Box Score
Boxscore - HTM | PDF
Portland, OR - The five-guard lineup is catching on at Portland State. Two days after putting five guards on the floor in a comeback victory against Southern Utah, the Vikings pulled off the same feat against Eastern Washington, winning 92-83, at the Stott Center.
A second-half blitz led by five short but spirited Vikings allowed PSU to turn a 10-point halftime deficit into a win. Portland State scored 62 second-half points, including a 34-18 run over a 12-minute span when Viking Coach Tyler Geving went exclusively with five guards. During that rally, PSU turned a 42-34 disadvantage into a 68-60 lead with 5:29 to play.
The Vikings didn't run away with it, but they also didn't let the Eagles any closer than six points the rest of the way.
PSU shot 19-29 from the field in the second half (.655) and made 20-23 free throws (.870) with most coming in the final two minutes. More important, the Vikings' smaller, harassing defense forced the Eagles into 19 turnovers. Portland State turned those mistakes into 35 points.
"The guys weren't happy at halftime (trailing by 10) and they knew they were better than that," said Geving. "They really got after it in the second half.
"This team has got a really good attitude and we're battling (with this small lineup). We sure battled tonight."
Portland State's fourth win in five games improved its record to 9-8 on the season, 4-4 in Big Sky Conference play. With the win, PSU also wins the Dam Cup - a five-sport competition with Eastern Washington - for the 2013-14 season.
There were a host of heroes for PSU, but none more so than Andre Winston Jr. The junior guard scored a career-high 23 points, with 18 coming the second half, including three dunks. Winston hit 7-13 from the field, 8-10 at the line, added six rebounds, six assists and three steals.
"He was 1-6 at the half and was struggling and disappointed. To do what he did in the second half is remarkable," said Geving.
DaShaun Wiggins came off the bench for 21 points and five assists. Tim Douglas added 17 points and four assists.
Portland State finished the night 30-57 from the field (.526) and 23-27 at the line (.852). The Vikings made 10 steals and blocked four shots.
Eastern Washington came into the game leading the Big Sky Conference in three-point field goals. They were true to that stat, hitting 6-10 three-pointers in the opening half and 16-23 shots overall (.696). Portland State couldn't keep up at 11-28 from the field (.393) and trailed 40-30 at intermission.
But the second half was a different story. The Eagles were just 13-36 shooting (.361) and 3-14 from distance (.214).
Ognjen Miljkovic led Eastern Washington's early burst and finished with a career-high 32 points, making 11-16 from the field, 4-6 from three-point range and 6-7 at the line. Tyler Harvey added 18 points for the Eagles.
Eastern Washington is now 8-11 on the season, 3-5 in the Big Sky Conference.
With the win, Portland State moved into a tie for fifth in the Big Sky standings.
GAME NOTES: PSU is 8-3 at home this year... Kyle Richardson matched his career-high with 12 points on 6-7 field goals… Gary Winston also scored 12 as five Vikings were in double figures… the 92 points scored were the most by PSU against a Division I opponent this year… Portland State has beaten Eastern Washington seven straight times at the Stott Center and 10 of the last 12 meetings overall… PSU has an 11-4 advantage in the Dam Cup standings against Eastern Washington with only two meetings left in the series this season. Portland State has now won the Dam Cup three times in its four years of existence… The Vikings host first-place Northern Colorado (13-4, 7-1) on Thursday night in a 7:05 p.m. game at the Stott Center. Live video, audio and stats can be found at GoViks.com. Just click on the Game Day box.