Boxscore

Portland, OR - Devon Beitzel scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, leading Northern Colorado to a 79-66 win over Portland State in the Big Sky Conference opener at the Stott Center.

Northern Colorado led start to finish in picking up the victory. The Bears improved to 5-7 on the season.

Meanwhile, Portland State was disappointed to lose its conference opener at home after a solid  preseason that saw the Vikings win seven of their first 12 games. PSU is now 7-6, 0-1.

A taller Northern Colorado team jumped to a quick first-half lead. The Bears dominated the Vikings on the boards, using a 25-15 rebound advantage to build a 41-27 halftime lead. UNC grabbed 10 offensive rebounds in the half, getting 16 second-chance points.

The Vikings' deficit grew to 18 points early in the second half as PSU went down 45-28 two minutes in. A brief PSU rally, led by eight points from Charles Odum closed it to 49-38, before UNC grew the lead again.

Beitzel broke the game open with a breakaway layin, followed by two free throws on an intentional foul. That made it 58-38 with 14:02 to play.

Once Northern Colorado got the big lead it used a lot of clock on every possession the rest of the way. PSU closed the gap in the late-going but never got the deficit to single digits.

Beitzel, who came in as the Big Sky's second-leading scorer at 18.7 points per game, bettered his average by more than eight, hitting 9-15 from the field, 3-5 from three-point range and 5-6 at the line.

Northern Colorado shot .508 from the field for the game and committed just 10 turnovers.

Portland State finished at a respectable .481 shooting from the field, but played uphill all night. The Vikings, who entered the game at 79% at the free throw line, made only 9-17 (.529).

Odum led PSU with 16 points and three assists. Chehales Tapscott and Chris Harriel each scored15 for the Vikings. Harriel added six boards, three steals and three blocked shots.

GAME NOTES: Northern Colorado won for the first time ever in Portland. The Vikings had won the previous six meetings at Stott Center, including four Big Sky games… PSU leads the all-time series, 11-2… JR G Terry Coleman played for the first time in nine games, returning from a high ankle sprain. He had two points and four rebounds in 10 minutes… the Vikings are 5-2 at the Stott Center this season… Portland State travels to Idaho State for a Sunday afternoon game on Altitude TV and Comcast Sports Net. Game time is 1:05 p.m. PT. The game airs on Freedom 970 AM and www.970.am with the pregame show at 12:30 p.m.