GAME NOTES: The Portland State Vikings take their perfect record on the road, as they visit the Cal State Northridge Matadors in a non-conference affair at the Matadome.

Portland State nearly felt the sting of defeat on Monday, but it survived in overtime against SIU Edwardsville, 90-87, to move to 3-0 on the campaign. The Vikings' other wins came against opponents of varying degrees of talent, as they defeated USC and Willamette. This game begins a four-game road trip for the Vikings, who face Oregon next.

CSUN got locked up in an overtime battle of its own last time out, but in two extra sessions it could not find a way to defeat Arkansas-Little Rock, as the Trojans earned a 94-88 win as part of regional play of the Maui Invitational. The Matadors are now 2-3 this season, with a road test against Seattle next on the schedule.

In the all-time series with Portland State, CSUN has won five of the last six meetings, including a 90-65 victory in the most recent encounter during the 2006-07 season. The Matadors has won nine of 13 matchups overall.

The Vikings very nearly lost to the Cougars in regulation on Monday, as they trailed, 82-80, with less than 20 seconds to play. However, Braxton Tucker saved the day and forced overtime by sinking a layup with nine seconds left. In the extra session the Vikings made 2-of-3 shots from the floor and 4-of-5 at the free-throw line to secure the win. DaShaun Wiggins poured in 32 points to lead five players in double figures for the winning side.

Scoring at such a prodigious rate has been the norm for Portland State in the early going, as it is averaging 83.3 points per game on 47.5 percent shooting. Of course, the Vikings could make life easier on themselves if they were able to keep opposing teams from shooting at such a high rate (.488). Wiggins (18 ppg) has been a scoring machine off the bench, leading the team in points despite not making a single start. Tim Douglas (!5.3 ppg) has made 80 percent of his field goal tries, and Bryce White (15 ppg) and Tucker (13.7 ppg, 8 rpg) are scoring well in addition.

CSUN's double-overtime loss to UALR wasted strong offensive showings from Stephan Hicks and Stephen Maxwell. Hicks poured in a game-high 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting, while collecting eight rebounds. Maxwell was even better, netting 13 points and collecting 13 rebounds. However the Matadors only got 32 points from the rest of the roster, including a meager seven points off the bench.

The Matadors are shooting a better percentage than their opponents this season (.470 to .439), but they are still being outscored on average (-6.2). Maxwell (19.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and Hicks (18 ppg) take on a ton of responsibility at the offensive end. Aaron Parks (9.8 ppg) is flirting with a double-digit scoring average, but he is connecting on only 31.1 percent of his field goal attempts.

Maxwell and Hicks are a dangerous combination, and both have the offensive skill to keep the Matadors in most games. They should do more than that against a Portland State squad that isn't nearly as good as its record might indicate.