GAME NOTES: Off to their best start since the 2009-10 campaign, the UC Riverside Highlanders try to keep the good times rolling as they host the Portland State Vikings in non-conference play on Saturday.

Being just a game over .500 after seven outings may not sound like much to many programs, but for the Highlanders it is something to celebrate. The team has won two in a row and three of the last four outings, although the competition during that span may not have been the most elite in the nation.

Most recently UCR was in action on Tuesday night and slipped by Cal State Bakersfield in a 59-58 final.

Meanwhile, the Vikings have gone from winning four straight games out of the gate to losing back-to-back decisions. The latest setback came on Wednesday night versus rival Portland on the road, 83-71, a game in which Bryce White made national headlines when he faked an end-of-game handshake and instead stole the ball and went in for a dunk in the waning moments.

With two wins in the last four seasons, the Vikings lead the all-time series between the programs by a 3-1 margin.

The Vikings had five players score in double figures during the meeting with Portland earlier this week, but even that was not enough to keep PSU out of the loss column for the second straight game. Tiegbe Bamba and DaShaun Wiggins both tallied 13 points, White and Tim Douglas both dropped in a dozen and Iziahiah Sweeney added 10 points off the bench as he shot a perfect 5-of-5 from the field for a team that finished the night hitting 40 percent from the floor and just 5-of-17 from long range.

While he has started just one of the team's six games, Wiggins has emerged as the leading scorer for the Vikings with his 15.3 ppg, thanks in part to shooting 57.9 percent behind the 3-point line. White checks in with another 12.3 ppg and while he took advantage of an opponent's sportsmanship on Wednesday, he is still shooting only 36.5 percent from the floor. On a team putting up 73.8 ppg, Douglas (12.0 ppg), Bamba (11.3 ppg) and Braxton Tucker (10.8 ppg) all play significant roles on offense right now.

Trailing by as many as 11 against Bakersfield in the most recent outing, the Highlanders got their act together in the second half of the meeting by shooting 60.9 percent from the field, a huge improvement over their 31.8 percent in the first half. Taylor Johns scored a game-high 21 points, adding seven rebounds and three blocked shots, followed by Jaylen Bland and Nick Gruninger with 15 and 13 points, respectively.

Of the 69.3 ppg being scored by Riverside, a considerable chunk of that is coming from Johns and Bland who are posting 14.9 and 14.3 ppg, respectively, as the only double-digit performers on the roster. Johns, a 51.3 percent shooter from the floor who is having issues at the free-throw line (.629), is also the leading rebounder with 8.3 per game and has accounted for 18 of the unit's 32 blocked shots through seven games.

Even though the Highlanders have a favorable record at the moment, upon closer inspection it is clear that many of the victories have come against much weaker competition, something that will not be the case this weekend.