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Santa Clara, CA – An electric second half, led by guards Deontae North and Holland Woods, brought the Portland State Vikings from 17 points down to a thrilling 87-84 win at Santa Clara.
 
After shooting only 12-33 (.364) in the first half, PSU made 20-24 field goals (.833) in the second half at the Leavey Center. Included was a stretch of 16 consecutive made shots by the Vikings.
 
North and Woods did most of the damage and combined to make all 13 of their second-half field goals. North tied his career-high with 30 points, scoring 25 in the second half. He made 7-7 field goals and 11-16 at the line after intermission. Woods, making his first career start, scored 16 of his 26 in the second half. He hit 6-6 from the field and 3-3 at the line in the half.
 
The win marked a lot of milestones for the Vikings. It was their fourth straight victory and improved them to 4-0 on the road. They have gone 3-0 against West Coast Conference teams this season. Most important though was improving their record to 8-2 overall. That is the best 10-game mark by a Viking team in 22 seasons as a member of the Big Sky Conference.
 
PSU was down 56-39 with 14:51 remaining to play in the game but they didn't give up. From there, North and Woods combined for 33 of the Vikings' final 48 points in the game.
 
It was a slow but effective comeback. The Vikings did not get the deficit to single digits for good until a Woods three-pointer with 6:46 to play made it 70-63 Santa Clara. PSU's first lead of the second half came inside the final minute when Michael Mayhew hit a three. The Vikings led 83-82 with 56 seconds left and battled to hang on.
 
PSU got a defensive stop, then North added two free throws with 20 seconds to play and it was 85-82. Matt Hauser responded with a driving layup for the Broncos to close the gap to 85-84.
 
The Vikings missed a pair of free throws, but the Santa Clara was unable to convert at the other end. Brandon Hollins rebounded for the Vikings with two seconds left, was fouled and made a pair of free throws for the final score.
 
Portland State overcame a sluggish offensive first half, but also overcame the absence of a pair of big men. Senior forward Traylin Farris (ankle) and sophomore forward Brendan Rumel (hip) both sat out with injury. PSU's lack of size was costly on the glass, as Santa Clara out-rebounded the Vikings 38-24. But over the final 15 minutes, Portland State's offense showed up.
 
For the game, PSU shot 32-57 from the field (.561), made 7-19 three-pointers (.368) and 16-26 at the line (.615). Only five total turnovers helped the cause as well.
 
North matched his career-best point total, set against Eastern Washington last season. The senior guard made 9-14 shots, 11-16 at the line, had six rebounds and four assists.
 
Woods hit 10-12 shots, 3-4 three-pointers and 3-3 at the line for his 26 points. It was the second straight game he has posted a career high (20 vs. Loyola Marymount). The Big Sky leader in assists this season, he added seven more to his total in that category.
 
Hollins scored 12 points and had a game-high seven rebounds for the Vikings.
 
Santa Clara shot 58% in the second half and had the 17-point lead with under 15 minutes to play, emphasizing just how well the Vikings shot the ball down the stretch.
 
The Broncos were 32-63 from the field overall (.508). KJ Feagin scored 24 points and Hauser added 22 for the Broncos. Josip Vrankic had 12 points and 14 rebounds.
 
Santa Clara dropped to 3-6 on the season with the loss.
 
GAME NOTES: The teams had met only once previously, a 76-63 Portland State win in 2001… Portland State's next road game is Wednesday when the Vikings meet the Oregon Ducks in Eugene. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.