The Vikings finished their 2011–12 season with a 17-15 overall record and a 10-6 conference record. This was their best result in the three years Tyler Geving has been head coach of the team. The year ended with the Vikings making a deep run into the playoffs, culminating in a 69-63 loss away against the Weber State Wildcats in the semifinal round.
The Vikings finished their 2011–12 season with a 17-15 overall record and a 10-6 conference record. This was their best result in the three years Tyler Geving has been head coach of the team. The year ended with the Vikings making a deep run into the playoffs, culminating in a 69-63 loss away against the Weber State Wildcats in the semifinal round.
“I thought we had a great year,” Geving said. “The way we played at the end of the season, I think we were always going to be a team that got better toward the end of the year.”
This season was filled with ups and downs. The team often went on winning and losing streaks. It went the entire back half of December without getting a win, but also went on four three-game winning streaks over the course of the season. The Vikings were in the fight to climb out of the Big Sky gutter and into the playoffs until nearly the end of the season, which they finished with a three-game conference winning streak against Sacramento State, Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado.
While this year’s squad was dominated by the performances of departing seniors Charles Odum and Chehales Tapscott, it was also the opportunity for next year’s stars to get a feel for playing with the Vikings. Guards Lateef McMullan, Michael Harthun and Gary Winston could step up and provide a strong backcourt presence for the Vikings next year, while recent acquisition and bench star Renado Parker could take more of a role in the Viking offense.
The Vikings were able to make it to the playoffs on a string of conference victories that reversed their mediocre standing early in the season. They won their round in the quarterfinals decisively, beating the Montana State Grizzles, a team who had beaten them twice in the regular season, 75-53 at home. Things looked optimistic for the Vikings as they traveled to Missoula, Mont., to face the Weber State Wildcats.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, however, the Wildcats proved to be more ready than the Grizzlies. Portland State held the lead briefly in the middle of the game, but the Grizzlies rallied toward the end and finished the match 69-63.
Head coach Tyler Geving, who was awarded Coach of the Year honors by collegeinsider.com, will nevertheless be pleased with the team’s improvement this year. The team, which was picked fifth in preseason polls, finished out the season in third position in the Big Sky Conference, finishing with a better performance than the women for the first time in years. Now Geving will have the chance to show what he can do with a team that is entirely of his own making. The Vikings have already picked up a big signee from Sheridan Junior College, Lamont Prosser, and are expected to announce more signings in the spring.
Geving said the team still had two scholarships left to offer after picking up Prosser, and that further acquisitions would be announced later in the year. He said the team would take a little time off over the break for the players to decompress before starting spring workouts and training.
