Box Score
Boxscore

Portland, OR - Portland State dug a big hole early and could never climb out. The result was an 84-79 home loss to Idaho State in a Big Sky Conference game.

The Vikings loss was their third in a row, and seventh in the last nine games. PSU's record drops to 11-13 overall, 4-8 in the Big Sky Conference. Idaho State improved to 7-16, 3-8 in the Big Sky. And, the Bengals won their first road game of the year (1-12).

The Bengals hit 10 of their first 14 shots and had a 23-12 lead at the 13:16 mark of the first half. Chase Grabau had 10 points for ISU in the opening run, hitting four straight shots. A few moments later, the Bengals went on an 8-0 run and pushed the lead to 31-16.

Portland State's deficit got as big as 17 points on two occasions before the Vikings turned it around just before halftime. Trailing 39-22 at the 5:38 mark, the Vikings went on a 10-2 run to end the half. Despite making just 11-31 first-half shots, PSU had pulled within 41-32 at halftime.

PSU continued to chip away after the intermission. A three-point play by Tree Thomas cut the Idaho State lead to 54-52. The Bengals answered with a seven-point run. Again, the Vikings rallied back within 67-66 on a driving three-point play by Chris Harriel with 6:33 left to play.

But, down the stretch Idaho State made enough plays to maintain its lead. The Vikings added to their own troubles with three turnovers inside the last 2:30 of the game.

Charles Odum led the Vikings with 24 points, hitting 8-14 from the field and 6-7 at the line. But, the rest of the starters made only 9-32 shots. Tree Thomas came off the bench for 14 points and four rebounds.

Deividas Busma led Idaho State with 20 points. Grabau added a career-high 16 for the Bengals, and Abner Moreira grabbed 11 rebounds.

ISU won the rebounding battle 41-36 and committed only seven turnovers.

GAME NOTES: The Vikings beat ISU, 79-72, on Jan. 2 in Pocatello... PSU had won 10 of the previous 12 games against Idaho State… JR F Chehales Tapscott sat out his sixth straight game with a knee injury… Portland State's next game is Wednesday at Weber State. Tip-off is 6:05 p.m. PT and airs on Freedom 970 AM and www.970.am.