Boxscore – HTM | PDF
 
Portland, OR – The Vikings gave themselves a shot. Through a play-from-close-behind battle that went 40 minutes, the Vikings had a shot at the end to win. But Deontae North's three-point attempt fell short, Butler rebounded, and the Bulldogs held on for a 71-69 win in a consolation round game of the PK80 Invitational Motion Bracket at the Moda Center.
 
The loss was PSU's second in as many days, both of the emotional variety. The Vikings fell to top-ranked Duke on Thursday after leading for more than 20 minutes and as late as 14 minutes to play. This one was much different.
 
PSU brought its usual, gritty full-court pressure to the contest, but faced a team that handled it well and shot the ball well. Butler led for more than 36 minutes, but never by double digits.
 
"You didn't see our guys flinch for a minute. All they did was just come back for more. So we miss a tip-in or free throw, we don't care, it's next play, do what we do," said Viking Coach Barret Peery.
 
The Bulldogs appeared to have the game in hand with 1:19 to play following a short jump shot by Kamar Baldwin. That made it 71-64 Butler.
 
North came back to draw a foul on a drive to the basket. He hit both free throws, trimming the Butler lead to 71-66.
 
PSU forced a missed shot by Baldwin and on the ensuing fast break North pulled up from the top of the circle and buried a three-point shot to make it 71-69 with 42 seconds left.
 
Following a timeout, the Bulldogs ran the clock down 16 seconds before Holland Woods stepped in front of Baldwin on a drive to the hoop, drawing a charging foul.
 
PSU had a chance.
 
On the Vikings' set play, Bryce Canda came off a low screen and caught an entry pass. But when he was swarmed by Butler defenders he kicked out to North. The senior guard's three-point attempt under heavy pressure fell short.
 
"We got what we wanted (with Canda and North touching the ball). Butler did a great job guarding and being physical," said Peery.
 
Tyler Wideman of Butler rebounded with 2.6 seconds left and was fouled. He missed the front end of a one-and-one, but the Vikings, without a remaining timeout, were unable to get a good shot off before the final buzzer.
 
The loss dropped PSU to 4-2 on the season, while Butler improved to 4-2.
 
North led the Vikings with 18 points and handed off four assists. Michael Mayhew scored 17 points, hitting 5-9 three-pointers, and Canda scored 14 with six rebounds for the Vikings.
 
Wideman had a game-high 18 points for Butler, which dominated play inside, outscoring the Vikings in the paint 44-20. That off-set PSU's three-point shooting advantage (12-26 to 4-17 for the Bulldogs).
 
Butler shot .509 for the game (29-57) to .436 for Portland State (24-55). The Bulldogs had a 33-32 rebounding edge.
 
GAME NOTES: Holland Woods came off the bench to hand out a game-high eight assists… recovering from a first-round battle with the nation's number-one ranked team in less than 24 hours was no easy task. In fact, starting forward Traylin Farris did not play due to an ankle sprain… Portland State had never played a game against a member of the Big East Conference prior to facing Butler… Portland State will play a seventh-place contest on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at Memorial Coliseum. The Vikings will face the loser of the Ohio State-Stanford game on Friday evening.