NORTHERN ARIZONA LUMBERJACKS (6-12, 0-5)
AT PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (10-5, 4-0)

Saturday, January 17, 2026, 2 p.m. • Viking Pavilion (3,094), Portland, OR
Live Stream: ESPN+ • Play-by-play: Matt Richert • Analyst: Devon Pouncey
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.livestats.us
 

OPENING TIP

A pair of long-held records will be part of the intrigue for the Portland State Vikings as they host Northern Arizona in a Big Sky Conference game Saturday afternoon at Viking Pavilion.
     
PSU (10-5, 4-0) will go after a 5-0 start in league play - something it has never done in 29 previous seasons as a member of the league. The Viking program has started 4-0 three times, including this year. Also, Portland State seeks a 15th-straight Big Sky Conference home win - a streak that dates back to Feb. 15, 2024. That would match the school record of 15 straight Big Sky home wins set Jan. 3, 1998 to Feb. 18, 1999.
     
In addition, Portland State is 6-1 at home this season, 30-4 over the last three seasons.
     
The Vikings picked up a narrow win over Northern Colorado on Thursday night, 76-73, in a game in which they trailed by 10 points late in the first half. PSU finally took a lead early in the second half, then held off a late charge from the Bears. Portland State got the usual output from SRs Terri Miller Jr., Jaylin Henderson and Tre-Vaughn Minott as they combined for 54 points. Strong rebounding (38-23 advantage) and second-half shooting (.552) brought the Vikings back for the win.
     
Those numbers are the trend in Big Sky action as Portland State has out-rebounded league opponents by an average of 9.5 per game, and out-shot them .496 to .413.
     
At 4-0, Portland State maintains its first-place position in the Big Sky. Weber State (4-1), Montana and Montana State (both 3-1) are close behind.
     
Northern Arizona (6-12, 0-5) is looking for its first Big Sky Conference win as it comes to Portland. The Lumberjacks were defeated at Sacramento State on Thursday night, 83-69.
     
Saturday's game tips off at 2 p.m. at Viking Pavilion. The game will be live streamed on ESPN+. Live statistics can be found at GoViks.com.
 

COMING UP

Portland State will play on the road next week with games at Eastern Washington on Thursday and Idaho on Saturday. The Vikings close out January with three more home games, facing Montana (Jan. 29), Montana State (Jan. 31) and Idaho State (Feb. 2).
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series with Northern Arizona, 35-27, and the Big Sky Conference series, 33-26...PSU swept last year's season series... PSU has won seven of the last eight games and 12 of the last 16 in the series... the Vikings are 22-6 in Big Sky home games against NAU.
• LAST SEASON: Jan. 18, 2025 at JL Walkup Skydome, PSU 80, NAU 69: Portland State had a 21-4 second-half rally, then made their free throws when they counted in picking up a win at NAU. PSU was 13-16 at the line in the second half (.813) and 19-24 for the game (.792). While those numbers aren't earth shattering, they are the best that PSU has shot at the line this season.... five Vikings scored in double figures, led by 14 points and 11 assists from Qiant Myers. Cole Farrell scored 13 points off the bench, while big men Isaiah Johnson, Tre-Vaughn Minott and Terri Miller Jr. all had 12 points... PSU held the Big Sky's top scorer, Trenton McLaughlin, to just seven points in the game. Carson Towt had 14 points and 19 rebounds for the 'Jacks. Diego Campisano led the way with 18 points.  Feb. 13, 2025 at Viking Pavilion, PSU 58, NAU 46: Portland State turned in a defensive gem against Northern Arizona. The 46 points allowed were the fewest given up to a Division I team in four seasons by the Vikings. And they did it with style, holding the Lumberjacks to 13-56 from the field (.232), blocking eight shots and making seven steals... On the other end, the Vikings were efficient enough, shooting .442 from the field and .667 at the line and winning the rebound battle, 42-34... Terri Miller hit 5-9 shots and 4-4 at the line for 15 points, adding five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Isaiah Johnson scored 13 points on 6-8 from the field, grabbing seven rebounds. Tre-Vaughn turned in 15 big rebounds and 11 points on 5-5 from the field... The key was stopping the Big Sky Conference's leading scorer, Trenton McLaughlin. Averaging over 21 points per game, McLaughlin did not make a field goal in the first half, finished at 3-14 for the game and scored only 11 points... Diego Campusano led the Lumberjacks with 14 points.
• COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his fifth 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 72-69. He is 7-1 against Northern Arizona... the Lumberjacks are coached by Shane Burcar (Ottawa, 2004) in his seventh season. He has an 81-123 career record, including 3-9 against the Vikings.

 

SCOUTING THE LUMBERJACKS

• 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.... last year, NAU was 18-16, 8-10 and sixth place in the Big Sky.
• This year, the Lumberjacks are 6-12 overall, 0-5 in Big Sky Conference games... NAU averages 73.4 points and allows 75.2 points per game... the 'Jacks shoot .467 from the field, .365 from three-point range and .661 at the free throw line.
• Senior forward Zack Davidson leads NAU in scoring at 14.0 points per game, but has been out of action in recent contests... junior guard Ryan Abelman averages 10.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He has made a team-leading 34 three-point field goals.

 

HOT SHOTS

• HOT(TEST) START?: Portland State is now 4-0 in league play for the third time in its Big Sky history (30th year). The Vikings have never been 5-0 in league play.
• 20-20 VISION: SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott had one of the rarest of games in Portland State history, posting career-highs of 23 points and 20 rebounds in the win over Sacramento State. It was only the second time it has occured in PSU's Big Sky Conference history with the first coming 10 seasons against by Cameron Forte (20-20 vs. Idaho in 2016). The 20 rebounds is tied with Forte for the most by a Viking in a Big Sky game. Minott was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday for that performance... Minott has turned it on in league play, averaging 15.3 points, 12.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots, while shooting .759 from the field... he currently leads the Big Sky in rebounding for the season (9.1) and in league play (12.8). He also leads the Big Sky in field goal percentage (.759) and blocks (2.5) in conference games only.
• JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT: Speaking of shooting it well, SR F Terri Miller Jr. has also upped his game in league play. He has a shooting .661 from the field and 10-20 on three-pointers in conference play. Miller averages 21.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists in league, 18.9, 6.6 and 4.1 for the season... Miller had a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 13 assists against Sacramento State last week, the second of his career... Miller ranks third in scoring, seventh in rebounding, fourth in field goal percentage and seventh in assists in the Big Sky Conference... in league games he leads in three-point percentage (.500).
• IRON MAN: SR G Jaylin Henderson has played the entire game in the last six contests (250 consecutive minutes), averaging over 40 minutes per game due to overtimes. He has played seven full games overall and leads the Big Sky in minutes played at 36.6 per contest... all of that is impressive, but his production is most impressive of all. Henderson leads the Vikings with 19.0 points, 6.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game. In conference games, Henderson averages 24.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists... Henderson was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Jan. 6 after road wins over Weber State and Idaho State in which averaged 26.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists... his career-high was 34 points at Weber State.
• CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS: Portland State has been dominant on the boards this season.  The Vikings have out-rebounded opponents by an average of 6.7 per game, 9.5 in Big Sky games. The Vikings average 12.7 offensive rebounds per game to lead the Big Sky... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott leads the Big Sky with 9.1 rebounds per game. JR G Keyon Kensie Jr. ranks third at 7.3 per game. And SR F Terri Miller Jr. is seventh with 6.6 rebounds per game.
• TRENDING: Portland State is undefeated when leading at halftime (6-0), out-rebounding an opponent (8-0) and scoring 80 or more points (7-0)... the Vikings are 9-1 when out-shooting an opponent.
• BIG SKY CONFERENCE LEADERS: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in field goal percentage defense (.411), offensive rebounds (12.7), blocked shots (4.5), scoring margin (9.9), rebound margin (+6.7), steals (7.5), turnovers forced (13.2) and winning percentage (.667)... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott leads in rebounding overall (9.1) and in league (12.8) and field goal percentage in league (.759)... SR F Terri Miller Jr. leads in three-point field goal percentage in league games (.500).
• MORE GOOD STUFF THAT DOESN'T FIT ANYWHERE ELSE: SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott ranks sixth all-time in blocked shots (79), second all-time in field goal percentage (.635) and second in dunks (82) at Portland State... JR F Charles Chukwu is 13-14 from the field this season (.929). Throw in his 30-game career at Tulsa a couple of seasons ago and Chukwu is a remarkable 29-37 from the field (.784) as a Division I player... SR G Brycen Long entered the game with Northern Colorado with 2.5 seconds to play and a one-point PSU lead. He was immediately fouled and calmly sank a pair of free throws to give PSU a 76-73 win. He is 9-10 on the season (.900)... JR G Keyon Kensie Jr. has made 9-17 three-point field goals (.529) over the last five games.

 

SHIP SHAPE

• Portland State is 6-1 at The Ship this season... PSU has won wire-to-wire in two home games and has only trailed for 52:19 over seven games.
• Vikings have won 14 straight Big Sky Conference home games dating back to the 2023-24 season... the longest Big Sky home winning streak in PSU history is 15 (Jan. 3, 1998 to Feb. 18, 1999). Interestingly, those games were played at three different home venues: old Stott Gym (5), Memorial Coliseum (4), Rose Garden (6).
• PSU is 30-4 at home since the start of the 2023-24 season.
• With a 13-1 home record last season, Portland State trailed in only five of the 14 games, winning wire-to-wire in nine games. In a total of 560 minutes played in Viking Pavilion, the Vikings trailed for only 67 minutes and 59 seconds. And the Vikings' lone home loss came by a single point.

 
BIG SKY HOME COURT WINNING STREAK (14)
W. F.15.24 Northern Colorado*(ot)    82-72
W F.17.24..... Northern Arizona*       83-68
W M.4.24........................ Idaho*       72-57
W J.9.25 Eastern Washington* 64-59
W J.11.25......................... Idaho*       75-63
W J.23.25.............. Weber State*       74-56
W J.25.25............... Idaho State*       76-59
W F.13.25..... Northern Arizona*       58-46
W F.15.25... Northern Colorado*       82-71
W F.27.25......... Montana State*       69-52
W M.1.25............. Montana*(ot)       79-76
W M.3.25..... Sacramento State*       59-56
W J.10.26..... Sacramento State*       96-69
W J.15.26... Northern Colorado*       76-73