Michael Harthun scored 21 points to pace the Portland State men’s basketball team in a 91-82 win over the Division II Western Oregon Wolves at the Stott Center Friday night.
Harthun, a former Oregon high-school star from South Medford, hit 6-10 field goals, including 4-7 from three-point range. The junior guard transferred from Washington State and redshirted last season, per NCAA transfer rules.
Michael Harthun scored 21 points to pace the Portland State men’s basketball team in a 91-82 win over the Division II Western Oregon Wolves at the Stott Center Friday night.
Harthun, a former Oregon high-school star from South Medford, hit 6-10 field goals, including 4-7 from three-point range. The junior guard transferred from Washington State and redshirted last season, per NCAA transfer rules.
“It was nice to see him come in and knock some shots down,” Vikings head coach Tyler Geving said of Harthun. “I was really encouraged by that.”
Senior guard Charles Odum scored 16 for the Vikings on 5-11 shooting, including 2-4 from three-point range. Senior forward Chehales Tapscott added a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds and senior center Nate Lozeau also added a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Vikings came out flat to start the game, hitting just one of their first 10 shots and allowing the visiting Wolves to grab a 16-4 lead after Jamaal Veal’s back-to-back three pointers. The Vikings would regroup though, hitting nine of their next 10 shots.
A three-point play from junior swingman Martin Whitmore with 7:44 left in the first half capped a 15-3 run by the Vikings. They would end the first half with a 25-10 run, and a 43-31 lead.
The Wolves fought back early in the second half, as guard Kyle Long sank four straight field goals to pull Western Oregon back within 10.
Portland State wouldn’t let up offensively though, driving to the basket consistently and getting to the free-throw line often, as evidenced by their 27 trips to the line in the second half alone.
Several newcomers had solid debuts for the Vikings, including starting point guard Lateef McMullan, who scored 15 and added seven assists. Whitmore, a transfer from UC Riverside, finished with 10 points in his Vikings debut.
“It was nice to see him hit some threes,” Geving said of Whitmore. “It was unfortunate he got hurt and had to come out.”
Late in the second half, Whitmore caught the back end of an alley-oop pass from Odum, missed the dunk, and landed harshly on his right elbow. Whitmore did not return to the game, though the injury is not believed to be serious.
“It’s just a bruise,” Geving said. “I think it scared him more than anything, but he’ll be okay.”
Though the game was an exhibition, Geving wanted to take everything he could from his team’s performance, regardless of the opponent. Western Oregon also returned all five starters from last year’s squad.
“One of the reasons I scheduled this game was…I thought we could get a challenge from it,” Geving said. “I knew they would be a team that would compete against us. We got what we wanted out of it.”
Portland State’s next game is the regular season opener against non-conference rivals Seattle University on Nov. 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at the Stott Center.
