PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (8-5, 0-0) at
SACRAMENTO STATE HORNETS (4-9, 0-0)

Saturday, January 4, 2025, 1 p.m., The Hornets Nest (1,012), Sacramento, CA
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.com
 

OPENING TIP

The Portland State Vikings will open their 29th season as Big Sky Conference members this Saturday in a game at Sacramento State. It marks the fourth consecutive season the Vikings have opened league play on the road. PSU and the Hornets meet up in a 1 p.m. contest at the Hornets Nest. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
           
Portland State (8-5) comes off a successful non-conference slate, compiling a winning non-league record for the second consecutive season. PSU has won its last four games in a row. The Vikings were 4-1 at home, 3-3 in true road games and 4-4 in games away from home overall in non-conference play.
           
Strong offense and a harassing defense have been the trademarks of the Viking team so far this season. PSU averages 83.4 points per game while shooting .498 from the field. Defensively, the Vikings have averaged 9.6 steals, forced 16.5 turnovers and blocked a league-leading 77 shots. That has also led to a +4.6 rebounding edge over opponents.
           
Newcomers and returners have contributed to the winning non-conference record. SR G Jaylin Henderson, a transfer from Louisiana Tech, leads the team in scoring a 15.0 points per game. SR G Qiant Myers, a transfer from Western Oregon, has directed the offense with a league-leading average of 6.8 assists per game. SR F Isaiah Johnson, a three-year letterwinner, is on a career-best pace with 11.0 points and team-high 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting .607 from the field.
           
It has been a balanced attack as well as eight Vikings have averaged 7.5 points per game or more.
           
Portland State hasn't won at Sacramento State since the 2021-22 season. The Vikings will try to extend their winning streak to five games - the longest since the first five games of the 2023-24 season.
           
Sacramento State (4-9) has won two in a row going into Saturday's league lid-lifter. The Hornets have been a strong defensive unit, allowing only 65.2 points while holding opponents to a .403 field goal percentage - best in the Big Sky Conference - and .299 three-point shooting. 
           
Big-man Jacob Holt has transformed into one of the top players in the league in his senior season, averaging 16.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and shooting .540 from the field. He was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 31. Defending him will be a point of emphasis for the Vikings.
           
Sacramento State has 3-4 record at home. The Hornets have one common opponent with the Vikings; Denver. PSU lost to the Pioneers, 68-67, on Dec. 8. Sacramento State lost to the Pioneers, 80-59 on Dec. 4.
 

COMING UP

Portland State comes home next week for a pair of Big Sky Conference games. The Vikings host  Eastern Washington on Thursday (7 p.m.) and Idaho on Saturday (2 p.m.).
 

A QUICK LOOK BACK AT NON-CONFERENCE PLAY

Portland State completed non-conference play with an 8-5 record. It was the second season in a row the Vikings had a winning record coming out of non-conference games. The Vikings were 4-1 at home, 3-3 on the road and 1-1 in neutral site games. Wins came over teams from the West Coast Conference (San Diego, Pacific), Southern Conference (Wofford), Western Athletic Conference (Utah Tech) and Big West Conference (Bakersfield) and three lower division schools. Twice the Vikings came back from 12-point deficits for wins (Wofford, Bakersfield) on games away from home.
           
PSU's current four-game winning streak is its longest since the start of the 2023-24 season (5-0).
           
The non-league schedule featured quality field goal shooting as the Vikings are at a Big Sky-best .498 as a team so far this season - a school record pace. The Vikings also had solid rebounding (+4.6) and turnover margins (+2.8) while leading the Big Sky in blocked shots (5.9) and steals (9.6).
           
Newcomers played a large role in the 8-5 start. SR G Jaylin Henderson was the team's leading scorer (15.0) while SR G Qiant Myers led the Big Sky Conference and ranked in the top 10 in the nation in assists (6.8). Meanwhile, SR F Isaiah Johnson, a three-year letterwinner, had career-best numbers of 11.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and shooting percentages of .607 from the field and .721 at the line after 13 games.
 

PORTLAND STATE AND THE BIG SKY CONFERENCE

Portland State begins its 29th campaign in the Big Sky Conference this week. PSU joined the league in 1996-97, reinstating a once-dormant (for 15 seasons) basketball program.
           
The Vikings have won Big Sky Conference regular season titles in 2004-05 and 2007-08. They won Big Sky Tournament titles in 2007-08 and 2008-09, advancing to the NCAA Tournament each season. Since then, PSU's best finish in the Big Sky has been third place.
           
Prior to the start of the 2024-25 Big Sky campaign, Portland State is 226-241 all-time in Big Sky Conference games, 240-259 including Big Sky Tournament games. PSU is 155-86 in home games, 76-159 in road games and 9-14 in neutral-site games. The Vikings are 14-18 all-time in Big Sky Tournament games.
           
Head Coach Jase Coburn is PSU's seventh Head Coach in the Big Sky era and 14th all-time in its 64th competitive season. Coburn, in his fourth season, has a 51-56 record, including 2-3 in the Big Sky Tournament.
           

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. SACRAMENTO STATE

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 35-23, and the Big Sky Conference series, 34-22... PSU is 11-16 in games played at Sacramento State... the Hornets have won three of the last four meetings over the past two seasons, including two in a row at the Hornets Nest.
• LAST SEASON: Feb. 3 at Viking Pavilion, PSU 58, SAC 51: Portland State played well when it needed to in the second half and pulled out a 58-51 win over the Hornets. PSU relied on its defense, improved second-half shooting and some timely blocked shots... The Vikings had a sputtering start on offense, falling behind 18-6. But Jorell Saterfield and KJ Allen came off the bench to combine for 16 of the Vikings' 24 points as they trailed 29-24 at the break... Sacramento State dictated the slower pace to their liking in the first half. The Hornets were 12-24 from the field and held a 20-10 rebounding advantage... Portland State trailed 36-30 early in the second half. Then Hayden Curtiss came off the bench to make his presence felt. The 6-11 center blocked four Hornet shots in the span of 1:17, igniting his teammates and the home crowd. PSU responded with a 20-4 run over a 10-minute span and led 50-40. Although the Vikings never ran away with the game, they were in control the rest of the way... Saterfield and Allen combined for 30 points, getting 15 each, and 11 rebounds... Sacramento State got 11 points each from Duncan Powell and Zee Hamoda. Mar. 2 at the Hornets Nest, SAC 73, PSU 61: Portland State could not find the mark with its shooting, struggling on offense all afternoon. The Vikings shot 21-65 from the field (.323), 4-24 from three-point range (.167) and 15-26 at the line (.577). Combined with 16 turnovers, the Vikings didn't have enough to overcome the Hornets... Sacramento State had a solid offensive day, hitting 24-48 from the floor (.500), 9-23 from three-point range (.391) and 16-24 at the line (.667). That allowed the Hornets to get away with 21 turnovers of their own as they led for over 38 minutes... Sacramento State was ahead by 14 at hal;ftime and never led by less than 12 points the rest of the way... KJ Allen led the Vikings in scoring with 10 points and five rebounds. Isaiah Johnson scored nine points with four rebounds. Jorell Saterfield had a team-high seven boards... Austin Patterson, Zee Hamoda and Jacob Holt all scored 15 points to pace the Hornets. Bailey Nunn scored 14 points and handed off eight assists.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his fourth season as Head Coach. He spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach. Coburn's overall record is 51-56. He is 3-3 against Sacramento State as a head coach... Michael Czepil (Nicholls State, 2010) is in his first season as Interim Head Coach of the Hornets.

 

SCOUTING SACRAMENTO STATE

• Sacramento State was 10-24 last season, 4-14 and 10th 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 4-9 this season, including 3-4 in home games. They average 68.3 points per game while allowing 65.2 points per game. The Hornets are shooting .443 from the field and .656 at the free throw line. They make 9.2 three-point field goals per game and hold a +3.3 rebounding advantage over opponents.
• Senior forward Jacob Holt averages 16.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting .540 from the field. Junior guard Julian Vaughns is averaging 10.1 points per game. Sophomore guard Bailey Nunn leads the team with 3.4 assists per game.

 

HOT SHOTS

• SHOOT YOUR SHOT: PSU is shooting .498 as a team this season (first in the Big Sky, 21st in the nation). PSU shot .538 in the win at Bakersfield (21-39) and .525 in the win against Walla Walla (42-80)... 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... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott leads the way at .659 (29-44) from the field. SR F Isaiah Johnson has also been excellent at .607 (54-89), SR F Hayden Curtiss is shooting .609 (42-69, including 9-21 three-pointers) and JR F Isaac Brice is at .625 (15-24).
• IT'S COLE'S WORLD: You will find him at @W0rldCole on social media. The Vikings are just glad to find SO G Cole Farrell doing his thing on the basketball court. He turned in a career-best game in the win at Pacific (12/18) with a career-high 18 points (6-10 FG, 2-3 3-pt, 4-6 FT), five rebounds, three assists, two steals and some stellar defense. Farrell had a steal, two rebounds and eight points in the final five minutes of the game as the Vikings held off the Tigers... that was part of a hot streak over the last four games (all Viking wins) in which Farrell has averaged 13.8 points and 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals in 24 minutes per game off the bench. He shot 22-42 from the field in those games (.524), 6-12 from three-point range.
• TRIPLE THREAT OFF THE BENCH: Portland State has had a very balanced attack this season with eight players averaging 7.5 points or more per game. Playing a major role in the success have been three players off the bench: SR F Terri Miller Jr., SR F Hayden Curtiss and SO G Cole Farrell... Miller's all-around game has him averaging 8.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals in 17 minutes per game... Curtiss is averaging 7.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and shooting .609 from the field and .429 from three-point range in 16 minutes per game.. Farrell is at 7.6 points and 2.5 rebounds with 19 assists and 12 steals in 16 minutes per game... PSU leads the Big Sky in bench points (31.4).
• BLOCK PARTY: Portland State had a season-high nine blocked shots in the win at Pacific (12/18). PSU has had eight blocked shots on two occasions and currently leads the Big Sky with 5.9 send-backs per game... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott has had a career-high four blocked shots twice this season (Wofford, Denver) and ranks second in the Big Sky at 1.76 per game.
• DUNK YOU VERY MUCH: The slam game has been strong for the Vikings this season. PSU had a season-high 12 dunks against Walla Walla. That gives them a total of 70 throw-downs this season (5.4 per game). SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott and SR G Jaylin Henderson lead the way with 20 dunks each!
• THAT WINNING FEELING: Head Coach Jase Coburn has a 25-22 record in non-conference games in his four years at the helm of the Viking Ship. That includes a respectable 11-15 road record in those games... PSU was 9-4 in non-conference play last season, and 8-5 this season.
• SHARING THE WEALTH: Portland State has had seven different leading scorers in 13 games played this season.... eight players average 7.5 points or more.
• LEADERS: Portland State currently leads the Big Sky Conference in scoring (83.4), field goal percentage (.498), turnovers forced (16.5), turnover margin (+2.8), blocked shots (5.9), steals (9.6), bench points (31.4), fast break points (14.8) and free throw attempts (20.4)... SR G Qiant Myers leads the Big Sky in assists (6.8) and ranks ninth in the nation.

 

NOT SO HOT

• YOU'VE GOT TO MAKE YOUR FREE THROWS: While Portland State's field goal shooting has been strong, the free throw shooting has floundered. For the season, PSU shoots .634 at the line and has had only one game better than .688... the Vikings rank last in the Big Sky in free throw shooting.

 

FUN FACTS AND MEANINGLESS TRIVIA

• CONNECTIONS: SR G Jaylin Henderson and SR F Terri Miller Jr. were teammates at Louisiana Tech last season... JR F Isaac Brice is the son of a former Vikings assistant football coach, Alundis Brice (2007-08)... FR G Kelcy Phipps and SR F Isaiah Johnson attended the same high school (Bishop Montgomery) in southern California.
• TWO HANDS ARE BETTER THAN ONE: SR F Terri Miller Jr. is ambidextrous and will shoot with both hands during a game. He tends to shoot right handed from distance and left handed when playing inside. He said he doesn't think about the hand he shoots with, it just occurs naturally.
• TV ON THE RADIO: SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott can play seven musical instruments and also enjoys producing music. His mixes can be found on YouTube at Tellavision_topic... Minott is also the long-time boyfriend of Aliyah Boston of the Indiana Fever (they met at South Carolina).
• BIG BRO IN THE BIG LEAGUES: SR G Shane Nowell's older brother, Jaylen, has spent parts of six seasons in the NBA. He is currently a member of the G-League's Capitol City Go-Go.
• WE'RE NUMBER 3: The Vikings scored 131 points against Evergreen State in a win on Nov. 7. That was the third-most points in school history.
• C-NOTE: Head Coach Jase Coburn coached his 100th career game on Nov. 24 against Wofford. He is the ninth of 14 PSU Coaches all-time to reach that mark... Coburn earned his 50th career win at Bakersfield
• IT MEANS NOTHING: Portland State was picked to place sixth in the Big Sky Conference Preseason Coaches Poll and seventh in the Big Sky Conference Preseason Media Poll. The Vikings placed sixth in the Big Sky in 2023-24.
• GETTING STARTED: PSU is 12-17 in season openers since reinstating basketball and joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97... the Vikings are 25-4 in home openers over the same span.

 

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.
• Nov. 30, PSU 71, Utah Tech 68: PSU held off a late charge by the Trailblazers to win their second home game of the season and improve to 4-3. The Vikings led for over 39 minutes in the contest, but Utah Tech was able to tie the game late. SR G Jaylin Henderson had a big game with 22 points (9-14 FG, 4-7 3-pt), while SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds.
• Dec. 14, PSU 110, Northwest Indian 48: Portland State shot .605 from the field, won the rebound battle, 57-30, and had seven players in double figures in a rout of the Eagles. SR G Shane Nowell scored a season-high 17 points with six rebounds in the win. SR F Terri Miller Jr. had a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and three steals in only 16:49 of game action.
• Dec. 18, PSU 81, Pacific 76: The Vikings led for nearly 35 minutes and by as many as 20 points in picking up the road win. PSU shot .469 from the field, won the rebound battle (42-37) and blocked a season-high nine shots while holding the Tigers to .345 shooting. SO G Cole Farrell posted a career-high 18 points (6-10 FG, 2-3 3-pt, 4-6 FT) with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. SR F Isaiah Johnson (12 pts, 11 reb) and SR G Qiant Myers (10 pts, 11 ast) each had double-doubles.
• Dec. 21, PSU 59, Bakersfield 58: In their lowest scoring game of the season, the Vikings still pulled out a win. Despite a season-high 25 turnovers, they shot .538 (21-39) from the field... PSU trailed by 12 at halftime, but made 17-25 shots (.680) in the second half to come back. SR F Isaiah Johnson led the way with 14 points and six rebounds. The Vikings held Bakersfield to .377 from the field and forced 20 turnovers.
• Dec. 31, PSU 96, Walla Walla 39: The Vikings won their fourth straight game in the non-conference finale. PSU shot .525 from the field and held their opponents to .281 shooting, while out-rebounding them, 49-31. SR G Jaylin Henderson led five Vikings in double figures with a career-high 24 points. SR F Hayden Curtiss came off the bench for 15 points (7-9 FG, 1-2 3-pt), nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots.