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Grand Forks, ND - With 24 points, 13 rebounds and five assists Thursday night, Portland State's Cameron Forte proved once again he is tough to guard for anyone in the Big Sky Conference. But North Dakota's Quinton Hooker was even tougher. The Fighting Hawks point guard scored a school Division I-record 38 points in leading his team to an 80-77 win over the Vikings in a Big Sky Conference game.

Fittingly, Hooker made two free throws with 9.4 seconds left in the game to give North Dakota the three-point lead. Viking point guard Donivine Stewart raced up court and got off a three-pointer just before the final buzzer but it hit front iron and the Vikings went down to defeat.

Hooker entered the game averaging 18.5 points but he more than doubled that. Hooker made 15-20 shot from the field, 3-6 three-pointers and 5-5 free throws for his 38 points. That helped UND hold off a late run by the Vikings.

Meanwhile, the Vikings' Forte had his 12th 20-point game of the season for the Vikings. De'Sean Parsons added a season-high 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Zach Gengler scored a dozen points with five rebounds and four steals.

Hooker was the story though, getting 18 in the first half and 20 in the second half. His impact was key in a game where the stats were virtually even. PSU shot 31-66 (.470) from the field to 31-67 (.463) for North Dakota, making four three-pointers each. UND had 38 rebounds to 37 for the Vikings. And each team had 17 turnovers. The only marginal difference was a free throw advantage for the Fighting Hawks, making 14-16 (.875) to 11-14 (.786) for the Vikings.

Portland State jumped out to an 18-8 lead through the first eight minutes of the game. Forte and Gengler each had six points in the opening moments to lead the strong offensive start. But a spate of Viking turnovers helped fuel a 17-4 UND run. By then the Fighting Hawks were ahead 31-26 with 4:12 to go in the first half.

PSU had 10 turnovers by halftime resulting in 13 North Dakota points. That helped get UND to a 38-35 halftime lead. Hooker had 18 points at halftime, hitting 8-10 shots from the field. Forte had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Vikings.

A Hooker three-pointer just two minutes into the second half had the Fighting Hawks ahead 49-39 - their largest lead. Then the Vikings started chipping away. It took over 10 minutes, but PSU got its first lead for the second half on a Parsons jumper with 6:35 left, making it 63-62. The lead changed hands four times in the closing moments.

A pair of Forte free throws with just under 10 seconds left pulled PSU within 78-77. Hooker was fouled on the ensuing North Dakota possession and made both shots.

Portland State's loss dropped it to 9-17 on the season. The Vikings are 5-10 in the Big Sky Conference. North Dakota improved to 14-12, 9-6.

GAME NOTES: PSU is 3-11 on the road this season… the Vikings, league leaders in steals, had 11 in the game… due to the Big Sky Conference's unbalanced schedule, this is the only meeting of the regular season between the teams… Portland State moves on to face Northern Colorado on Saturday at 6 p.m. PT. Live video, audio and stats are available at www.GoViks.com.