME SERIES: This is the first time Portland State and Utah Tech have met in basketball.
• PORTLAND STATE vs. THE WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE: Portland State also plays Seattle of the WAC next Wednesday in the Emerald City... although the Vikings have never played Utah Tech, PSU is 25-19 all-time against current members of the WAC. Seattle leads the series with PSU, 9-8... Vikings Head Coach Jase Coburn is 3-3 against WAC opponents.
• I RECOGNIZE THAT GUY: Utah Tech Assistant Coach Jake Schroeder was a member of the Portland State Vikings program from 2004-06, earning a degree in Health from PSU. A starting shooting guard for the Vikings, Schroeder was part of the 2004-05 Big Sky Conference regular season champion team. He led the Vikings in scoring in 2005-06 at 12.6 points per game.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his fourth season as Head Coach and is 46-54 overall. Coburn has never faced Utah Tech. He spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Trailblazers are coached by Jon Judkins (Utah State, 1988) in his 19th season. Judkins is 312-196 all-time.

 

SCOUTING UTAH TECH

• Utah Tech is a member of the Western Athletic Conference located in St. George, UT... the school was previously named Dixie State, but changed its name in 2022... the Trailblazers were 11-20 last season, 7-13 and eighth place in the WAC.
• This season the Trailblazers are 1-5 through Sunday's game. They will play Montana and Denver on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
• Utah Tech averages 68.5 points and allows 78.8 points per game. The Trailblazers are shooting only .365 from the field and getting out-rebounded by 6.5 per game through six games.
• Senior guard Noa Gonsalves leads the team in scoring at 12.8 points per game. Senior guard Beon Riley averages 11.6 points and 7.0 rebounds.

 

HOT SHOTS

• SPLASH BROTHERS: SR G Jaylin Henderson (15-37, 405) and JR G Ismail Habib (16-39, .410) have combined to make 31 three-point field goals in six games (5.2 per game). None were more important that the four straight they combined to make in the final 3:13 of the win over Wofford... Habib is third and Henderson is fourth in three-point percentage in the Big Sky. Habib is fourth and Henderson is fifth in three-pointers made per game in the Big Sky.
• A BIG DAY FOR ZAY: SR F Isaiah Johnson had perhaps the best game of his Viking career in the win over Wofford. Johnson scored a career-high 21 points (9-12 FG, 3-5 FT) with a game-high nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and block. He scored four points with a steal in the final minute of the comeback win... Johnson is shooting a brilliant .688 from the field this season, .722 at the line and averaging career-highs of 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds.
• WATCHING TV: The play of SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott has taken a big leap from last year to this year. Last season, he averaged 1.0 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.5 blocks in 5.4 minutes per game. This season, he has averaged 16.4 minutes, producing 6.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and a Big Sky-best 2.3 blocked shots per game. He had a career-high four blocks in the win over Wofford. Minott is shooting .722 from the field and .765 at the free throw line.
• SHARING THE WEALTH: The Vikings have had six different scoring leaders through six games.
• THIS LOOKS FAMILIAR: Trademarks of Jase Coburn-coached teams have been forcing turnovers and bench production. So far, PSU has forced an average of 17.7 turnovers per game (13th in the nation) for an average of 25.5 points per game... the Vikings average 33.7 bench points per game.
• LEADERS: Portland State currently leads the Big Sky Conference turnovers forced (17.7), blocked shots (5.17), bench points (33.7) and fast break points (15.3)... SR G Qiant Myers leads the Big Sky in assists (6.5) and double-doubles (2)... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott leads the Big Sky in blocked shots (2.3).

 

"KEY" TO THE OFFENSE...

... That would have to be Qiant (KEY-ont) Myers for the Vikings. The senior point guard is a newcomer in 2025-26 and has had a huge impact leading the Vikings in assists.

• Averages 8.5 points, 6.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds... has led the team in assists in five of six games, two of which were double-digit assists.
• Leads the Big Sky in assists.
• With 14 assists against Evergreen State he matched the most in PSU's Big Sky Conference era (1996-present, the school record is 19 by Terry Adolph in 1977).

 

EVERYBODY PLAYS, (NEARLY) EVERYBODY STARTS

One thing has become apparent during Head Coach Jase Coburn's tenure at Portland State; everybody plays. And nearly everybody starts at some point as Coburn routinely adjusts lineups based on a myriad of factors. In his 100 games as head coach, Coburn has started 39 different lineups. In the season opener against Washington State, four of the five starters were new for PSU.
            Here is a look at Viking starters through the years:

• 2024-25: 4 different lineups, 8 of 11 players started
• 2023-24: 14 different lineups, 11 of 12 players started
• 2022-23: 9 different lineups, 9 of 13 players started
• 2021-22: 12 different lineups, 11 of 14 players started

 

SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL

• Nov. 7: PSU 131, Evergreen State 84: The Vikings rolled to the third-most points in school history over lower division Evergreen State. PSU shot .684 from the field and .517 (15-29) from three-point range. JR G Ismail Habib scored a career-high 29 points (10-16 FG, 9-11 3-pt) and SR G Qiant Myers handed out 14 assists to go with 10 points. Eight Vikings scored in double figures.
• Nov. 12: PSU 85, San Diego 76: Portland State raced to a 51-33 halftime lead behind another brilliant shooting performance (.600), but needed to hold on as San Diego cut a 21-point lead to four with 1:55 to play. The Vikings made 9-10 free throws down the stretch and finished at .517 from the field overall in the win. SR G Jaylin Henderson scored a game-high 23 points (8-17 FG, 2-5 3-pt, 5-9 FT), including 10 straight for the Vikings late in the second half. SR F Terri Miller Jr. added 15 points, six rebounds and four steals.
• Nov. 24: PSU 79, Wofford 74: The Vikings came back from a 12-point second-half deficit to secure the win. SR G Jaylin Henderson and JR G Ismail Habib made four straight three-pointers in the final 3:13 of the game. SR F Isaiah Johnson scored a career-high 21 points (9-12 FG, 3-5 FT) with nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

 

PORTLAND STATE SIGNS BARRON, ASSIM FOR 2025-26 SEASON

Portland State has signed two incoming freshmen for the 2025-26 academic year. Brayden Barron, a 6-6 forward from Gresham, OR's Barlow High School, and Jules Assim, a 6-9 forward from Bella Vista Prep (AZ), both signed during the November signing period. PSU has seven seniors on its current 14-man roster.