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MOSCOW, Idaho – The Idaho Vandals are set to play a home-and-home with Portland State. The first game, taking place in Portland, will tipoff at 7 p.m. on Thursday evening. The rematch on Saturday will begin at noon in Memorial Gym.

FOLLOW: Fans can follow the Vandals all season long on Twitter and Instagram, @VandalHoops, and with the Voice of the Vandals, Chris King, at GoVandals.com/Listen. The games can be streamed on PlutoTV.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS (6-9, 3-5 BSC): PSU currently sits just ahead of Idaho in Big Sky Conference standings. In its most recent conference games, Portland State split a series with Montana, falling in overtime before winning, 61-56, in the rematch.

As a team, the Vikings score 69.5 ppg and allow 67.3 ppg. Scott James leads the squad in scoring (12.7 ppg) and rebounding (5.3 rpg). Khalid Thomas (11.6 ppg) and Amari McCray (10.7 ppg) also average double figure scoring.

Most recently, PSU defeated NAIA foe Simpson, 99-66. Four Vikings scored in double figures, led by Thomas with 25. Kyle Greeley had a double-double, tallying 16 points and 10 boards.

SCOUTING THE VANDALS (0-17, 0-14 BSC): The Vandals average 61.2 ppg, allowing 77.5 ppg. Scott Blakney leads Idaho with 11.0 ppg, while Damen Thacker (10.1 ppg) and Gabe Quinnett (10.0 ppg) also average in double figures. Tanner Christensen pulls down 4.6 rpg to lead the team.

LAST TIME OUT: The Vandals fell to Idaho State in a pair of games. In Saturday's game, Idaho lost in overtime, 64-58. Gabe Quinnett led the team with 14 points while Tanner Christensen had a career-high eight rebounds.

SERIES HISTORY: Idaho leads the all-time series, 16-15. The schools split their two games last season, with each team winning on its home court.

STEADY SENIOR
Senior Scott Blakney is leading the team in scoring, averaging 11.0 points per game. He scored a career-high 23 points against NAU (Jan. 2) and then tied that total against UNCO (Jan. 16). He has scored in double figures in eight of this year's 15 games. Overall, the senior is shooting 60.5 percent from the floor.

FREE THROW FUN
Damen Thacker is 36-for-39 (92.3 percent) from the charity stripe this season. The senior snapped a streak of 32 straight makes on Feb. 6. In conference only games, Thacker is shooting 94.7 percent from the line, which is the second best in the Big Sky.

ALWAYS THERE
Gabe Quinnett leads the Vandals, and is ninth in the league, in minutes played with 31.7 minutes per game. The sophomore is third on the team scoring 10.0 points per game. He has scored in double figures in five of the last six games. His 1.8 three-point field goals per game are eighth most in the Big Sky.

NEW HIGHS
Damen Thacker set a new career-high in points against SUU (Jan. 7). He led the team with 27 points, going 11-for-11 from the free throw line.

Scott Blakney and Gabe Quinnett both set new career-highs for points in the overtime loss to NAU (Jan. 2). Blakney scored 23 points to lead the team. He also tallied a team-high five rebounds. Quinnett scored 18 points, going 6-for-10 from the field and 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. Blakney reached 23 points again against UNCO (Jan. 16), while Quinnett got to 18 again against EWU (Feb. 4).

Babacar Thiombane set a new career-high against Eastern Washington (Feb. 4) with 12 points.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS
Ja'Vary Christmas had a career-high six assists against SUU (Jan. 7) and then dished out six again against EWU (Feb. 4). The senior is currently averaging 2.8 assists per game, good for 12th in the conference. He has tallied at least four assists in seven different games.

Damen Thacker also recorded six assists against NAU (Jan. 2). The total was a new career high.

As a team, the Vandals average 12.5 assists per game.

YOUNG GUN
Tanner Christensen earned his first career start against WSU (Jan. 30). The freshman leads the Vandals in rebounding, pulling down 4.6 boards per game. He has a team-high 27 offensive rebounds on the year. Christensen pulled down a career-high eight rebounds against ISU (Feb. 13).

He has scored at least six points in seven of the last nine games. Christensen has the team lead in blocks, swatting 13 shots. His 0.8 blocks per game puts him 12th in the league.

I'LL TAKE THAT
Damen Thacker recorded a career high four steals against Weber State (Jan. 30). On the season, the senior is averaging 1.2 steals per game which is 12th most in the Big Sky.

HOME SWEET HOME
The two-game series with Portland State is one of two home-and-home series for the Vandals this season. The two teams play in Portland on Thursday, February 18, before meeting in Memorial Gym on Saturday, February 20.

The other home-and-home in the 2020-21 season was with Eastern Washington. The Vandals hosted the Eagles on Thursday, Feb. 4, before the two teams played in Cheney for a rematch on Saturday, Feb. 6.

SIGNED
Two players have signed to join the Vandals next season. RJ Walker is from Decatur, Ill. He is a guard who averaged 17 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.5 spg, and 3.2 apg his junior season. Yusef Salih, from Richmond, Va., averaged 14.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.1 apg, and 2.3 steals per game in 2019-20. He was named First Team All-Conference.

Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho men's basketball by following the team on twitter and Instagram, @VandalHoops.

For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com.  Fans can also find Idaho on Twitter and Instagram, @Idaho_Vandals, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals.