Boxscore - HTM | PDF

Portland, OR - Sacramento State shut down the high-paced Portland State offense, picking up a 71-61 Big Sky Conference win at Lewis and Clark College's Pamplin Sports Center.
 
The Vikings had a shoddy offensive performance, hitting only 22-64 (.344) from the field and committing 18 turnovers. That was punctuated by a nightmarish second half in which PSU made only 9-32 shots (.281). The 61 points was easily the Vikings lowest scoring output of the season.
 
For their part, the Hornets were solid. They shot .489 for the game and were 22-31 (.701) at the free throw line. Jordan Tolbert came off the bench to score 26 points for Sacramento State and lead all scorers.
 
Bryce Canda was the only Viking to score in double figures with 19, but he made only 5-17 shots from the field.
 
Portland State lost its second straight home game and dropped to 13-8 on the season, 3-5 in the Big Sky. The Hornets are now 6-16, 3-5, and have swept the season series with the Vikings.
 
A sloppy first half was played at Sacramento State's pace. The Hornets spread the court on offense and attempted to run as much time as possible to take some steam out of the Vikings fast-paced style.
 
PSU was able to force a dozen turnovers by halftime which they converted to 16 points. That made up for a 41% shooting performance and the Vikings led 33-26 at the break.
 
It turned quickly after intermission for Portland State. The Vikings failed to make a field goal for almost six minutes to start the half and the Hornets capitalized. Sacramento State led for the first time, 38-37, on a Justin Strings drive with 12:48 left. After a short jumper by Joshua Patton that lead expanded to 40-37 with 11:19 to go. At that point, PSU was 1-11 from the field in the half.
 
After trailing by six on two occasions, the Vikings appeared ready to rally. Three Canda free throws at the 8:12 mark gave the PSU its last lead at 48-47.
 
Strings then scored seven points in a 16-3 Hornet run. Over a six-minute stretch, PSU made a single field goal and was down 63-51. The Hornets made 8-12 free throws in the final two minutes to seal the win.
 
Strings and Joshua Patton added 15 points and eight rebounds each for the Hornets.
 
GAME NOTES: Only one other time has Portland State scored less than 73 points this season, when it had 69 against Butler... Ryan Edwards had a team-high eight rebounds in 15 minutes for the Vikings before fouling out… the Vikings are now 5-2 at home… Brandon Hollins returned to the lineup after missing four straight games and scored seven points with eight rebounds… Sacramento State beat the Vikings, 80-75, on Dec. 30 behind 34 points from Justin Strings… Portland State hosts Idaho on Thursday night at Lewis and Clark. The game tips off at 8 p.m. It will be available via live stream at www.WatchBigSky.com and www.Pluto.tv.