Despite putting on a poor display offensively, particularly from the three-point line, the Portland State men’s basketball team finished with a solid 2-1 record at the Wyoming Jim Thorpe Classic this past weekend.
The Vikings (4-2 overall) were led by strong play from senior guard Charles Odum, who averaged 19.6 points per game in the three outings, including a career-high 27 against Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
Despite putting on a poor display offensively, particularly from the three-point line, the Portland State men’s basketball team finished with a solid 2-1 record at the Wyoming Jim Thorpe Classic this past weekend.
The Vikings (4-2 overall) were led by strong play from senior guard Charles Odum, who averaged 19.6 points per game in the three outings, including a career-high 27 against Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
Host school the Wyoming Cowboys handed the Vikings their lone defeat in the round-robin tournament, a 65-51 rout on Friday evening. The Cowboys went 3-0 over the weekend, easily defeating both Louisiana Tech and Maryland-Eastern Shore by double-digit margins.
The theme for Portland State’s weekend was poor shooting and slow starts. The Vikings averaged just 39 percent from the field in the first half of all three games combined. More so, the sore thumb on the stat line was the numbers from the three-point line. The Vikings chucked up 53 shots from beyond the arc, but made just 11, an average of just over 20 percent.
Against Wyoming, the Vikings shot 3-13 from the three-point line and were never able to find a consistent rhythm to their offense. Senior center Nate Lozeau led the team with 11 points and added four rebounds. Lozeau was the only Viking to score in double digits.
After the opening game of the weekend against the host Cowboys, head coach Tyler Geving saw the positives despite the loss.
“Being down nine at the half, as bad as we played, I wasn’t too disappointed,” Geving said in a media statement. “We just couldn’t get anything going.
The Vikings had many self-inflicted wounds in the loss. In addition to the poor shooting performance and long scoring droughts, the Vikings gave up 20 points on 18 turnovers.
Things would get better come Saturday, thanks to a big hand from Odum.
In a game where both teams were shooting atrociously from the field, the senior put the team on his back, scoring 27 points to lead all scorers in a 66-48 win over Louisiana Tech. Odum attacked the basket often in the second half and cashed in from the free-throw line, hitting all nine of his attempts. Odum is now shooting 96.7 percent on the season from the charity stripe, good enough for ninth in the country.
“Charles just willed us to a win tonight. He is big-time, but that is what he is capable of doing. That is why he was All-Big Sky Conference,” Geving said.
Portland State only led by three at the break, but outscored Louisiana Tech 43-28 in the second half. Despite poor shooting as a team, including 37-percent shooting from the field and 10-percent shooting from the three-point line, the Vikings relentlessly attacked the paint to take control of the game. As a team, the Vikings made 24 of 27 free throw attempts.
Odum would continue his strong play into Sunday in the weekend finale, as the Vikings beat Maryland-Eastern Shore 79-69. Odum scored 25 points on 7-14 shooting, and added six rebounds and three assists as well. Lozeau contributed a double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down 11 boards.
Senior forward Chehales Tapscott continued his strong form to start the season, averaging 11.3 points per game and pulling down 26 rebounds over the weekend, including a career-high 14 rebounds against LA Tech.
Tapscott and Odum were honored for their weekend play, as both were selected to the Jim Thorpe Classic All-Tournament Team. Guard Luke Martinez of Wyoming was awarded the tournament MVP.
The Vikings return home and will continue their non-conference schedule on Saturday, as they host Walla Walla College at 5 p.m. Four of the team’s remaining six non-conference games will be on the road as the Vikings have just two home games between now and Jan. 5.
