Boxscore - HTM | PDF
Sacramento, CA - Portland State put a serious scare into first-place Sacramento State, taking the game into the final minute, before dropping a 64-60 decision at the Hornets Nest.
The Vikings overcame a 14-point deficit to lead in the second half, but the Hornets made more plays down the stretch and won their seventh straight game.
Sacramento State now stands at 16-6 overall, 10-1 in the Big Sky Conference. The Vikings are 11-10, 5-6 in the Big Sky.
Portland State got off to a slow start on offense, making only 3-13 shots in the first eight minutes, and trailed 13-6.
Consecutive three-pointers by Dylan Garrity stretched Sacramento State's lead to 23-12 with 7:25 left in the half. The Hornets were up 33-24 at halftime. Garrity had 14 points at intermission, hitting 6-8 from the field.
PSU made 10-27 shots (.370) in the first half, while the Hornets were 12-25 (.480).
Viking forward Braxton Tucker scored six points as PSU staged a 12-2 rally at the start of the second half. A DaShaun Wiggins three-pointer put PSU ahead 36-35 with 16:37 to play. That brought PSU all the way back from a 31-17 deficit at the 3:12 mark of the first half.
The Vikings led by three on a couple of occasions, and went on a 21-4 run in all. PSU was down 54-53 with 7:05 to play. However, the Vikings failed to hit a field goal for the next six minutes. Despite that cold stretch, they still had a chance at the end.
A Zach Gengler three-pointer with 1:05 remaining got PSU within 61-58. Then Gary Winston made two free throws with 31.3 seconds left and the Vikings trailed 62-60.
An immediate foul on the Hornets Nick Hornsby resulted in a missed free throw and the Vikings had the ball back with just under 30 seconds to play. PSU set up a play for Winston, tossing a cross-court pass for an open three-pointer, but the senior guard stepped on the sideline. That turnover, one of 17 on the afternoon and 10 in the second half, dashed PSU's hopes. Garrity made two free throws for Sacramento State with 17.5 seconds left to provide the final four-point margin.
"They got their hands on some passes, and some of our turnovers were careless," said Viking Coach Tyler Geving. "That was frustrating, we beat ourselves a little bit tonight.
"I feel like we are right there. We competed, played hard and gave it everything we had. We just could have cleaned up some of those turnovers."
Portland State shot .442 for the game, but Sacramento State was better at .481. The Vikings won the rebound battle, 36-28. The Hornets had 15 points off the Vikings 17 turnovers. PSU scored just six off 12 Sacramento State turnovers.
Tucker led the Vikings with 18 points, including 12 in the second half. Tiegbe Bamba came off the bench to score 13 points on 5-5 field goals and 3-4 at the line. He also grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.
Mikh McKinney scored 17 points for Sacramento State and Garrity added 16.
GAME NOTES: Gary Winston led the Vikings with five assists… PSU has yet to win a game in which it has trailed at halftime (0-10)... Sacramento State is 11-1 at home, Portland State is 4-7 on the road… PSU is now 7-4 in games decided by eight points or less... Portland State plays at the University of Idaho next Thursday in a 7 p.m. game. Live audio, video and stats can be found at GoViks.com by clicking on the Game Day box.
