It was a very long season for Portland State, but it couldn't have ended on a better note for Melvin Jones.

Behind Jones’ 25 points, the Portland State Vikings beat Seattle University 81-71 in their final game of the season and the senior guards' final game of his collegiate career.

A Seattle native, Jones went 4 for 6 from behind the arc, shot 7 for 11 from the field , grabbed 4 rebounds and dished 4 assists in his last game, leading Portland State to victory. Jones’ 25 points were just two short of his career-high, and sends both the senior guard and the Vikings out on top.

Entering the Pac-10 Tournament, E.J. Singler was just a role player who excelled at the intangibles. The Oregon Ducks were in freefall, lacking energy and losers of four straight games. They've shown postseason basketball is a whole new ballgame as Singler once again revitalized Oregon, this time over heavily favored UCLA Bruins, 76-59.

Singler picks up where he left off against Arizona State as Ducks play intelligently

After scoring a career-high 22 points in the Ducks win over the Sun Devils on Wednesday night, Singler didn't miss a beat against the Bruins. He scored 11 points in the first half to go along with five rebounds and two steals. He was very efficient, not trying to do too much and playing within the offense. And that offense was as patient as possible, swinging the ball around and waiting for the highest-percentage shot. But Oregon didn't live from the perimeter alone, mixing aggressive drives with their perimeter jumpers to shoot 50 percent in the first half.

The Portland State Vikings will take on Seattle University tonight in Seattle, marking the final game of the season and the last time five seniors will suit up, leaving a young and potential laden team full of promise for head coach Tyler Geving. 

The Vikings stand at  13-16 overall but their record to end this season has little to do with what the team  has actually achieved and progress made. 

Just two seasons ago, the Vikings were poised to enter Oregon basketball legitimacy after the team made it through the Big Sky tournament and into the big dance, the NCAA Tournament.  But NCAA investigations and alleged player academic issues caused the team to be penalized with  ineligibility for NCAA tournament and any postseason play for a two season span.  no comments

E.J. Singler and his Oregon Ducks picked a great time to break out of their slumps, pulling out a 67-59 first-round win over the Arizona State Sun Devils, a team they lost to twice during the regular season.

Singler aggressive attack propels Oregon

Entering having made just five of 19 field goals over the Ducks final three regular season games, the sophomore forward looked to avenge such disappointing performances and took his anger out on Oregon's first-round foe. He looked to score inside and out, and particularly helped the Ducks build a comfortable lead from three-point range. Riding a hot hand, Singler drained two of the Ducks seven first-half three-pointers, scoring 14 points in all in the first 20 minutes on 5-8 shooting.

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On a six hour bus ride from North Dakota to South Dakota, Armon Johnson had no idea such a long tiring road trip would be part of his first year in the NBA.

But in early February, reality hit hard for the Portland Trail Blazers rookie when he found himself playing in the D-League for the Idaho Stampede. Johnson wondered how he went from the Association to packed on a bus with a bunch of NBA hopefuls and maybe even a "has been" who passed along words of wisdom along the way.

"That was a trip. It can get crazy down there going from small town to small town like that," Johnson told Beyond the Beat.

"The whole experience was humbling overall."

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