Portland State Vikings (10-15, 4-8) vs Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (7-19, 3-10)

Saturday, February 11, 2023, 1:00 PM PT • JL Walkup Skydome (3,300), Flagstaff, AZ
live stream: ESPN+
live stats: www.ViksLive.com
Full notes and statistics in pdf

opening tips

Portland State University will try to earn some ground at the top of the Big Sky Conference on Saturday afternoon. The Vikings “peak” at 7,000 feet for the 1:00 PM PT game against Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.

PSU (10-15, 4-8) lost 88-79 in northern Colorado on Thursday night. Big Sky He was still 7th in the conference, but the Vikings didn’t move down the order as his previous two teams also lost. However, with only three weeks left until the Big Sky Tournament, the margin for error is tight.

Portland State University will target sixth or better in the standings to avoid the first round and advance directly to the tournament quarterfinals. Going into play Saturday, PSU has him one game behind No. 6 Sacramento State (5-7) and two games behind No. 5 Idaho State (6-6). The Vikings will see both of these teams at home in the remaining six games of their regular season schedule.

The immediate challenge is Northern Arizona (7-19, 3-10). The Lumberjacks are last in the Big Sky standings, but he had a comfortable 77-55 win over Sacramento State on Thursday night. This season, the Jacks are 6-6 at home and the Vikings are 4-8 on the road.

PSU beat NAU 75-74 at the Viking Pavilion on January 12 with JR F’s buzzing three-point field goal. hunter woodsSince then, the Vikings have lost 6 of their last 8 games. NAU had lost eight of nine games and he had lost three in a row before Thursday’s win.

Vikings follow SR G’s lead Cameron Parker the past few weeks. The Portland native led his PSU in his 10th game scoring streak, including his career-high 29 points last Saturday, followed by his career-high 32 points (10-12 FG, 3-3 3-pt, 9-12 FT). Northern Colorado on Thursday. His 32 points were the most by a Viking player in his three years (Holland Woods, 39 points, 1/30/20 vs. Montana). Parker was named Conference Player of the Week in last week’s game against Big Sky.

The Vikings haven’t shot more than 44% from the field in their last five games (4 losses) and have been 15-57 from a 3-point range (.263) in their last two games, so PSU is down to Parker. Seeking a more consistent attack behind the scenes. loss.

Despite Thursday’s loss, the PSU have remained close, trailing the Bears by just 11 points. His seven of his last nine games played by the Vikings were decided in single digits. Portland State has 3 wins and 4 losses in these games.

Saturday’s game from the JL Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff kicks off at 1 p.m. PT and can be watched on ESPN+.

it’s coming

Portland State will return home to host Idaho State on February 16, before facing Weber State on February 18.

Game Note: Portland State vs. Northern Arizona

• series: Portland State has an all-time series win of 31-26 and a Big Sky Conference series of 29-25… PSU is on a three-game winning streak and has won 8 of the series’ final 11 games. … PSU is 8. -16 at Big Sky’s home game in Flagstaff.
• 12 January 2023 Viking Pavilion, PSU 75, NAU 74: 3-point field goal with buzzer hunter woods Viking fans were dancing in the aisles as Portland defeated Northern Arizona. In fact, Woods made two of his 3-pointers in the closing stages when PSU scored a miraculous finish. Both of Woods’ shots came in his last ten seconds, and the Vikings reversed from his five-point deficit to take the win. Ironically, Woods had just missed his 3-pointer to tie the game a minute ago.But that didn’t stop him from taking two of the biggest shots of the night…Portland State trailed most of the second half and was pleading for a foul in the final minute.NAU’s Oakland Fort hit two free throws in 28 seconds.Left and Lumberjack lead, 73-67… Vikings point guard Cameron Parker Coming back onto the court with the ball and making it to the rim, it was 73-69 with 19 seconds left… PSU then Nik Mains made one of two free throws with 17.8 seconds left … Again, pushing a Viking ball up the court, Parker blew off Woods’ screen at the top of the arc and pitched back to Woods on the wing. He hit his 3-pointer in his 9.8 seconds. PSU is currently stuck at 74-72… this is where it gets crazy. Main went to the line again, missing both free throws with 8.4 seconds on the clock. But Carson Tout grabbed the Jax’s offensive rebound. He was fouled and NAU made two more free throws with 7.1 seconds remaining. Tout then missed both free throws. Woods rebounded and quickly passed to Parker, which was a footrace to the other side. Parker went left and Woods went right. With Parker under pressure just before his line from the three, he passed to Woods right in front of his PSU bench and winged his cross over his court. Woods flew just before the buzzer rang and ripped the net… Woods finished the game with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. He went 5-10 on the field, 4-8 on the range, 4-5 on the line… Parker had his season-high 11 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 In steals he scored 19 points. Jorel Satterfield add 11 points, Keshawn Sanders Scored 10… NAU led with 19 points and 16 rebounds from Tout. Xavier Fuller has 19 points and 6 rebounds.
• coach: Viking Coach Jace Coburn (Arizona, 2006) is in his second season as head coach and has an overall record of 24-32. He’s 3-0 against Northern Arizona. Cobain has spent the past eight seasons at the Brocks Park as assistant and associate head of his coach. He has a career record of 38-72, including 2-4 against the Vikings.

scout northern arizona

• Northern Arizona participated in the Big Sky Conference in 1970. NAU has won four Big Sky regular season championships and he has won two Big Sky Tournament titles, with two appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
• Northern Arizona is 7-19 on the season and 10th in the Big Sky Conference with a 3-10 record. Lumberjack averages 71.7 points and per game he allows 73.9 points.
• Junior guard Jaylen Cohn leads the team with 17.3 points per game and leads the Big Sky Conference with 69 3-point field goals.
• Senior guard Xavier Fuller is averaging 12.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Carson Tout is averaging 9.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

WHO IS HOT

• parker on the pedal: SRG Cameron Parker’s Play has been on the rise in recent weeks. Parker has averaged 25.4 points and 6.6 assists over his last five games and has a 42-71 field goal percentage (.592)… He has led his team in scoring in each of his last 10 games. (20.8) Parker scored a career-high 29 points (FG 9-18, FT 10-12), had 10 assists and a career-high 5 steals against Eastern Washington… A career-high 32 points (10-12 FG, 10-12 FT, 3-3 3 points, 9-12 FT) in Northern Colorado…he currently leads the team in points scored (17.0) and assists (5.9). ) and is shooting .826 at the line this year on his fifth attempt (152-184). His assists rank 11th in the nation.
• bench bunch: Portland State has had solid bench play all season, averaging 29.5 points per game off the bench and ranking 12th in the nation… in northern Colorado Thursday, the Vikings The bench tallied 37 points and 17 rebounds… JR G Isaiah Kirby 12 points with 2 assists while in SR G bobby harvey and SOF Isaiah Johnson The 8 scored 8 points and had 9 combined rebounds… Harvey leads the bench bunch with 7.2 points per game and makes 43 3’s (.381)… SO C Hayden Curtis Leading the team in .613 (19-31) field goal percentage off the bench, SO F Isaiah Johnson Shooting .552 (64-116) and SO F. Kendall Manson .523 Shooting (23-44)… Off the bench, he also has 41 of PSU’s 75 blocked shots.
• Portal production: SOF Isaiah Johnson A late addition to the Vikings roster last summer after leaving Oregon. He’s proving to be a great addition… Johnson is averaging 8.1 points over his last 12 games and shooting over his 60%.
• bobby three ball: SRG bobby harvey Scored at least one 3-point field goal in 21 straight games. His season 43 ranks his second on the team. He has averaged 8.0 points over his last 8 games.
• Quickly: Portland State University is #1 in the Big Sky Conference and #11 nationally in fast break points (15.1 pg).
• big sky leader: Portland State leads the Big Sky Conference in turnover margins (+4.2), forced turnovers (16.4) and steals (7.5)…The Vikings are 22nd nationally in forced turnovers. .. SRG Cameron Parker Assist lead (5.9).