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Portland, OR - Portland State got the expected on Tuesday night - a 110-79 win over New Hope Christian at the Stott Center - but it didn't come the way the Vikings expected.
The lower division Deacons were more than game for the first 25 minutes and led 65-64. Then the Vikings, led by some hot shooting from Traylin Farris, closed out New Hope with a 46-14 run over the last 14:31 of the game.
It marked the third time this season that PSU has eclipsed 100 points. The Vikings improved their record to 4-4 overall, 3-0 at home. The Deacons dropped to 3-15 on the season.
Isiah Large gave the Deacons a lift early, hitting three three-pointers. In fact, Large led an 8-0 New Hope run that had the Deacons ahead 20-16 at the 12:39 mark of the first half.
From there the teams traded the lead nine more times in the half. Portland State used its superior size and athleticism to attack offensively. But the Deacons kept responding with three-pointers. At halftime, the game was tied 52-52. PSU had 30 points in the paint, but New Hope had made 10-16 first-half threes.
Large tallied 16 points for the Deacons by halftime. Farris had 12 points for the Vikings on a perfect 5-5 from the field and 2-2 at the line.
Farris went to work in the second half, scoring 12 points in a 16-4 run that finally broke the game open. The rally turned a 65-64 deficit into an 80-69 Viking lead with 9:42 to play. After a New Hope timeout, Deontae North scored six points in a 12-2 Viking run. It was 92-71 and PSU cruised to the win.
Farris scored a game-high 26 points, hitting 12-13 shots from the field. He also grabbed 11 rebounds as PSU outclassed the Deacons on the glass, 59-25.
North scored 16 points with nine rebounds. Brandon Hollins added 15 points and De'Sean Parsons scored 14. Calaen Robinson led the Vikings with eight assists and five steals while scoring 11 points.
PSU shot .570 from the field, but made only 4-21 three-point field goals. New Hope Christian shot .405 for the game and after the strong long-range shooting in the first half, hit only 3-16 from distance in the second half.
Steven Shares scored 22 points with eight assists for the Deacons. Large finished with 20 points.
GAME NOTES: PSU is now averaging 89.0 points per game this season while shooting .509 from the field. The Vikings have shot .530 or better from the field in all four wins… Portland State is 44-8 at home in non-conference games over the past 10 seasons… the Vikings are 15-0 against lower division schools under Tyler Geving… this was Portland State's sixth straight home win dating to last season... PSU played without leading scorer Braxton Tucker for the third straight game due to knee soreness… the Vikings travel to the University of San Francisco for a Friday night game. Live video can be found at GoViks.com and live stats will be available at ViksLive.com.
