Portland, OR - In a furiously-paced, high-scoring affair at the Chiles Center, the Portland State Vikings upset the 25th-ranked Portland Pilots, 86-82.

Dominic Waters led the charge with 21 of his 23 points in the second half.  Sixteen of those points came in the final eight minutes as he brought his team back from a 12-point deficit.

The win was the second in two seasons by the Vikings over a nationally-ranked team. PSU improved to 2-4 on the season, while Portland dropped to 5-2.

The Pilots took the lead early with hot shooting but never led by more than 10 in the first half.

In fact, both teams singed the nets in the first half. The Vikings hit 17 of 30 from the field (.561) and a brilliant 10-14 from three-point range (.714). Portland was even better at 20-31 from the field (.645) and 3-5 from three-point range (.600). The difference came at the line as Portland got 12 opportunities, hitting nine. The Vikings were just 2-2.

That gave the Pilots a 52-46 halftime advantage.

At halftime, Melvin Jones had 15 points for the Vikings, hitting 5-6 from long range. Nik Raivio scored 15 for the Pilots.

The Vikings chipped into the Pilot lead early in the second half. An 8-2 run was capped by a three-pointer from Paul Guede at the 14:38 mark. That tied the game at 59-59.

But, Robin Smeulders sparked a 15-3 Pilot run over the next five minutes, scoring eight of those points. Portland held its largest lead at 74-62 with 9:20 to play.

The Vikings response? An inspired comeback led by Waters.  The senior guard scored 12 points in a 21-6 run. His three-pointer with 2:59 on the clock gave PSU its first lead since the opening moments at 81-80.

A Julius Thomas layin at the 1:38 mark made it 83-80.

The teams traded missed baskets before Smeulders hit two free throws with 26.1 seconds left.

On the ensuing possession, Waters was fouled and made both shots to push the lead back to three.

The Pilots couldn't convert on their final possessions and the Vikings got one more free throw from Guede to make it 86-82.

Waters scored 23 points on 6-11 from the field, 3-4 from three-point range and 8-8 at the line. He also had a career-high nine assists.

Melvin Jones added 17 points for the Vikings, while Jamie Jones grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds.

Smeulders scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Pilots.

PSU finished shooting .527 from the field and .600 from three-point range (15-25).

The Viking defense turned it up in the second half, forcing the Pilots to hit just 10-31 from the field. PSU held Portland without a field goal over the last 4:28 of the game.

GAME NOTES: PSU has beaten Portland four straight times, including the last two times in the Chiles Center... Portland State opens Big Sky Conference play on Saturday at the Stott Center. The Vikings host Eastern Washington at 7:05 p.m.