PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS (4-13, 2-7) at NORTHERN ARIZONA LUMBERJACKS (7-11, 3-4)
Saturday, January 29, 2022, 1 p.m. PT • JL Walkup Skydome (3,300), Flagstaff, AZ
Live Stream: ESPN+ • Play-by-Play: Mitch Strohman
Complete notes and stats in pdf
THE OPENING TIP
A seventh game in 14 days is Portland State's reward for a heart-breaking overtime loss on Thursday night. And the Vikings will have to travel over 1,200 miles to play it just 39 hours later. That's right, PSU (4-13, 2-7) is in the middle of one of the busiest spans of games in its history. And, the Vikings are carrying a lot of emotion with them.
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Portland State put on a remarkable comeback on Thursday night at Viking Pavilion, rallying from a 14-point deficit in the final nine minutes against defending Big Sky Champion Southern Utah to take a four-point lead in the closing seconds. However, the Thunderbirds hit a pair of clutch three-pointers sending the game to overtime, then came out with an 85-82 win over Portland State.
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Now the Vikings travel to face Northern Arizona on Saturday. The game tips off at 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT at JL Walkup Skydome. PSU has a five-game losing streak, and has lost 10 of the last 11. Most have been agonizingly close. Six of the losses have been by five points or less.
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Further testing the Vikings has been a myriad of injuries and illnesses during a stretch saturated with games. Head Coach
Jase Coburn has had to start seven different lineups in the last 10 games, including one featuring four guards and one forward against SUU. The Vikings have not had a full roster due to injury for any of their 17 games this season.
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Still, positive signs are there for Portland State, and Thursday's game was a great example. Five Vikings scored in double figures. JR G
Ian Burke returned from illness to start, and scored 11 points in the Vikings' late 22-6 run that gave them the lead. He buried three straight three-pointers, including one from near the mid-court logo. SR F
Khalid Thomas (18 pts, 5 reb, 2 blk) and JR G
Michael Carter III (13 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast) continued their elevated play, while SR G
Ezekiel Alley (13 pts, 6 reb, 3 st, 2 ast) and FR G
Paris Dawson (14 pts, 5 reb) came off the bench to provide a huge spark.
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In fact, PSU shot 60% (21-35) from the field in the second half, scoring 51 points in its comeback bid against Southern Utah.
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The test on Saturday for PSU will be to get its short roster fully rested and put the emotions of an overtime loss behind them when they meet the Lumberjacks.
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Northern Arizona (7-11, 3-4) had Thursday night off. The Lumberjacks most recent game was a 70-65 win over Sacramento State at Monday. The 'Jacks had lost six of eight games prior to that. NAU is 5-5 at home this season.
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Saturday's game streams live on ESPN+ at 1p.m. PT. Live stats can be found at www.ViksLive.com.
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COMING UP
The Vikings come home to host Northern Colorado on Monday night in a makeup of a previous postponement. That game begins at 7:30 p.m. as the second half of a doubleheader with the Portland State women's basketball team. The teams meet again on Thursday at Northern Colorado.
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GAME NOTES: PORTLAND STATE vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA
- THE SERIES: Portland State leads the all-time series, 28-26, and the Big Sky Conference series, 26-25... NAU leads in Big Sky Conference Tournament games, 3-2, including a 77-66 win in last year's tournament first round... prior to that game, PSU had won five of the last seven in the series... NAU leads 16-7 in Big Sky games played in Flagstaff.
- LAST SEASON: Mar. 10, 2021, at Big Sky Tournament: NAU 77, PSU 66: Luke Avdalovic scored a career-high 26 points and led a three-point barrage for Northern Arizona as the Lumberjacks knocked Portland State out of the Big Sky Tournament. The 'Jacks made 27-46 shots from the field (.587) and a blistering 12-16 from three-point range (.750). Avdalovic hit 9-15, including 7-10 from distance... For the Vikings, senior forward Khalid Thomas scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the team. Thomas was 7-13 from the field and 4-9 from distance. Otherwise, Portland State couldn't match NAU's shooting. The Vikings finished at 19-56 from the field (.339), and 6-30 from three-point range (.200)... The Lumberjacks found their shooting touch quickly, hitting 10-14 shots in the opening nine minutes, 6-6 were three-pointers, and they led 27-11. By halftime, the 'Jacks had made 8-9 three-point field goals – more than their season average of 6.2 per game. Overall, NAU shot 16-25 from the field in the half (.640)... NAU continued its torrid shooting pace in the second half and the Vikings couldn't find their offensive footing.
- COACHES: Vikings Coach Jase Coburn (Arizona State, 2006) is in his first season as Head Coach. He has spent eight previous seasons on the Park Blocks as an Assistant and Associate Head Coach... the Lumberjacks are coached by Shane Burcar in his third season. He has a 29-41 career record, including 2-1 against the Vikings.
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NORTHERN ARIZONA 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.
- Northern Arizona is 7-11 this season, 3-4 in the Big Sky Conference. The Lumberjacks average 69.3 points and allow 72.3 points per game. The 'Jacks shoot .373 from three-point range and make 8.6 threes per game.
- Sophomore guard Jalen Cone, a Virginia Tech transfer, ranks second in the Big Sky Conference in scoring (19.4) and leads in free throw percentage (.866). Cone leads the Big Sky in three-point field goals (59), shooting .421 from distance.
- Junior forward Nik Mains averages 12.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and shoots .427 from three-point range. Freshman forward Carson Towt ranks second in the Big Sky with 9.5 rebounds per game.
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WHO IS HOT
- Portland State had 11 steals, helping spark its comeback against Southern Utah. The Vikings lead the Big Sky Conference in steals this season with 9.1 per game... PSU had five blocked shots against Southern Utah and also leads the Big Sky Conference in blocks with 3.6 per game.
- FR G Paris Dawson has picked up his production in the last three games, averaging 12.0 points and 3.7 rebounds. He has made 13-22 from the field (.591) and 5-10 from three-point range (.500)... Dawson is 33-39 at the free throw line this season (.846) to rank sixth in the Big Sky Conference.
- SR G Ezekiel Alley is shooting 25-46 from the field (.546) in the last six games.
- JR G Michael Carter III has averaged 11.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the last five games.
- SR F Khalid Thomas has averaged 13.0 points in the last eight games.
- Coming back from illness, JR G Ian Burke played a career-high 38 minutes against SUU, scoring a season-high 11 points (4-7 FG, 3-5 3-pt) with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
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BATTERED AND BRUISED
Portland State has had a rough go of it health-wise this season. While the Vikings have been impacted by COVID-19 like virtually every other program in the country, they have also had a variety of injuries preventing them from fielding a full squad virtually every game this year. Hips, knees, fingers and non-COVID illnesses have all played a role in player availability.
- Just nine of 14 players were available to face Idaho on Monday night. PSU had 11 players on Thursday.
- Only two players, SR F Khalid Thomas and SR G Ezekiel Alley, have been healthy enough to play in every game this season.
- The Vikings have started 11 different players this season.
- Head Coach Jase Coburn has had to start seven different lineups in the last 10 games.
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GRAND LARCENY
Remarkably, Portland State has led the Big Sky Conference in team steals per game for the past seven seasons. The same is true this year under first-year Head Coach
Jase Coburn, as the Vikings are currently averaging 9.1 steals per game. Thievery on the basketball was also prevalent during the Barret Peery and Tyler Geving coaching eras. In addition, PSU has had two individual steals leaders. A look:
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Season, steals per game
2015-16: 8.5
2016-17: 9.9, individual: Calaen Robinson, 2.35
2017-18: 9.8
2018-19: 8.3
2019-20: 8.7, individual: Holland Woods, 2.06
2020-21: 8.2
2021-22: 9.1 (currently)
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