Vikings look to work out kinks this week

The Vikings men’s basketball team will take to the road for Thanksgiving weekend as they participate in the Jim Thorpe Classic at the University of Wyoming.

The round-robin tournament will feature Louisiana Tech and Maryland-Eastern Shore, as well as host Wyoming.

The tournament is named for Jim Thorpe, widely considered as one of the most versatile athletes of modern sport. He won Olympic gold medals in the 1912 Summer games in the pentathlon and decathlon. Thorpe was also a renowned football player, earning all-pro honors in 1923 as well as being named to the all decade team. A college football award is named after him, given to the nation’s top defensive back.

The Vikings will be looking to improve in several key areas on offense this week, including reducing their turnover count after giving the ball up an alarming 25 times in their comeback win over Seattle a week ago. Reducing mistakes is a key issue to address before heading into conference play, according to coach Tyler Geving.

“When you look at our team, there is a lot of room for improvement,” Geving said. “I do think we’re just going to keep getting better with time.”

Senior forward Chehales Tapscott feels that the team clicked when they needed it most, and believes that it’s a sign of the season ahead. Tapscott is averaging 15 points and 11.5 rebounds through two games.

“We have an explosive team,” he said. “We will never die. We will never give up. This is a different team from last year and we think we can show some teams that this week.”

Among the players looking to improve is newcomer Lateef McMullan, a JUCO transfer who has taken the reigns of the Viking offense at point guard.

“The guys have really responded well to [McMullan],” Geving said. “He’s such a competitive kid that it kind of rubs off on everybody.” 

An early surprise for the Vikings this season has been senior center Nate Lozeau’s offensive contributions, leading the team in scoring with 16 points per game. He has also helped with providing second chances, grabbing 10 offensive rebounds so far.

But where there’s good, there is bad, and the bad for the Vikings has been poor shooting from beyond the three-point line. The loss of junior swingman Martin Whitmore in the pre-season game against Western Oregon, a touted perimeter threat, is proving costly, as the team is 6-26 from the three-point line thus far.

Notable players the Vikings will face in the tournament will be Louisiana Tech guard Trevor Gaskins. The senior is averaging 19.5 points in his two starts this season for the Bulldogs. Also, Wyoming center Adam Waddell is a strong, athletic post player with the ability to knock down jumpers.

Weekend games will tip off Friday at 4:30 p.m. with Maryland-Eastern Shore facing off with LA Tech. The Vikings will then take on host Wyoming in the evening matchup scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

Note: Statistics above are as of Monday, Nov. 21, at 1 p.m. prior to Portland State’s scheduled game against Linfield College. Results from that game were not available at press time.