Portland, OR- Thirteen was almost an unlucky number for the Portland State Vikings as they battled a pesky Seattle University team to a 73-68 win at the Stott Center. But the victory, PSU's 13th in a row at home, raised its record to 6-1 on the season.

The win was one of the toughest of the year for the Vikings, as they trailed much of the first half. Down 20-13 at the 8:40 mark, PSU went on a 15-4 run. It was sparked by Andre Murray who hit on a three-pointer, then made a steal and lay-in to ignite the Vikings' slumbering offense.

Dominic Waters hit a pair of three-pointers in the closing moments of the half, and the Vikings went into the locker room leading 31-28.

Portland State led the entire second half, but couldn't get away from the Redhawks. Twice, Seattle closed within a point, at 44-43 and then 51-50 with 6:34 to play.

However, the Vikings got back to back three-pointers from Waters and Kyle Coston a moment later. That pushed the lead to 60-54. From there, the Vikings made 9-10 free throws over the last 3:12 of the game. Their largest lead was 10 at 70-60 with 41 seconds remaining.

The win was PSU's second in a row over Seattle. The Vikings beat the Redhawks 81-67 in last week's third place game of the Great Alaska Shootout.

"We persevered," said Viking coach Ken Bone. "It was not a pretty game by any means and I think a lot of credit goes to Seattle U. The way they came out and came after us. It's hard to play a team back-to-back.

"I thought our guys played hard. I thought our guys worked hard, but our concentration level wasn't very good... it was a tough night."

The Vikings played without senior guard Jeremiah Dominguez, who sat out with an injured right index finger. Waters, starting in his place, and Murray picked up the slack, combining for 35 points and six assists. Murray made 7-11 shots form the field on the way to a game-high 19 points. Waters added 16, hitting 3-4 from three-point range.

Kyle Coston had 11 points and seven rebounds. Jamie Jones scored eight points and had a game-high nine rebounds.

Leigh Swanson led the Redhawks, now 5-4, with 15 points. Austen Powers had 14 points and seven rebounds.

GAME NOTES: The Vikings have started a season 6-1 for the first time since 1976-77... Dominguez is likely to miss Tuesday's game with Lewis and Clark as well. That game will tip off at 7:05 p.m. and it can be heard on AM 910 KTRO. After that contest, PSU plays seven of its next eight on the road.