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Northridge, CA - There is something nice about playing in southern California as far as the Vikings are concerned. 

Just 10 days after a big win at USC, Portland State traveled to Cal State Northridge and picked up another win, 63-55 over the Matadors, and kept its record perfect on the season.

In fact, PSU has played its two best games in southern California, building a 4-0 record in the early season. The Vikings never trailed in their win over CSUN, jumping to a double-digit lead before halftime and maintaining it for most of the game.

Portland State took the lead right at the start. A trio of three-pointers by Gary Winston in the first half helped the Vikings build their lead. A triple from DaShaun Wiggins at the 3:19 mark of the half put PSU up 11 at 31-20. The halftime lead was 33-22.

The advantage grew to 18 as PSU went on a 7-0 run to start the second half. The Vikings never dipped below 11 until a 9-0 Matador run late in the second half. That closed the PSU lead to 57-51 with 1:32 to play.

Finally, Bryce White dropped two free throws for the Vikings with 55 seconds left to create some breathing room. Tim Douglas and Gary Winston each made more free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.

Also playing his best basketball in southern California is Tiegbe Bamba. The senior forward had a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds with two steals. He went for 19 points, six rebounds and four steals at USC. During the two home games sandwiched between the California trips, Bamba had a total of only nine points and 10 rebounds.

Winston finished with 15 points and four assists for the Vikings. DaShaun Wiggins had 10 points off the bench.

Once again, the Vikings were tough on defense, holding the Matadors to .383 shooting and forcing 18 turnovers. PSU has made opponents commit 19.5 turnovers per game this season. The 55 points allowed were a season low against a Northridge team averaging 73 points per game.

"That was a fun one," said Viking Coach Tyler Geving of his team's win. "We were bad defensively the other night (in a win over SIUE), but we challenged the guys tonight and ended up holding them to 38% shooting."

Stephen Maxwell led CSUN with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Stephan Hicks added 13 points and seven boards.

The Matadors are now 2-4 on the season.

Portland State is 4-0 for the first time since the 2008-09 season. PSU started 7-1 that year.

The win over Cal State Northridge was important for the Vikings as they started a stretch of four straight games on the road. Trips to Oregon, Portland and UC Riverside are on the schedule over the next 10 days.

GAME NOTES: Sophomore forward Braxton Tucker, who is averaging 13.7 points and 8.0 rebounds, did not play after starting the first three games of the season. He suffered a quad contusion late in Monday's win over SIUE and was unable to go on Wednesday. As a result, junior forward Collin Spickerman started and junior center Dorian Cason saw his first action of the season. Spickerman had four points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots… Portland State entered the game ranked second in the nation in three-point shooting at .500, and proceeded to make 7-14 against the Matadors… the game between CSUN and PSU was the first meeting in eight years… Head Coach Tyler Geving is now 6-1 all-time against teams from the Big West Conference… Portland State's next game is Sunday night at Oregon. The Vikings and Ducks meet in a 5 p.m. game that will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.