The Portland State Vikings are probably happy to put 2007 behind them. After starting the season well, and getting to 6-3 in their non-conference schedule, the Vikings lost four of five games to close out December and now stand at 7-7 overall.

Particularly disappointing are a pair of close losses over the previous week - in their Big Sky Conference opener and at home in overtime - that could have been avoided simply by better free throw shooting (PSU made only 20-43 charity shots in those two games).

Portland State gets a chance to right its ship with a pair of Big Sky home games this week. The Vikings host Sacramento State on Thursday, then Northern Arizona on Saturday. Both games tip off at 7:05 p.m. at the Peter W. Stott Center.

This week's games open a string of five out of seven at home for the Vikings. Although they are 0-1 in Big Sky play, they have a chance to get into good position heading into the second half of the conference schedule. Despite a 76-73 overtime loss to San Jose State at home last Friday, PSU is 3-1 at home overall this season.

The Vikings face the teams with the best and worst records in the Big Sky heading into 2008.

Sacramento State is just 2-9 this season and brings a three-game losing streak into Thursday's game. The Hornets do not have a win over a Division I opponent this year, and lost their Big Sky opener at Northern Colorado on Friday, 74-60. In their defense, the Hornets have played a difficult schedule that has featured three Top 25 opponents.

Northern Arizona is 9-5 this season, 1-0 in the Big Sky after a win over Northern Colorado on Sunday. NAU is one of just two teams with a winning record at this point in the season (Montana State, 8-5). The Lumberjacks, who are 2-3 on the road this year, play at Eastern Washington on Thursday.

PORTLAND STATE VS. SACRAMENTO STATE
Thursday, January 3, 7:05 p.m., Peter W. Stott Center (1,500), Portland, OR
Television: None ? Live Webcast: www.BigSkyTV.org ? Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
Radio: AM 910 KTRO, www.am910ktro.com
Pregame Show: 6:30 p.m. ? Tip-off: 7:05 p.m. ? Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt

STORYLINE
Portland State ended a three-game losing streak to Sacramento State with its biggest win ever over the Hornets last Feb. 22, 100-73... the Hornets have only won once in Portland against the Vikings... both teams have three-game losing streaks entering Thursday's games... PSU's 14-8 record against Sacramento State (and Idaho State) in Big Sky Conference games are its' best mark against league opponents outside of second-year member Northern Colorado... PSU has four season sweeps of the Hornets in 11 years in the Big Sky.

THE HORNETS
Sacramento State is 0-7 on the road this season and has lost three straight games entering Thursday's contest. The Hornets are only 1-11 all-time at Portland State.

Junior guard Loren Leath ranks third in the Big Sky Conference, scoring 16.1 points per game. Leath has 31 three-point field goals and shoots 41% from distance.

Freshman guard Vinnie McGhee is scoring 10.6 points and handing out a league-leading 6.3 assists per game. With 14 blocked shots, senior forward Justin Williams leads the Big Sky Conference.

Defense has been a problem for Sacramento State. The Hornets are last in the conference in scoring defense, giving up 77.6 points per game, and field goal percentage (.493). They have been outrebounded by more than eight per game and are also last in free throw percentage at .577 this year.

Conversely, the Hornets lead the Big Sky Conference in steals (9.3 per game) and turnover margin (+1.6).

Head Coach Jerome Jenkins is 78-132 in eight seasons at Sacramento State.

PORTLAND STATE VS. NORTHERN ARIZONA
Saturday, January 5, 7:05 p.m., Peter W. Stott Center (1,500), Portland, OR
Television: None ? Live Webcast: www.BigSkyTV.org ? Live Stats: www.GoViks.com
Radio: AM 910 KTRO, www.am910ktro.com
Pregame Show: 6:30 p.m. ? Tip-off: 7:05 p.m. ? Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt

STORYLINE
Portland State and Northern Arizona have maintained a very tightly contested series since the Vikings entered the league in 1996-97. After 11 seasons, the Big Sky series is tied, 12-12... NAU holds the advantage of having beaten the Vikings in both of their meetings in the Big Sky Tournament... PSU holds the all-time series lead, 14-13... NAU placed second in the Big Sky last year, then reached the Big Sky Tournament title game, losing 88-80, to host Weber State.

THE LUMBERJACKS
Northern Arizona is 9-5 on the season - the best record in the Big Sky Conference. The Lumberjacks won their Big Sky opener, 86-70, over Northern Colorado on Sunday. The ?Jacks have played the most home games (eight, going 6-2), and are 3-3 in road games overall. NAU has won five of its last six games.

Senior forward Kyle Landry is one of the Big Sky's top players this season, averaging 15.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. He shoots .567 from the field and is the Big Sky Conference Co-Player of the Week.

Point guard Josh Wilson has averaged 11.3 points and 5.7 assists per game. Nate Geiser is the team's top three-point shooter, having hit 39 already this season for a .470 mark, and averaging 10.5 points.

NAU is a strong shooting team, as is usually the case, hitting .476 from the field and .398 from the three-point line. The ?Jacks have a remarkable +7.9 rebounding edge as a team to lead the conference. However, they also have -3.1 turnover ratio.

Head Coach Mike Adras is in his ninth season at Northern Arizona and has a 138-111 record.

JUMP SHOTS
WINS AND LOSSES
Portland State is 7-7 this season and has lost three straight games for the first time since a six-game losing streak Jan. 21 through Feb. 11, 2006... with the loss to San Jose State, the Vikings saw a six-game home winning streak come to an end... after winning six of their first seven close games this season (eight points or less), the Vikings have now lost two close games in a row (by one point to Eastern Washington, and by three in overtime to San Jose State)... more W/L notes:
? the Vikings are 1-1 in overtime games this season, and 2-2 in overtime under Ken Bone.
? PSU is 4-6 in road games with three of those being neutral site contests.
? the Vikings are 3-1 at home this year.
? PSU is now 102-43 in home games since basketball was reinstated for the 1996-97 season. Included in that total is a 73-27 record at the Stott Center.
? Head Coach Ken Bone is 38-36 in his third year at Portland State. Bone is now 1-1 against San Jose State.
? Bone is 15-18 against Big Sky Conference opponents with at least one win against every Big Sky Conference school. He is 1-3 against Sacramento State and 1-3 against Northern Arizona.

VIKINGS GIVE UP 18-POINT LEAD, LOSE IN OVERTIME TO SAN JOSE STATE
Portland State started strong but finished poorly, losing 76-73 in overtime to San Jose State last Friday at the Stott Center... the Vikings made nine of their first 10 shots, including 5-6 three-point field goals to build a 25-10 lead at the 12:40 mark of the first half... the advantage grew to 18 at 42-24 just before the end of the half... PSU shot 17-26 from the field in the half (.654), and led 42-27 at halftime... but, the Vikings made just three of their next 20 shots as the Spartans came back... San Jose State finally took a 59-58 lead with less than three minutes to play... Jeremiah Dominguez scored the next six points and PSU led 64-61 with 46 seconds left... a Spartan three-pointer tied the game, then PSU's Deonte Huff made two free throws with 3.1 seconds remaining to give the Vikings a 66-64 lead... SJS's Justin Graham was fouled on the ensuing inbound play and made two free throws to send it to overtime... the lead changed hands four times in the extra session, but the Vikings' undoing was an 0-4 performance at the line... the Vikings made just 5-22 field goals in the second half... after the early flurry of three-pointers, PSU made only 5-23 the rest of the way... PSU also struggled at the line, shooting 13-24 (.542)... Dominguez hit six three-pointers and had a career-high 27 points - the most by a Viking in 26 games... Scott Morrison had 14 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and three steals in the game.

THERE'S NO TIME LIKE OVERTIME
The Vikings have now played two overtime contests this year after playing none last year. The Vikings won at Utah Valley State, 60-53 (12/1), but lost to San Jose State, 76-73 (12/28), at home. That makes Portland State 19-19 all-time in overtime games. More recently, PSU is 11-8 in overtime games since basketball was reinstated for the 1996-97 season. Viking Head Coach Ken Bone is 2-2 in overtime games since coming to PSU.

SHARING THE WEALTH
Nine different players have now started for the Vikings, who have used seven different starting lineups in 14 games. Only three Vikings have played in every game (Deonte Huff, Mickey Polis, Tyrell Mara), and none have started every game. PSU has had seven different leading scorers in 14 games.

ROSTER ROTATION
As three Viking starters have struggled in recent weeks, Head Coach Ken Bone made some changes to his starting lineup against San Jose State. SO F Alex Tiefenthaler made his first start in place of SO F Tyrell Mara. JR G Andre Murray was back in the lineup in place of Dupree Lucas, who sat out with a sore foot. SR C Scott Morrison, who had also struggled of late, stayed in the starting lineup and produced one of his better games of the year. Morrison scored 14 points with nine rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals without commiting a turnover... Tiefenthaler had three points and five rebounds in 25 minutes... Murray scored eight points, with four assists, three rebounds and two steals... Lucas was the Vikings' leading scorer and assist man last year, but hasn't played to the same level this year. Lucas has averaged 7.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists, shooting .340 from the field and .529 at the line. Last year, Lucas averaged a team-leading 13.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and shot .414 and .604... Mara started the year very well for the Vikings, averaging 10.9 points and 4.3 rebounds, shooting over 50% from the field and exactly 50% from three-point range through seven games. In his last seven games, Mara is just 2-18 from the field, averaging 1.4 points and 3.0 rebounds.

100 AND COUNTING...
When he tipped it off against San Jose State on Friday night, SR C Scott Morrison, became the 11th Viking to play in 100 career games at Portland State. Former teammate Seamus Boxley holds the school record with 114 games played. Morrison can pass that number later this season... Morrison has started 82 career games at PSU. The Vikings are 48-34 in those games... Morrison's season highlights:
? Morrison has been shooting the ball well this year (.619) to rank second in the Big Sky.
? Morrison leads the Vikings in blocked shots (13), double-doubles (3) and dunks (13). He leads the team in rebounding (5.6) and ranks third in scoring (10.3).
? Morrison is PSU's all-time leading shot-blocker with 147 in his career and ranks second all-time in shooting percentage (.543). Morrison has also passed the 500-rebound plateau for his career.
? On his current pace, Morrison will be Portland State's all-time leader in games played and blocked shots, and rank in the top 10 all-time in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage.

MAKING HIS POINT
JR G Jeremiah Dominguez has been an important addition as the Viking point guard this season. Despite his 5'6” stature, he has played a big role, averaging a team-leading 12.5 points, and leading the Vikings in three-point field goals (31), steals (27) and assists (43)... Dominguez has nine double-figure scoring games this season and shoots .475 from the field, .449 from three-point range and .762 at the line... Dominguez' 27-point game (9-16 FG, 6-9 3-pt FG, 3-4 FT) against San Jose State was a career-high and the most by a Viking in 26 games. Dominguez also had four assists, three rebounds, two steals and no turnovers in the game... other season highlights for Dominguez:
? Dominguez leads the Big Sky Conference in steals (2.08 per game) and ranks fourth in assists (3.31 per game).
? Dominguez scored 19 points, scoring nine of those in overtime, in leading the Vikings to a 60-53 win over Utah Valley on Dec. 1. He also had three assists, three rebounds and three steals.
? J.D. made the game-winning basket against IUPUI with 4.5 seconds remaining at the Top of the World Classic. He shot 60% from the field in the three games and was named All-Tournament.

HUFF STUFF
SR G Deonte Huff had the third double-double of his career with team-highs of of 16 points and 10 rebounds against Eastern Washington. He made 7-10 field goals, and has now hit 16-24 (.667) over his last three games. Huff followed that with 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists against San Jose State.. Huff has been consistent all year, scoring in double figures in 10 games, with at least seven points in every game... Huff's free throw percentage is up to .759 this year after shooting .642 last season. That improvement has been important as he leads the team in free throw attempts (54)... other highlights for Huff this season:
? Huff ranks second on the Vikings in scoring (12.1), rebounding (5.5) and steals (20).
? Huff had 29 points, 17 rebounds and six assists as he earned All-Tournament honors at the Top of the World Classic in November.
? Huff scored a season-high 18 points, grabbed five rebounds, a career-high four steals and passed out three assists in his best game of the year against eighth-ranked Washington State (12/9).
? Huff ranks third all-time in field goal percentage at Portland State with a .538 career mark.

BOOST FROM THE BENCH
Considering the struggles of some starters, the Vikings are fortunate that JR G Andre Murray has been the sixth-man this year, averaging 21.8 minutes per game and leading the team with 6.9 points off the bench... Murray has made four starts this season and the Vikings are 3-1 in those contests... in the last six games he has played, Murray is averaging 10.8 points and shooting 27-54 (.500)... Murray scored a season-high 15 points, hitting 4-7 three-point field goals, against Eastern Washington.

THREE AT A TIME
Despite losing their top two three-point shooters from last season - Juma Kamara and Paul Hafford who had combined to make 145 three-pointers - the Vikings are an improved three-point shooting team. Portland State has hit 40 three pointers over the last four games and is averaging 8.4 three-point field goals per game this season. That total leads the Big Sky Conference and is PSU's highest made-per-game rate since the 1998-99 season... the Vikings shoot .377 from long range this year... last year, the Vikings averaged 6.6 three-point field goals and shot .333 from long range.

THREE-POLIS FIELD GOALS
Speaking of three-pointers, nobody in the Big Sky Conference is shooting them better than JR G Mickey Polis. He has made 17-29 this year for a league-leading .586 mark... Polis' performance shooting the long ball at Washington (12/18) was the best by a Viking in nearly 10 years. He came off the bench to make five straight three-point field goals in a span of 6:21 on the clock. On his final three he was fouled and made the free throw for a four-point play. With a 5-5 three-point shooting effort in the game, Polis ranks behind only Jason Hartman in Portland State history. Hartman went 6-6 from three-point range in a win over Idaho State on Jan. 8, 1998... a walk-on from Lower Columbia Community College, Polis is averaging 4.7 points, shooting .543 from the field and .846 at the line in 11.4 minutes per game.

NO DOUBTING THOMAS' SHOT SELECTION
SO F Julius Thomas set a Portland State record last season by shooting .639 from the field (62-97). This year, Thomas has picked up where he left off, shooting .643 from the field. He has missed just 10 shots in 13 games... Thomas had his best game of the year against Lewis and Clark (Dec. 5), scoring 11 points on 5-5 field goals. He also grabbed seven rebounds and had two assists in 18 minutes off the bench... in his brief career, Thomas has made 80-125 shots for a .640 field goal percentage.

SHOOTING, SCORING HEADING SOUTH
Through 14 games, the Vikings have not approached last year's scoring prowess. PSU scored 93 against Linfield (11/20), but are averaging only 67.2 points per game so far. The Vikings have not scored more than 78 points in any other game. Last year, PSU averaged 78.2 per game. Ironically, the Vikings lead the Big Sky Conference in three-point field goals made per game (8.4) and shoot .377 from distance this season.

ON THE OTHER HAND...
Portland State is allowing only 66.9 points per game. The Vikings have allowed more than 76 points just one this season. PSU opponents have only scored over 70 points six times this year... Last year, PSU gave up 75.2 points per game.

ON THE LINE
Portland State was solid at the line early in the year, but has struggled lately. A 7-19 effort at Eastern Washington (12/22) was a big factor in a one-point loss. Then, PSU's 13-24 mark against San Jose State, including 0-4 in overtime proved costly in a three-point loss... in the last three games, PSU is just 22-48 at the line (.458). In the last six games, the Vikings are just 53-97 (.546). Once well over 70% on the season, the Vikings have dropped to .644 at the line... in addition, PSU averages only 15.6 free throw attempts per game this year. Last year the Vikings averaged 26.5 attempts per game.

A KINDER, GENTLER SEASON
Portland State's kinder, gentler season came to an end against San Jose State when Viking Coach Ken Bone was whistled for a technical foul. That was the first “T” by either team in a PSU game all season. Are the NCAA's new stricter behavior guidelines working? Last season, there were a total of 21 technical fouls called on PSU and its' opponents in 30 games played.