Complete Game Notes for Portland State vs. Eastern Washington

Portland State makes an early start to its Big Sky Conference season this Saturday when the Vikings host Eastern Washington at the Stott Center. The 7:05 p.m. game will open PSU's 14th season as a member of the Big Sky. This will be the earliest start to a Big Sky season in PSU history. The previous earliest start was last year when the Vikings opened the Big Sky slate with a win over Montana on Dec. 20.

PSU won the Big Sky Conference regular season title in 2007-08 and the Big Sky Tournament title in 2007-08 and 2008-09, advancing to the NCAA Tournament both seasons. PSU has a 25-7 Big Sky record over the last two years, 29-7 including Big Sky Tournament games. New Portland State Head Coach Tyler Geving was associate head coach those two seasons.

Portland State comes off a rousing 86-82 win over the 25th-ranked Portland Pilots on Wednesday to improve to 2-4 on the season. Dominic Waters scored 21 of his game-high 23 points in the second half to lead the Vikings back from a 12-point deficit. PSU has now beaten a nationally-ranked team each of the last two years.

The Vikings are 1-0 at home this year and carry an eight-game home winning streak into the contest. PSU has won six straight Big Sky home games.

Eastern Washington is 3-4 this season, including 1-2 on the road.

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (2-4) vs. EASTERN WASHINGTON EAGLES (3-4)
Saturday, December 5, 2009, 7:05 p.m., Peter W. Stott Center (1,500), Portland, OR
Television: None
Radio: 800 AM KPDQ, www.kpdq-am.com
Pre-game Show: 6:30 p.m. • Tip-off: 7:05 p.m. • Play-by-play: Tom Hewitt
Live Webcast and Live Stats: www.GoViks.com

STORYLINES
• All-time series: Eastern Washington leads the all-time series 17-15, and the Big Sky Conference series, 16-12... PSU leads the Big Sky series 7-6 in games played in Portland... the Vikings have won three straight in the series... prior to PSU's winning streak against Eastern, the Eagles had won 14 of 18 in the series.
• Last season: Portland State's 83-61 win over Eastern Washington in the Stott Center marked the Vikings' largest margin of victory in the all-time series. Phil Nelson scored 22 points in that game to lead the Vikings... the Vikings needed overtime to win in Cheney, 66-62, in the season finale. It was a key win for the Vikings as they moved into second place in the conference standings, earning a first-round bye in the Big Sky Tournament.
• Something In Common: The Vikings and the Eagles have each faced the University of Portland. EWU lost to Portland in Cheney, 64-58 on Nov. 14. The Vikings beat the 25th-ranked Pilots, 86-82, at the Chiles Center on Wednesday.
• Back To The Big Sky: Portland State begins its 14th season in the Big Sky Conference. It has won regular season titles in 2004-05 and 2007-08, and Big Sky Tournament titles in 2007-08 and 2008-09... Portland State is 108-102 all-time in Big Sky games (including a 6-6 mark in Big Sky Tournament games). The Vikings are 73-29 at home, 32-69 on the road and 4-4 at neutral sites.
• Portland State will be playing only its second home game of the season when it hosts Eastern Washington. PSU is 1-0 at home this year and 26-2 at home since the start of the 2007-08 season... the Vikings are 15-1 at home against Big Sky opponents, 17-1 including Big Sky tournament games the past two years.
• Eastern Washington is 1-2 on the road this year with a win at Texas-Arlington.
• The Eagles, 3-4 overall this year, defeated Walla Walla 89-61 on Tuesday night.
• Head Coach Kirk Earlywine is in his third season at Eastern Washington. He has a 26-31 record overall and is 1-3 against Portland State... Earlywine's career coaching record is 47-49.
• The Eagles were 12-18 last season. They finished 6-10 and in seventh place in the Big Sky Conference. Returning from that team are three starters and five letterwinners including second team All-Big Sky selection Benny Valentine.
• SR G Benny Valentine is averaging 13.0 points and 4.1 assists to lead the Eagles. SR C Brandon Moore averages 11.2 points and a Big Sky-leading 10.2 rebounds per game. SR F Mark Dunn averages 13.0 points and shoots 63% from the field.

COMING UP: MORE NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
Portland State will play six non-conference games between the first Big Sky game (this Saturday) and the second (Jan. 2 at home against Sacramento State).

PSU hosts Linfield on Wednesday, Dec. 9, then travels to West Coast Conference opponents Pepperdine (Dec. 13) and Saint Mary's (Dec. 15). The Vikings also make a trip east, facing Washington State of the Pac-10 (Dec. 19 in Kennewick) and Boise State of the Western Athletic Conference (Dec. 21).

The Vikings will host Willamette on Dec. 29 at 5:05 p.m. in the first game of a doubleheader with the Portland State women (vs. Oregon State).

GAME WEEK ACTIVITIES
VIKINGS ON RADIO: All Portland State basketball games can be heard on 800 AM KPDQ and www.kpdq-am.com.The Viking Pregame Show begins one-half hour prior to tipoff with Tom Hewitt calling all the action.
VIKINGS ON TV: Portland State has four regular season games scheduled to be televised in the Portland area: Nov. 15 @ Washington, Dec. 19 vs. Washington State (FSN-channel 34 in Portland); Jan. 17 vs. Northern Arizona, Feb. 28 vs. Weber State (CSN-channel 37 in Portland).
INTERNET STREAMING: Live streaming video of all Portland State home and Big Sky Conference games can be seen free at www.BigSkyTV.org. Live stats for Portland State home games are at www.GoViks.com.
TYLER GEVING ON WHEELS AT WORK WEEKLY: Portland State Basketball Coach Tyler Geving will be a weekly guest on The Wheels at Work Show on 95.5 FM The Game in Portland. Geving will talk Viking basketball and more with hosts Brian Wheeler, Kenny Vance and Jay Allen every Tuesday at 1:35 p.m. beginning on November 10.
TICKETS: Tickets for all home games can be purchased in prices ranging from $10 to $15, with youth prices as low as $7. To purchase tickets by phone, call 1.888.VIK.TIKS or 503.725.3307. Special group ticket pricing and season tickets are available by calling Scott Boyd at 503.725.5627. Tickets are on sale at the PSU Ticket Office, located in Smith Memorial Student Union, 1825 SW Broadway. You can also purchase tickets on-line at www.GoViks.com, www.TicketMaster.com or at all TicketMaster outlets. 
VIKINGS BASKETBALL BREAKFAST SERIES: The Viking Basketball Breakfast Series takes place on four dates during the course of the basketball season. Head Coach Tyler Geving will speak about Viking basketball at each breakfast event. Dates are Dec. 9, Jan. 13, Feb. 10 and Feb. 24 from 7:30-8:45 a.m. at the Multnomah Athletic Club. Cost is $20. RSVP with Scott Boyd (boyds@pdx.edu).

BEAT THE RANKING RIGHT OUT OF THEM
Vikings fans who made the trek across town on Wednesday were rewarded. They witnessed Portland State knocking off a nationally-ranked team for the second time in two years as the Vikings made a stirring, come-from-behind win over the 25th-ranked Portland Pilots at the Chiles Center. PSU beat the Pilots, 86-82, after trailing 74-62 with 9:20 to play.

PSU turned on the defense and rebounding in the late-going - something that has been missing in previous games - allowing just two field goals in the last 9:20, and none after the 4:36 mark. SR F Jamie Jones grabbed a season-high 11 boards for the Vikings, while SR F Julius Thomas hauled down seven. Those two, along with JR F Paul Guede, clamped down on defense as well in the final minutes. Guede, who scored a season-high 12 points, shut down Pilot star Nik Raivio, who had 15 points at halftime, but scored only two free throws in the second half.

The Vikings' biggest star of the game had to be SR G Dominic Waters, who scored 21 of his game-high 23 in the second half. Waters scored 16 points in the last nine minutes as PSU overcame that 12-point deficit. His three-pointer with 2:59 put PSU head for good at 81-80. It was the Vikings' first lead since 3-2 in the opening moments of the game.

Waters had a remarkable game, scoring 23 points with just 11 shots attempts and dished out a career high nine assists. Waters made 6-11 from the field, 3-4 from three-point range and 8-8 at the line.

Last season, PSU also knocked off a nationally-ranked team from the West Coast Conference when the Vikings beat seventh-ranked Gonzaga, 77-70, in Spokane.

WINNING LINES
• Portland State has now won four straight against the Pilots, but Portland leads the all-time series, 31-17. The series is tied 7-7 since PSU joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996-97.
• Portland State is 1-0 at home and has won eight straight home games at the Stott Center. Since the start of the 2007-08 season, PSU is 26-2 at home.

SHOOTING IS WHERE ITS AT...: Portland State is having a good shooting season through six games, hitting .483 from the field, .437 from three-point range and .739 at the line... PSU's shooting night at Portland was brilliant. The Vikings hit 29-55 from the field (.527), 15-25 from three-point range (.600) and 13-17 at the line (.765). The Pilots shot .645 in the first half, but just .323 in the second half, and that made the difference as the Viking defense stiffened in the final nine minutes... overall, PSU opponents have shot it well too, hitting .515 from the field and .404 from three-point range. The team to shoot the higher percentage has won all six games this season... on Nov. 21 PSU hit 31-46 from the field against Cal Poly, setting a new school record with a .674 field goal percentage (old mark, 32-54 .654 vs. Idaho State, Feb. 23, 2002)... PSU is 32-62 from three-point range in its last three games (.516).

...BUT REBOUNDING WOULD HELP: Portland State's major weakness in the early season has been obvious; rebounding. The Vikings gave up 20 offensive rebounds to Cal Poly on Nov. 21, which allowed the Mustangs to stay in a game that the Vikings otherwise dominated. Cal Poly scored 20 second-chance points... the Vikings have been better the last two games, but still have a -8.8 rebounding deficit per game this year... PSU has been outrebounded in all six games.

A PRESEASON SCHEDULE TO BE WARY OF: Portland State knew its preseason schedule would be challenging, but a breakdown shows just how tough. Of the 12 non-conference games against Division I opponents, nine come against teams with at least 19 wins last year (Belmont, 20; Wright State, 20; 13th-ranked Washington, 26; Stanford, 20; 25th-ranked Portland, 19; Saint Mary's, 28; Boise State, 19; Seattle, 21 (twice)). Washington State was 17-16 last year, while Cal Poly and Pepperdine won seven and nine games, respectively... including Big Sky Conference opponents, PSU will play seven 20-win teams this season (and two 19-win teams).

COOL RUNNING WATERS: SR G Dominic Waters led PSU to victory in the second-half against Portland, scoring 21 of his game-high 23 points. He did so on just 11 shots (6-11 FG, 3-4 3-pt FG, 8-8 FT). Waters scored 16 in the last nine minutes and hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 2:59 to play. 
• Waters leads the Vikings in scoring (17.7) and assists (5.2) this season while shooting .517 from the field, a remarkable .600 from three-point range (15-25) and .931 at the line (27-29).
• Waters scored 32 points on just 15 field goal attempts in leading the Vikings to a 92-83 win over Cal Poly on Nov. 21. Waters hit 10-15 from the field, 2-4 from three-point range and 10-11 at the line. He also had five assists... the 32 points is just the second-best total of his career. Last season, Waters scored 41 in a four-overtime win at Northern Arizona.
• Waters leads the Big Sky in assists, ranks fourth in scoring and second in three-point field goal percentage.

MORE WATER WORKS: With 75-159 three-point field goals made in his career, SR G Dominic Waters is shooting .472 from long range - the best of any Viking in school history. His .448 mark (60-134) last season led the team.

BASKETBALL JONES: SR F Jamie Jones averages 11.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He has also blocked a team-high nine shots. Jones is shooting .627 from the field after going 17-24  (.708) over the last three games... Jones had eight points and a season-high 11 rebounds in the win over Portland.
• Jones made his last five field goals against Cal Poly, then his first seven against Stanford. With 12 consecutive field goals made, he tied a PSU mark held by Seamus Boxley.
• With 39 blocked shots in his career, Jones now ranks eighth in PSU history.

THE SHARP SHOOTER(S) RETURN: SR F Julius Thomas holds Portland State records for field goal percentage in a season (.643) and a career (.652). He entered the season having missed just 103 shots in 90 games played. So far this year, Thomas is 15-25 from the field (.600)... while Thomas stands as Portland State's all-time best percentage shooter, teammate Jamie Jones rates as second-best all-time at PSU. Jones is 158-265 for a .596 mark.

JULIUS THOMAS CAREER SHOOTING MARKS
2006-07: 62-97, .639 (set school record)
2007-08: 45-63, .714 (not enough attempts to qualify for school record)
2008-09: 90-140, .643 (broke his own school record)
2009-10: 15-25, .600
Career: 212-325, .652 (school record)

KEEPING UP WITH MELVIN JONES: Fast? Yes. Fastest on the team? Probably. So, it's not easy to keep up with JR G Melvin Jones. He has proven that through six games of his PSU career. Jones is averaging 12.3 points, having hit 19-41 from three-point range (.463). By hitting 5-6 from three-point range in the first half against Portland, Jones kept the Vikings in the game.
• Jones had 16 points in the win over Cal Poly. He rang up 23 points against Wright State on Nov. 14, hitting 7-11 three point field goals.
• Jones' 19 three-pointers ranks second in the Big Sky Conference.

ANOTHER COUNTRY IS HEARD FROM: A native of London, England, JR F Paul Guede has come a long way to be a Viking. He also came a long way in his performance in the win over Portland on Wednesday. Guede hit 4-5 from the field, 3-3 from three-point range and 1-2 at the line for a career-high 12 points. He added four rebounds and a blocked shot. Most important, though, was his defense against Portland star Nik Raivio. After scoring 15 in the first half, Raivio was held without a field goal by Guede in the second half.

ONE GAME AT A TIME: Since beginning his career at Portland State last year, JR F Phil Nelson has played in all 39 games, starting all 39. He has averaged 11.4 points and hit 68 three-point field goals over that span... SR F Julius Thomas has competed in the most games of any Viking having played in 96 during his career. If he remains healthy, Thomas has a chance to break PSU's games played record of 119.

BIG SKY LEADERS: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in field goal percentage (.483), three-point field goal percentage (.437), blocked shots (3.17) and three-pointers made (3.17)... SR G Dominic Waters leads the Big Sky in assists (5.17).

2009-10 SEASON HIGHLIGHT REEL
• Portland State gave new Head Coach Tyler Geving his first career win with 92-83 victory over Cal Poly (Nov. 21). In so doing, the Vikings set a new school record for field goal percentage in a game (31-46, .674).
• SR G Dominic Waters posted 32 points on just 15 shot attempts in the Vikings' win over Cal Poly (Nov. 21). Waters hit 10-15 from the field, 2-4 from three-point range and 10-11 at the line. He also had a game-high five assists.
• SR F Jamie Jones tied a Portland State record by making 12 straight field goals. Jones made his last five attempts against Cal Poly (11/21), then his first seven attempts against Stanford (11/29).
• SR G Dominic Waters led the Vikings on a rousing, second-half comeback as they upset 25th-ranked University of Portland, 86-82, at the Chiles Center (12/2). Waters scored 21 of his game-high 23 in the second half, including 16 in the final nine minutes. Waters also handed out a career-high nine assists. The Vikings trailed by 12 with 9:20 to play in the game. The win was the second over a nationally-ranked team in two seasons. PSU made 15-25 three-point field goals in the win.