Boxscore

Portland, OR - After leading the Big Sky Conference in scoring last season, the Portland State Vikings picked up where they left off last March, routing Linfield 119-74 in a preseason exhibition game at the Stott Center.

The Vikings were lights out from all over the court, hitting .522 from the field, and making 15 three-pointers in the game. PSU also converted 32-42 at the line.

Senior guard Melvin Jones led the Vikings with 24 points, making 8-10 shots, 4-6 from three point range and 4-4 at the line. He also had six assists and three steals in 23 minutes of play.

Chris Harriel scored 17 points and Phil Nelson added 16 for the Vikings as six scored in double figures.

Linfield hung with the Vikings early, hitting three three-pointers and taking a 19-16 lead at the 13:36 mark of the first half. Later, Linfield led 25-24 on a pair of Zach Meikle free throws with 9:20 left.

But the Vikings took the lead for good on back-to-back three pointers by Melvin Jones and Phil Nelson. The Viks went up 34-28 as those shots ignited a 33-13 run over the last eight minutes of the halftime.

Jones' 17 first-half points led PSU to a 61-41 halftime advantage and the Vikings cruised home from there.

PSU kept the pedal to the metal in the second half, hitting 13 of their first 16 shots, and scoring 58 more points.

The Vikings 17 steals fueled 26 fast break points and PSU scored 39 points off Linfield turnovers.

Junior center Nate Lozeau scored 12 points on 6-7 shooting and had four rebounds in his first start for the Vikings. Junior forward Chehales Tapscott, also making his first start, had nine points and seven rebounds.

Tree Thomas scored 15 points for the Vikings and Charles Odum had 11 with four assists and three steals.

Senior center KC Wiser led Linfield with 19 points.

GAME NOTES: The game was a non-counting preseason exhibition. The Wildcats are an NCAA III member of the Northwest Conference… PSU beat Linfield, 85-52, in a counting game last Dec. 9… the Vikings come off a 13-19 season in 2009-10. PSU was 7-9 in the Big Sky Conference and reached the conference tournament semifinals… Portland State begins counting games next Friday when the Vikings host Pepperdine at the Stott Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. The game airs on Freedom 970 AM and www.970.am. It is also available on Big Sky TV at www.b2tv.com. Live stats can be found at GoViks.com.