Boxscore

Hillsboro, OR - After appearing to have the game in hand late in the first half, Portland State stumbled and, finally, fell to Northern Colorado, 35-30, in a senior day contest at Hillsboro Stadium.

PSU had a 27-9 lead with 13 seconds left in the first half. But a long kickoff return, then a converted Hail Mary pass by the Bears made it 27-15 going into halftime and Northern Colorado still had a chance.

Viking running back Cory McCaffrey rushed for 201 first-half yards and was the main reason PSU built a big lead. McCaffrey broke a fourth-and-one play for a 48-yard touchdown run midway through the second period giving the Vikings command of the game with a 20-9 lead.

His running also set up a strong Viking passing game. Senior Tygue Howland completed 13 of 17 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns in the half - one to Ricky Cookman and one to Justin Monahan.

The Monahan touchdown gave PSU the 27-9 lead late in the half. But two plays later, the Bears' Dylan Orms tossed a long pass to the endzone. Viking defenders tipped the ball that was scooped up by Doug Steele and he went in for a 48-yard touchdown.

Northern Colorado stopped the Vikings in the second half by filling up the box and shutting down McCaffrey's running game. He had only 25 yards on 15 second-half carries.

The Bears made a pair of big plays and eventually took the lead. Patrick Walker took a lateral pass on the first play of the fourth period and went 77 yards for a score. A few minutes later, Andre Harris broke a run through the middle and scampered 57 yards for a go-ahead touchdown. That made 35-30, Northern Colorado.

Pushed to the brink, the Vikings couldn't find the answer offensively. PSU had six punts, one field goal and two late interceptions in the second half.

The Vikings had 373 yards of offense in the first half, but just 107 in the second. McCaffrey finished with 226 yards rushing on 33 carries. Howland completed 20 of 35 passes for 250 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

UNC's numbers were nearly the opposite, gaining 178 in the first half, but 319 in the second half. Andre Harris rushed for 167 yards on 22 carries and scored two touchdowns.

DJ Macarthy led the Viking defense with eight tackles and a sack. Donte Almond added eight tackles and two pass breakups.

The Vikings drop to 2-8 on the season and have lost six straight games. Northern Colorado finished the year at 3-8.

GAME NOTES: McCaffrey had the 24th 200-yard game in Portland State history. His total ranked 12th most all-time at PSU… the Vikings had won six in a row against the Bears, including four straight Big Sky games… Portland State travels to Northern Arizona for its final game of the season next Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. PT. The pregame show on Freedom 970 AM begins at 1 p.m. Live streaming video is available at www.b2tv.com, with live stats at www.GoViks.com.