Boxscore - HTM | PDF
Flagstaff, AZ - Northern Arizona went on a 15-6 run over the final 6:04 of the their Big Sky Conference game with Portland State to come from behind and beat the Vikings, 58-51.
PSU was seeking a Big Sky Tournament berth-clinching win on Thursday and nearly got it. But over the final six minutes they made only three of eight shots and committed six turnovers.
PSU dropped to 14-13 on the season, 8-9 in the Big Sky. The Vikings are now in a three-way tie for sixth place with Idaho and Weber State. Southern Utah sits one game back at 7-10. Eight teams earn berths in next week's conference tournament. PSU needs either to beat Southern Utah on Saturday, or for Weber State to lose to Eastern Washington to guarantee a bid.
DaShaun Wiggins led the Vikings with 15 points in the game. Tiegbe Bamba added 12 points and six rebounds.
Aaseem Dixon scored 15 points for the winners, while Gaellen Bewernick had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Jordyn Martin also had 14 rebounds for the Lumberjacks as they beat the Vikings on the glass, 55-32.
The rebound advantage made a big difference for NAU as it shot only 21-66 from the field (.318) but had 25 off the offensive glass. The Vikings didn't shoot much better at 20-56 (.357). PSU shot only three free throws in the game while the Lumberjacks had 20 free throw attempts.
At the outset, the Vikings made only three of their first 15 shots but were able to hang close. Wiggins finally hit back-to-back three-pointers for PSU, giving it a 13-12 lead with nine minutes left in the first half. Wiggins scored 10 of the Vikings' first 13 points.
Then it was NAU's turn to go cold. The 'Jacks struggled to shoot from everywhere in the first half, hitting only 8-33 shots (24%) overall and 1-9 from three-point range (11%). PSU made 8-24 shots (33%). The Vikings' saving grace was swishing 5-10 three-pointers in the half for 23-22 lead at the break.
The Vikings took a 33-28 lead in the second half before a 12-2 run by the 'Jacks gave them the lead back at 40-35 with 11:33 left in the game. PSU rallied on a 10-3 run to lead 45-43 when Tim Douglas hit a three-pointer with 6:04 remaining.
The 'Jacks took control from there. Len Springs blocked three shots for NAU in the closing minutes to stymie the Viking offense.
Northern Arizona (17-13/12-5) has now won nine of its last 11 games. The 'Jacks have beaten the Vikings in their last five meetings.
GAME NOTES: One game after blocking a school-record seven shots, Collin Spickerman blocked six more against Northern Arizona… Vikings' starting forward Braxton Tucker missed his second straight game with a knee contusion... the Vikings are now 5-9 on the road… Portland State plays its regular season finale at Southern Utah on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. PT. Live video, audio and stats are available at GoViks.com by clicking on the Game Day box.
