Boxscore

Portland, OR - In the span of two minutes, an unlikely hero sparked the Portland State Vikings to a Big Sky Conference win over Weber State. Dane Johnson had just five points, but made a big impact, in a 71-69 PSU win at the Stott Center.

In addition to the points, Johnson - who played only nine minutes - had two assists and two steals. Each number had a big impact on the momentum of the game.

Weber State used the three-pointer to gain a first-half edge. The Wildcats made 7-13 from distance and 14-26 (.538) overall in the half to lead 37-33 at halftime. PSU made just 14-34 (.412) but had 10 offensive rebounds and 20 points in the paint to stay close.

Wildcat Scott Bamforth hit 4-4 three-point field goals to bruise the Vikings for 12 points in the half.

The Vikings battled to stay within reach through the first 10 minutes of the second half. Then Johnson ignited a Viking rally to finally gather the lead. Twice in the space of one minute, Johnson made steals and started a fastbreak. Both times, he found Charles Odum for a lay in on the other end. On the first play, Odum was fouled and added a free throw. Those five points sparked a 7-0 run and PSU led 53-50 at the 9:38 mark. A moment later, Johnson hit driving layin and PSU was ahead 55-50.

A Melvin Jones three-pointer extended the run to 12 straight and Portland State led 58-50 with 8:02 to play. During the run, the Vikings held the Wildcats without a point for four minutes.

But Weber State battled back and had the game tied 60-60 with less than five minutes to play. Enter Dane Johnson once again. The junior guard hit a three-pointer to break the tie with 4:18 left in the game.

It got a little scary for the Vikings when Bamforth hit a three-pointer with 59 seconds left, closing the gap to 70-69. PSU ran the clock on the next possession, but a little too far. A shot clock violation turned the ball over with 24 seconds to play. Weber State tried to make a play at the end, but Lindsay Hughey traveled with four seconds left.

Jones added a free throw for the Vikings and Weber State was unable to get a shot away before the final horn.

Johnson hit both shots he attempted and had the two big steals. His contribution was not lost on Coach Tyler Geving.

"Dane did a great job the first half of the season. He hasn't played a lot the last few games, but you never know when your number is going to get called. You come out and practice hard every day. It came down to Dane today. He was the defense on the run we made," said Geving.

Odum led four Vikings in double figures with 16 points on 7-11 field goals. Jones added 15 points, hitting 4-8 three-pointers. Tree Thomas continued his fine play, making 5-7 shots and tallying 13 points. Chehales Tapscott led the Vikings with 11 rebounds.

Bamforth paced Weber State with 20 points and six assists. He hit 6-7 three-pointers in the game. Hughey added 15 points.

PSU shot 50% in the second half, while WSU dropped to 46%. Most important, the Vikings committed only seven turnovers.

The Viking win stopped a two-game losing streak and a three-game Weber State winning streak. PSU improved to 10-8 on the season, 3-3 in the Big Sky and tied for fourth with Weber State.

GAME NOTES: There was a remarkable stretch of six minutes and 14 seconds without a deadball in the first half. It was finally interrupted when Weber State called a timeout… JR C Nate Lozeau sat out with a sprained left ankle suffered at Montana last Saturday… Chris Harriel kept his league-leading streak of double-figure scoring games going at 16 in a row… the Vikings are 7-2 at home this year… Viking legend Freeman Williams was in the Stott Center to watch the Vikings. He ranks as the second all-time leading scorer in NCAA history (3,249 points, 1974-78) behind only Pete Maravich. Williams will attend Saturday's game as well… PSU hosts Northern Arizona on Saturday at Stott Center in a game that tips off at 5:05 p.m. for television.