Portland, OR - The Portland State Vikings let one get away Thursday night, giving up a 15-point second half lead and falling to Montana State, 70-65, in a Big Sky Conference game at the Stott Center.

The Vikings were up 58-43 with 11:39 to play, but fell into an eight-minute scoring drought, allowing the Bobcats to rally back for the victory. Still, PSU led 65-62 with 1:45 to go but missed a shot and committed three turnovers down the stretch. Meanwhile, Shawn Reid made a clutch three-pointer with 28.6 seconds to play giving MSU a 67-65 lead, and a moment later his two free throws sealed the game.

Portland State was playing MSU for a share of third place in the Big Sky, but instead remain in fourth place, tied with Idaho State at 4-4. The loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Vikings who are now 10-10 overall.

Montana State improved to 11-8, 6-2. The Bobcats have won four in a row and six of their last seven.

The first half was a shootout as Montana State made 18-30 from the field (.600) and the Vikings hit 15-27 (.556), including seven three-pointers. PSU's Lateef McMullan hit a midcourt bomb at the halftime buzzer, but the Bobcats led 41-39.

McMullen gave the Vikings the lead with a driving three-point play two minutes into the second half. That started a 19-2 Viking run. With a 58-43 lead at the 11:39 mark, PSU appeared to have the game in hand. But they went 8:06 without scoring, missing 11 straight shots. 

The Bobcats closed to 58-54 before Charles Odum hit a driving laying and was fouled with 3:33 to play. His three-point play gave the Vikings a 61-54 advantage. But MSU went on a 16-4 binge in the closing moments to get the win.

MSU made just 9-28 second-half shots (.321), but made them when they counted at the end. Reid and Xaiver Blount led the Bobcats with 15 points each. Reid also had a game-high eight rebounds.

The Vikings made only 10-30 shots in the second half and finished at 25-57 for the game (.439). Odum led the Vikings with 15 points and seven rebounds.

Gary Winston and Michael Harthun each scored 11 for the Vikings.

GAME NOTES: With the win, Montana State sweeps the season series from the Vikings… McMullan set a new career high with seven assists… the Vikings had 17 turnovers to just nine for the Bobcats… The Vikings will host Montana on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. The game airs on Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com. The game is televised on Comcast SportsNet and Altitude TV in the Portland area.