Boxscore - HTM | PDF
Pocatello, ID - Idaho State outscored Portland State, 11-6 over the final six minutes of the game to beat the Vikings, 80-76, in a Big Sky Conference game.
The Bengals win wrapped up a tightly-contested game that included 11 ties and 13 lead changes. For Portland State, the loss ended a modest two-game win streak.
Gary Winston scored all 15 of his points in the second half as the Vikings rallied back from a 10-point deficit. DaShaun Wiggins scored a team-high 16 points before fouling out. Tiegbe Bamba had his second straight double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Nnamdi Ezenwa and Chris Hansen scored 17 points each to lead the Bengals, who broke a four-game losing streak.
Portland State's record falls to 10-8, 4-4 in the Big Sky. Idaho State improved to 5-15, 2-6.
Idaho State entered the game averaging a league-low 61.4 points. But the Bengals turned on the offense in the first half, scoring 45 points and shooting .514 from the field, including 5-9 three-pointers.
Down 37-34, the Bengals went on an 11-4 run to close out the half and take the lead. The Vikings' Zach Gengler hit a short jumper at the buzzer to keep the Vikings within four at 45-41.
Jeffrey Solarin hit 7-12 first-half shots to score 15 for the Bengals by intermission.
Idaho State scored the first six points of the second half to improve its lead to 51-41. But Portland State came right back on a 13-2 run that included three Winston three-point field goals.
The lead alternated over the next several minutes before the Vikings went up 70-69 on a Tiegbe Bamba layup with 6:08 to go. That would be the last PSU lead. Idaho State went on a seven-point run to go ahead 76-70 with 4:18 to play and the Vikings couldn't catch up.
Portland State shot 28-57 for the game, a .491 mark. The Vikings made 7-20 from three-point range (.350).
Idaho State finished at 29-62 from the field, for a .468 mark. The Bengals were averaging only 4.4 three-pointers per game, but hit 8-15 against the Vikings (.533).
GAME NOTES:
• Bryce White missed his second straight game due to low back pain.
• Braxton Tucker scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Vikings. Collin Spickerman blocked three more shots for a total of seven on the two-game road trip.
• The Vikings were in the second game of a stretch of five out of seven on the road over the next four weeks.
• Portland State is now 0-8 when it trails at halftime, 10-0 when it leads at halftime.
• PSU is 6-2 at home this season, 4-6 on the road.
• Portland State returns home to host the University of Montana next Thursday. Live video, audio and stats are available at GoViks.com by clicking on the Game Day Box.
