Boxscore

Sacramento, CA - Portland State sputtered offensively down the stretch and dropped a Big Sky Conference basketball game at Sacramento State, 63-55, on Thursday night.

PSU (11-11, 4-6) led 46-43 with 11:20 to play, but scored only nine points the rest of the way. The Hornets (6-16, 3-8) won for the third time in their last four games, and avenged an 86-80 loss at Portland State last Saturday.

Sacramento State set the pace in the first half, making it a half-court game that did not suit the Vikings. Melvin Jones hit a pair of three-pointers early to keep PSU close. But the Hornets, behind 13 second-chance points off 13 offensive boards in the half, took a 33-28 lead at halftime.

Portland State made just 8-24 shots in the first half (.333). Fortunately, five of those were from three-point range. Jones had eight points at halftime to lead the Vikings.

Tree Thomas, who was coming off a 29-point game against Sacramento State last week, had only three at halftime. However, the 6-8 post scored the first eight of the second-half for the Vikings to close the gap to 37-36.

Phll Nelson finally gave the Vikings the lead at 46-43 with 11:20 to play. Charles Odum made two free throws a minute later, and PSU was up 48-43.

Sacramento State answered with a 16-7 run highlighted by a pair of three-pointers by Jackson Carbajal. With that, the Vikings trailed 59-53 with 4:24 to play.

Odum hit a jump shot at the 2:59 mark to make it 59-55. After that, neither team could score. Sacramento State committed three straight turnovers, but the Vikings could not convert a shot.

PSU was 0-5 shooting with a turnover after Odum's field goal. Meanwhile the Hornets made 4-6 free throws in the final 39 seconds to hang on and win.

Nelson led five Vikings in double figures with a season-high 12 points. Thomas and Odum had 11 points, and Jones and Chris Harriel each scored 10. Harriel had seven rebounds and Odum passed for four assists.

The Vikings made 18-51 shots for the game (.353), while the Hornets were 21-59 (.356). Sacramento State had a dominating 48-32 advantage on the backboards, including 18 on the offensive glass for 21 points.

John Dickson had 16 points and eight rebounds to lead the Hornets to the win.

GAME NOTES: Portland State had beaten the Hornets eight straight times... PSU has lost five of its last seven games and is 1-8 on the road this year… JR C Nate Lozeau played for the first time since mid-January. He had missed four games with a severely sprained ankle… JR F Chehales Tapscott (knee) sat out his third game. He should miss two more weeks… The Vikings play at Northern Colorado on Saturday. The game airs at 6 p.m. PT on Freedom 970 AM and www.970.am.