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Reno, NV - Cameron Forte had another marquee game for Portland State, while De'Sean Parsons provided great support off the bench for the Vikings. That tandem led PSU to a 74-67 win over Northern Colorado in the first round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament at Reno Events Center.

Forte and Parsons combined for 47 points, 18 rebounds, eight assists and five steals for the Vikings. The win was PSU's fourth straight as they improved to 13-17 on the season. The reward is a matchup with Big Sky Conference regular season champion Weber State on Thursday in a tournament quarterfinal.

Forte posted his 12th double-double and 10th 20/10 game of the season for PSU. He made 11-16 from the field, but also provided four assists and two steals in 37 minutes.

"He's pretty good inside 10 feet," said Viking Coach Tyler Geving. "If we can get him the ball down there, he is pretty efficient."

Forte's early success set the stage for Parsons' big game.

"De'Sean attacked the basket and got to the free throw line," said Geving, noting the impact Parsons made on the game.

"(Cameron's) play opened up a lot for me, cutting to the basket, getting some layups and weakside stuff," Parsons said, as he scored a career-high 21 points in 30 minutes off the bench. The junior forward hit 5-8 shots from the field and 11-14 at the free throw line. He also had six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Forte scored 13 of the Vikings' first 15 points of the game, hitting all five of his field goals and all three free throws. The Vikings led 15-11 with 11:25 left in the first half. But nobody else in the Viking lineup could get going offensively.

"My mentality was to do whatever I could to get our team going," Forte said. "(The Bears) were coming in with some momentum after a big win against Montana (last week)."

Forte finally get help in the person of Parsons, who came off the bench to score 13 in the first half, including 7-9 at the free throw line.

PSU got to a double-digit advantage at 32-22 on a Forte layup with just under three minutes left in the half. A pair of late three-pointers by the Bears' Jordan Davis and Spencer Mathis narrowed the margin before intermission.

Forte had 21 points and seven rebounds at halftime. Combined with Parsons they had 34 of the Vikings' 36, staking PSU to a 36-30 lead.

The rest of the Vikings got going early in the second half and a 14-2 run had PSU up 50-34. But Northern Colorado had a lot of life left.

Anthony Johnson sparked a 15-2 run that soon had the Bears back in the game. He scored seven in the rally and UNC was within 54-51 with 9:32 to play.

Parsons then got a layup and a dunk on the Vikings' next two possessions and they had some breathing room. A moment later, Zach Gengler hit back-to-back jumpers - a two-pointer and a three-pointer - and PSU was back to a comfortable 67-56 lead with 5:05 to play. That seemed to be good enough for victory, but it wasn't.

The Vikings failed to scored over the next 4:08 of the game, committing four turnovers along the way. With PSU holding a precarious 67-64 lead, Gengler calmly sank a pair of free throws with 57 seconds left. The Vikings made 7-8 at line overall in the final minute and secured the 74-67 victory.

PSU shot .462 from the field, but made only 3-15 from three-point range. The Vikings were 23-31 at the line (.742).

"The attitude and effort of this team has been great all year, even when we were struggling early on. So it is no surprise to me that we have won some games down the stretch of the season," Geving said.

Portland State limited Northern Colorado's transition game and the Bears shot only .406 from the field.  

Jordan Wilson had 20 points off the bench to lead UNC. Johnson scored 17 with eight rebounds. The Bears end their season with a 10-21 record.

Portland State and Northern Colorado were playing in the opening game of the Big Sky Conference Tournament, played for the first time ever at a neutral site. The Vikings were the number-eight seed and the Bears were the number-nine seed in the 12-team tournament.

GAME NOTES: Gengler was the only other Viking to score in double figures with 12 points… this was Portland State's first neutral site game of the season… the Vikings have a season-best four-game winning streak and have won five of six… PSU was 2-0 against Northern Colorado this season… the Vikings are 0-2 against Weber State this year… the Vikings meet Big Sky regular season champion Weber State on Thursday in a 12:05 p.m. game. Live video, audio and stats are available at www.GoViks.com.