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PORTLAND, Ore. — Braxton Tucker must have missed suiting up for the Portland State men's basketball team.
The junior forward scored seven of the Vikings' first nine points and finished with a game-high 30 to lead the Vikings to a 87-62 exhibition win over Linfield Friday at the Stott Center in his first action since missing the entire 2015-16 season with a knee injury.
Tucker's 30 points came on 11-of-15 shooting from the field, and easily surpassed his regular-season career high of 21 points, set at Weber State on Jan. 22, 2015. Tucker also contributed eight rebounds and four assists, and got to the line a team-high 12 times in the game.
Tucker's contributions helped the Vikings overcome a slow start from the field, as the team went 5-of-18 to start the game, and made just one of their first 11 shots from three-point range.
The Vikings' poor start from the field kept the Wildcats close early, as the Vikings led by just two at 20-18 with 9:24 to go in the first half. The Vikings held the Wildcats without a field goal for the next six minutes, however, allowing them to build a 12-point lead at 33-21, and the lead never dipped below eight points the rest of the way.
Tucker also scored nine of the Vikings' first 15 points in the second half, as the Vikings built out on their 10-point halftime lead to go up by as many as 31 points at 85-54 with 3:07 remaining.
The Vikings came out of halftime shooting a lot better from the field, as they went 18-of-31 (.581) from the field after halftime, after finishing the first half just 14-of-38 (.368) from the field.
The Vikings put the Wildcats away for good with a 14-0 run near the start of the second half, as they held Linfield without a basket from the 17:47 to the 11:42 mark, while building their lead to 23 points at 59-36.
The Wildcats got back within 18 at 61-43 with 10:53 remaining, but the Vikings followed with another 14-2 run, punctuated by a three-point play from Tucker.
The Viking defense was stout throughout the game, and finished the game with 14 steals, a total that would have tied the team's best total from last season, when the Vikings set a new single-season record with 263 steals.
Junior newcomer
Bryce Canda led the Vikings with four steals, while senior guards
Calaen Robinson and
Zach Gengler followed with three and two steals, respectively.
The Vikings spread the ball well throughout the game, finishing with 24 assists on 32 field goals while five players finished with three assists or better. Robinson led the Vikings with six assists, while Tucker, Gengler and senior guard
Khari Holloway followed with four assists each.
Holloway, Gengler and Robinson all joined Tucker in double-figures scoring, as well. Holloway finished second on the team with 14 points against the Wildcats, and led the way with a team-high three three-pointers. Gengler followed with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field, while Robinson finished with 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting.
The Vikings will now turn their attention to their regular-season opener at Arizona State next Friday. The Vikings and Sun Devils will tip off at 6 p.m. (PT), with the game broadcasted on the Pac-12 Networks.
Notes:
• The Vikings went with a small starting lineup with
De'Sean Parsons the tallest Viking at 6-7
• The Vikings' 14 steals led to 31 points off turnovers. The Vikings also finished with only seven turnovers of their own, while forcing 24 from Linfield
• The Vikings outscored the Wildcats 13-0 in fast-break points
