Box Score
boxscore

Portland, OR - A pair of Dominic Gunn second-half touchdowns capped a big comeback by Northern Colorado as the Bears defeated Portland State, 32-28, at JELD-WEN Field.

The Vikings took a commanding 28-10 lead with 9:51 to play in the third quarter, but the Bears reeled off 22 straight points to come from behind. The first big play came on an 83-yard Gunn punt return for touchdown at the 6:36 mark of the third. Although the Bears still trailed 28-17 the momentum of the game had shifted.

Quarterback Seth Lobato capped a 64-yard drive for the Bears at the end of the third quarter with a one-yard TD run. Then Gunn caught the clincher, a 29-yard scoring pass from Lobato with 7:26 remaining in the game. That made is 32-28 Bears.

Meanwhile, a Portland State offense that looked so good in the first half, punted seven times in the second half and managed only 90 yards. PSU went three-and-out four times in the half, then failed on fourth down at the PSU 45 with 1:24 to play.

The loss ended PSU's hopes of a winning season as the Vikings dropped to 3-6 on the season, 2-4 in the Big Sky. Northern Colorado is also 3-6, 2-4.

Early on, Portland State's defense continued its fine play of recent weeks, holding Northern Colorado to three three-and-outs in its first four possessions. The Vikings mounted a 75-yard scoring drive that resulted in a one-yard touchdown run by Justin Lilley. The extra point was blocked, but PSU led 6-3 at the end of the first quarter.

An eight-play, 80-yard drive midway through the second quarter extended the Vikings lead to 13-3. DJ Adams rambled in from eight yards out for his seventh rushing touchdown of the season.

Northern Colorado answered with its own drive of 77 yards as Lobato got into a rhythm. He hit Will Jefferson on a 35-yard score with 1:03 left in the half. That pulled the Bears within 13-10.

But that Vikings still had time as Nevin Lewis returned the ensuing kickoff 54 yards. The Vikings needed just five plays to go the final 41 yards and score just before the hall. Keitrell Anderson caught an eight-yard TD pass from Kieran McDonagh, pushing PSU's halftime advantage to 21-10.

A bad snap on a punt attempt by UNC was costly in the third quarter. Although the punter was able to cover the ball, PSU took over at the Bears 14-yard line. Three plays later, Adams scored on a four-yard run - his second touchdown of the day.

Moments later though, Gunn made his tide-turning punt return and it was all Bears the rest of the way.

After gaining 252 yards in the first half, Portland State finished with just 342. Northern Colorado had 346 yards of offense, including 316 passing and two touchdowns by Lobato. That nullified a Viking defensive effort that held UNC to just 30 rushing yards.

Gunn had 182 all-purpose yards for the Bears.

Adams had 90 yards on 15 carries to go with his two scores. Shaquille Richard rushed 11 times for 53 yards.

Ian Sluss led the Viking defense with 11 tackles and one for loss.  Jaycob Shoemaker made eight tackles, two for losses and a sack. Mike Williams made six tackles with two pass breakups and an interception.

GAME NOTES: Northern Colorado ended a nine-game road losing streak. The last road win by the Bears was against PSU in 2010. It was also a 35-30 comeback victory… the last five meetings between the teams have been decided by six points or less… Portland State is 2-2 at home this season… the Vikings travel to play at top-5 ranked Montana State next Saturday. Game time is 12:30 p.m. PT and it will be televised on Root Sports. The radio broadcast will be available at Freedom 970 AM and www.freedom970.com with an 11:30 a.m. pre-game show.