DENVER PIONEERS (4-6) at
PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (4-4)

Saturday, December 7, 2024, 2 p.m., Viking Pavilion (3,094), Portland, OR
Live Stream: ESPN+ • Play-by-play: Matt Richert • Analyst: Scott Hermo
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
 

OPENING TIP

The Portland State Vikings will host the University of Denver in a Big Sky Conference - Summit League Challenge game this Saturday at Viking Pavilion. The Vikings and Pioneers will meet for the first time in 13 years and only the second time in history as part of a challenge series between the two leagues.
           
Though the Vikings did not take part on Wednesday night due to an uneven number of teams, the Summit League won five of nine games on the slate against the Big Sky. Nine more take place in the Big Sky - Summit Challenge on Saturday.
           
PSU (4-4) did play Wednesday, on the road at Seattle, losing 91-74. The Vikings met a hot-shooting Redhawks team that filled the nets with a .527/.550/.917 shooting slash line. The loss ended a modest two-game winning streak for Portland State and dropped its road record to 1-3 (2-4 including neutral site games).
           
The Vikings are happy to come home to The Ship where they have played only two games so far this season, both wins. PSU has a five-game home-court winning streak dating to last season. Moreover, the Vikings have done well in non-conference home games in recent years, compiling a 70-15 home record over the past 16 seasons.
           
Portland State has no meaningful history against the Pioneers. Each team has faced a common opponent in Utah Tech this season. The Vikings beat the Trailblazers, 71-68, while the Pioneers lost to the Trailblazers, 68-54.
           
Denver (4-6) defeated Sacramento State, 80-59, at home on Wednesday in a Big Sky - Summit Challenge game. That ended a four-game losing streak for the Pioneers. Denver has faced other Big Sky schools in non-conference play, beating Montana State at home (79-78) and losing to Montana on the road (83-73). The Pioneers are 0-4 in road games this season.
           
This is the second season of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge in which all teams in each league face members of the rival league. The Vikings played at Kansas City last year, losing 83-67.
 

TEDDY BEAR TOSS, DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS EVENT THIS SATURDAY

Portland State Athletics will host a Director of Athletics welcome event this Saturday prior to the men's basketball game with University of Denver at The Viking Pavilion.
           
Fans are encouraged to celebrate a new era in Viking Athletics with the naming of Matt Billings as the permanent Director of Athletics at Portland State. They can meet and talk with him this Saturday. The event will take place in the Stott Center Practice Gym starting at 1 p.m. and include complimentary snacks and light refreshments. A short program will begin at 1:45 prior to the basketball game.
           
Halftime will feature the annual Teddy Bear Toss as part of the Fox 12 Les Schwab Tire Centers Toy Drive. Viking fans are encouraged to bring a teddy bear or stuffed animal to the game and participate in the halftime toss. All of the stuffed animals will be donated to Fox 12 Les Schwab Tire Centers Toy Drive. Les Schwab is the official tire partner of the Vikings.
 

COMING UP

The Vikings are home again on Dec. 14 against Northwest Indian College. PSU plays at University of the Pacific on Dec. 18, Bakersfield on Dec. 21, then rounds out non-conference play at home on Dec. 31 against Walla Walla.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. DENVER

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Denver leads the all-time series, 1-0, with the lone game being the 2011-12 season-opener at Denver, a 69-61 Pioneers victory.
• VIKINGS vs. SUMMIT LEAGUE: Portland State has played five programs that are current members of the League, but only two while a member of the league (St. Thomas and Kansas City). PSU is 4-14 all-time against current members of the league.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his fourth season as Head Coach and is 47-55 overall. Coburn has never faced Denver. He spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Pioneers are coached by Jeff Wulbrun (Cal State Fullerton, 1984) in his fourth season. Wulbrun is 47-61 at Denver and has never faced the Vikings.

 

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS

• Denver is a member of the Summit League... the Pioneers were 17-17 last season, 6-10 and seventh place in the Summit. They reached the Summit League title game before losing to South Dakota State.
• This season the Pioneers are 4-6 overall, 4-0 at home, 0-4 on the road and 0-2 in neutral site games... Denver averages 74.6 points per game and allows 78.0 points per game... the Pioneers shoot .430 from the field, .323 from three-point range and .772 at the line... they have been out-rebounded by an average of 4.0 per game.
• Though he has not started a game this season, freshman guard Sebastian Akinis leads the team in scoring at 12.6 points per game... junior guard Nicholas Shogbonyo averages 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game... sophomore guard DeAndre Craig averages 11.8 points, 3.7 assists and shooting .533 from the field.

 

HOT SHOTS

• SHOOT YOUR SHOT: After eight games, PSU is shooting .482 as a team. Yes, it's very early still, but the Vikings have not shot above .448 over the last seven seasons. The school record for a season is .492, set by the 2004-05 Big Sky Conference regular season champion team.
• Q-RATING: SR G Qiant Myers scored a season-high 15 points (4-10 FG, 1-4 3-pt, 6-9 FT) with six assists at Seattle... Myers is fourth on the team in scoring (9.6) and leads the team and Big Sky in assists (6.3).
• SHARING THE WEALTH: SR G Qiant Myers became the seventh different Viking to lead the team in scoring in eight games.
• BLOCK PARTY: Portland State had a season-high eight blocked shots against Utah Tech (11/30), including a career-high three from SR G Qiant Myers. The Vikings lead the Big Sky in blocks this season (5.4).
• DUNK YOU VERY MUCH: The slam game has been strong for the Vikings this season. PSU had five more dunks at Seattle and now has 34 on the season (4.3 per game). SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott (11) and SR G Jaylin Henderson (8) lead the way.
• WATCHING TV: SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott continues to impress with his season-to-season improvement. 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 16.7 minutes, producing 6.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots per game... Minott had a career-high 12 points vs. Evergreen State, a career-high four blocked shots against Wofford and a career-high 11 rebounds against Utah Tech. He is shooting a team-best .692 from the field.
• LEADERS: Portland State currently leads the Big Sky Conference in turnovers forced (16.0), blocked shots (5.4), bench points (29.5) and turnover margin (+2.4)... SR G Qiant Myers leads the Big Sky in assists (6.3)... SR G Jaylin Henderson leads the Big Sky in three-point field goal percentage (.438).

 

NOT SO HOT

• THE 91 CONUNDRUM: In Portland State's last three losses (Milwaukee, St. Thomas, Seattle), the opponent has scored exactly 91 points while shooting 102-188 from the field (.543), 30-64 from three-point range (.469) and 39-45 at the line (.867). During the two wins sandwiched in the middle of those three losses, opponents averaged 71.0 points and shot .459 from the field.
• THE PENDULUM SWINGS:  After averaging 102.7 points in the first three games of the season, PSU has dropped to 72.6 points over the next five games.

 

WICHITA LINEMAN

SR G Jaylin Henderson, a native of Wichita, KS, is posting some pretty impressive lines early in his Portland State career.

• Henderson leads the Vikings in scoring (14.6), three-point shooting (21-48, .438) and steals (13).
• Leads the Big Sky Conference in three-point field goal percentage (.438) and ranks third in three-pointers made (2.6)
• Has six double-figure scoring games and two 20-point games... led the team in scoring twice.
• Scored a career-high 23 points (8-17 FG, 2-5 3-pt, 5-9 FT) with six rebounds in a win over San Diego (11/12).
• Tallied 22 points (9-14 FG, 4-7 3-pt) in a win over Utah Tech (11/30).

 

VETERAN LEADERSHIP

In the transfer portal era, having a third-year veteran on your roster like SR F Isaiah Johnson is a luxury. And Johnson is producing at his highest level as a Viking.

• Averages career-highs of 11.8 points, 6.0 rebounds with career-best shooting of .643 from the field and .760 at the line... led the team in scoring once and rebounding five times... six double-figure scoring games including one 20-point game.
• Posted a career-high 21 points (9-12 FG, 3-5 FT) with nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in a win over Wofford (11/24).

 

"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 9.6 points, 6.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds... has led the team in assists in seven games, two of which were double-digit assists, and in scoring once.
• 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).