boxscore

Portland, OR - A 16-0 second-half run gave Portland State its third straight win as the Vikings beat UC Riverside, 66-58, in a non-conference game at the Stott Center. 

Trailing by eight with just over 11 minutes to play, the Vikings got hot and simultaneously held the Highlanders without a point for nearly seven minutes. PSU closed out the game on a 24-8 run to improve to 8-16 overall this season. It also marked a season-best, three-game winning streak.

The Vikings led at halftime, 33-26. They held UCR to 10-27 first-half shooting (.370) while hitting 50% themselves (12-24). However, seven turnovers kept the Highlanders close.

PSU's Aaron Moore had nine points and five rebounds at the midway point to lead both teams.

Highlander center Chris Patton scored eight points in a 12-2 run to open the second half. That gave UCR a 36-35 lead. Patton went on to score 14 in the first eight minutes of the half, extending the Highlander lead to 50-42. However, after a score to give UCR an eight-point lead, Patton received a technical for woofing at the Viking bench. That more than ignited the Vikings from their offensive slumber.

Michael Harvey sparked the Vikings' 16-0 run, scoring three straight free throws then a put-back off a miss. A Michael Harthun three-pointer with 7:49 left gave PSU the lead for good at 52-50. Moore followed with a bank shot and a free throw, and Gary Winston added another three. That put PSU ahead 58-50 with 4:58 to go. The Vikings made 6-8 free throws down the stretch to earn the win. 

Ending the 6-10 Patton's momentum inside was key to the Viking win. He went to the bench immediately after his technical.

"He's a load in there and he's a good player. You can see why he had over 30 against Cal State Fullerton," said Viking Coach Tyler Geving. 

Harthun led the Vikings with 15 points. Winston had 10 points. The two wings combined to hit 7-12 shots, 5-7 three-pointers and 6-6 free throws.

"I liked our balance today. Harthun and Gary were good today when (UC Riverside) did a good job swarming Renado (Parker) inside," said Geving.

Moore also scored 13 and grabbed nine rebounds for the Vikings. 

The numbers across the board were fairly even, but PSU had a huge advantage at the free throw line, making 18-23 (.783) to just 8-18 for Riverside (.444). The free throw stats were no surprise though. The Vikings entered the game ranked as the 11th-best free throw shooting team in the nation (.759). UCR ranked 341st in the nation (.594).

Patton finished with 22 points for the Highlanders (5-21). Josh Fox scored 10 points and had 12 rebounds.

GAME NOTES: The non-conference game was part of the ESPN BracketBuster series… each team had a player who had previously played for the other program. PSU point guard Lateef McMullan played his freshman season at UC Riverside (2009-10), while UCR guard Chris Harriel played two seasons at PSU (2009-11). McMullan scored seven points with five assists for the Vikings. Harriel scored eight points with three assists… PSU is 8-4 at home this year… in the last three games, the Vikings have made 65-77 (.844) at the free throw line… Michael Harthun has made 16 straight free throws for the Vikings and leads the team at .868 on the season… the Vikings return to Big Sky Conference play on Thursday, hosting North Dakota in a 7:35 p.m. game. The game airs on Freedom 970 AM, www.freedom970.com and www.BigSkyTV.org.