PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (7-5, 1-0)
at IDAHO STATE BENGALS (8-6, 1-0)

Saturday, January 3, 2026, 4 p.m. MT/3 p.m. PT • Reed Gym (3,040), Pocatello, ID
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.ViksLive.livestats.us
 

OPENING TIP

With an exciting start to its 2026 Big Sky Conference season, the Portland State Vikings now try to take the next step at Idaho State this Saturday. PSU defeated Weber State in Ogden on Thursday with a thrilling 95-90 overtime win. If the Vikings can pick up a Saturday win they would have the program's first Big Sky road sweep in six seasons.
     
PSU (7-5, 1-0) opened Big Sky play in the best way possible against the Wildcats. The Vikings trailed by seven at halftime and were down 75-72 with 17 seconds to play. But they rode a pair of late baskets from SR G Jaylin Henderson to get to overtime and then pull away for the win. Henderson finished with 34 points (nine in overtime), six rebounds and seven assists. SR F Terri Miller Jr. had 29 points (12-16 FG, 5-6 3-pt FG), and SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott (10 pts, 13 reb, 3 blk) and JR G Keyon Kensie Jr. (12 pts, 13 reb) each posted double-doubles.
     
Those four players will be a key for the Vikings on Saturday and throughout league play. Currently, Miller (18.8) and Henderson (18.4) rank one and two in scoring in the Big Sky Conference. Minott (8.2) and Kensie (7.8) rank two and three in rebounding.
     
As important as that win was to start league play, Portland State faces another big challenge on Saturday.
     
The Bengals (8-6, 1-0) also opened league play with a high-scoring victory. ISU beat Sacramento State at home, 97-84, behind 14 three-point field goals and 24 points from Jamison Guerra.
     
Portland State will have to slow the three-point shooting of the Bengals as well as battle effectively against a strong rebounding team and one that leads the Big Sky in blocked shots (62).
     
Idaho State is 5-1 at home. The Vikings are 3-4 in road games. The teams have no common opponents at this point in the season.
     
Portland State has gone 3-15 in Big Sky Conference road games over the past two seasons. So, following a road win on Thursday, a potential road sweep on Saturday would be a nice milestone.
     
Saturday's game tips off at 4 p.m. MT, 3 p.m. PT at Reed Gym. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
 

COMING UP

Portland State comes home for three games in a row beginning next week. PSU will play Saturday, Jan. 10 against Sacramento State. Five of the seven remaining games in January will be at Viking Pavilion.
 

GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. IDAHO STATE

• ALL-TIME SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series with Idaho State, 42-25, and the Big Sky series, 38-21... PSU is 13-14 in Big Sky games in Pocatello and has lost the last two trips to ISU... Idaho State has won three of the last four meetings overall. Portland State had won nine of 10 prior to that.
• LAST SEASON: Jan. 25, 2025 at Viking Pavilion, PSU 76, ISU 59: Jaylin Henderson was simply spectacular scoring 31 points. He hit 12-18 from the field, 3-6 from three-point range and all four free throws... Terri Miller Jr. was a great complement inside, scoring 14 points with a career-high 11 rebounds... The Vikings jumped to a 19-5 lead after nine minutes and led 37-32 at halftime... Portland State's defense stepped up midway through the second half, holding the Bengals to two field goals over a 10-minute span. The Vikings lead shot up from eight points to 18 points and PSU coasted to victory... The Bengals finished at 21-67 from the field (.313) and 3-20 from three-point range (.150). Meanwhile, the Vikings shot 50% from the field on 27-54, making 7-18 threes (.389). Feb. 20, 2025 at Reed Gym, ISU 82, PSU 74: Terri Miller Jr. scored 28 points for the short-handed Vikings but it wasn't enough. Idaho State was just a little bit better across the board as they out-shot the Vikings, .527 to .475, out-rebounded them, 32-27, and forced more turnovers than they gave up, 11-10. The Bengals had five players in double figures with a 16-point, 13-assist, seven-rebound game from Dylan Darling... Qiant Myers tallied 21 points and three assists for the Vikings.
• 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 69-69. He is 6-4 against Idaho State... the Bengals are coached by Ryan Looney (Eastern Oregon, 1998) in his seventh season. Looney is 66-118 overall, including 4-9 against the Vikings.

 

SCOUTING THE BENGALS

• Idaho State is an original member of the Big Sky Conference. The Bengals have won four Big Sky regular season championships, four Big Sky Tournament Championships and made five appearances in the NCAA Tournament... last season the Bengals were 15-15 overall, 10-8 and fourth in the Big Sky.
• The Bengals are 8-6 this season, 1-0 in the Big Sky... ISU averages 77.1 points and allows 71.1 points per game... the Bengals shoot .467 from the field, .352 from three-point range and .734 at the line. They have a +4.6 rebounding margin and lead the Big Sky in blocked shots (4.4).
• Despite not having a start this season, senior forward Caleb Van De Griend leads the team in scoring at 14.3 points and rebounds at 7.1 per game. He shoots .608 from the field... senior forward Connor Hollenbeck averages 14.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and has made 30 three-point field goals... sophomore center Evan Otten is the Big Sky leader in blocked shots (25).

 

HOT SHOTS

• JAYLIN'S BIG GAME: SR G Jaylin Henderson has done it all for the Vikings this season, and he came up big against Weber State on Thursday night. Henderson scored a career-high 34 points - the most by a Viking since Holland Woods scored 39 on Jan. 30, 2020, a span of 169 games - with six rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Henderson scored three times in the final minute of regulation against the Wildcats, including with 2.0 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. He followed with nine more points in the extra session, for 15 points in the final six minutes of action... Henderson now has five games over 20 points this season and averages 18.4 points to rank second in the Big Sky... Henderson also ranks second in the Big Sky Conference in assists (6.2) and steals (2.1)... against South Dakota, Henderson set a new career high for assists with 11. It was the third time this season he has established a new career mark in that category... Henderson is also on iron man, having played every minute of the past three games (125) and four full games this season.
• JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT: If not for fouling out in the closing minutes of regulation at Weber State, SR F Terri Miller Jr. might have had an even bigger game than Henderson. Miller scored 29 points (12-16 FG, 5-6 3-pt) with five rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes. It was the second-highest scoring game of his career... Miller has become a dominant figure inside and out, shooting, ball-handling and rebounding. He leads the Big Sky in scoring (18.8), while ranking seventh in rebounds (6.5), 11th in assists (3.4), fourth in shooting (.569) and has made 20-40 three-pointers... in the last four games, Miller is averaging 24.5 points on .615 shooting and .588 three-point shooting... Miller put up a career-high 31 points (14-20 FG, 1-1 3-pt, 2-2 FT) with nine rebounds and six assists in the win over George Fox... he had 26 points and 11 rebounds in a win at South Dakota... he has five 20+-point games and two double-doubles.
• ELEVATING HIS GAME: JR G Keyon Kensie Jr. is elevating his game, both literally and figuratively, for the Vikings. The high-flying Kensie is averaging career-highs of 11.4 points and 7.8 rebounds, including 14.3 points in the last six games... Kensie has four double-doubles and has scored a career-high 22 points against both South Dakota and Tulane, and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds 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 5.7 per game. The Vikings average 13.3 offensive rebounds per game to lead the Big Sky... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott ranks second in the Big Sky with 8.2 rebounds per game. JR G Keyon Kensie Jr. ranks third at 7.8 per game. And SR F Terri Miller Jr. is seventh with 6.5 rebounds per game.
• CHUCK IS NOT A CHUCKER: George Constanza made it clear his dislike for "chuckers" on the basketball court in an episode of Seinfeld. That said, he would love JR F Charles Chukwu. So far, 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.
• TRENDING: Portland State is undefeated when leading at halftime (5-0), out-rebounding an opponent (6-0) and scoring 80 or more points (5-0).
• MORE GOOD STUFF THAT DOESN'T FIT ANYWHERE ELSE: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in field goal percentage defense (.409), offensive rebounds (13.3) and turnovers forced (14.1)... SR C Tre-Vaughn Minott ranks seventh all-time in blocked shots (72), second all-time in field goal percentage (.624) and second in dunks (70) at Portland State... FR G Alex Dupre scored a career-high 10 points in the win at Weber State.

 

NOT SO HOT

• TOO CHARITABLE: Portland State has allowed opponents to shoot 66 more free throws through 12 games. The Vikings have been outshot at the line .745 to .672 and rank ninth in the Big Sky.
• BENCHED: The Vikings have not had a point off the bench in the last two games.