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PORTLAND, Ore. — It's never too early to claim some Viking Pavilion magic.
 
The 1,424 fans watching the Portland State men's basketball team play its first game in the new Viking Pavilion witnessed a dramatic final act as the Vikings (1-1) held UC Riverside without a field goal for eight minutes in the latter part of the second half, giving the Vikings a 71-64 debut win over the Highlanders (0-2) in their new building.
 
The Highlanders went up 58-54 on a layup from Dikymbe Martin with 8:24 left in the game, but then didn't make another shot from the floor until a late three with 10 seconds left when the game was already decided.
 
Robert McCoy gave the Vikings the lead for good when he followed up a Highlander block with a put-back layup that put the Vikings up 59-58 with 5:50 left in the game. Sal Nuhu then answered with back-to-back blocks on the Highlanders' next two possessions, leading to two straight fast breaks for Derek Brown that pushed the Vikings lead to four at 62-58.
 
Neither team scored for close to three minutes after that, until Holland Woods broke the dry spell with a driving, contested layup that gave the Vikings a 64-58 lead with 2:21 left.
 
The Highlanders finally scored their first points in more than seven minutes when Martin made one of two from the free throw line to make it 66-59 Vikings with 47 seconds remaining. The Vikings iced the game from the line after that, though, sealing the first win in their new Viking Pavilion.
 
Momentum had been with the Highlanders before their dry spell, as a flagrant 1 call went against the Vikings that resulted in two free throws for UCR's Eric Rwahwire with 8:56 left. Rwahwire hit both free throws to give the Highlanders a 56-52 lead, the largest lead at the time for either team in the second half.
 
The Vikings had tied the game at 36-36 going into halftime, with a last-second flurry before the break. Michael Nuga hit a three-pointer with 20 seconds remaining in the half, and Rashaad Goolsby stole the ensuing inbounds pass and put up a layup that leveled the game going into halftime.
 
The Vikings retook the lead with a layup from Brendan Rumel right out of the break, but the Highlanders answered right back and the teams stayed within a single possession of each other until the flagrant call with 8:56 left.
 
Three different times at the beginning of the second half, the Vikings would edge ahead only to have the Highlanders respond with a three-pointer that gave them the lead back. The last of those times came with 9:10 left in the game, when UCR's Jordan Gilliam made a three-pointer that gave his team a 54-52 lead. The Highlanders missed their next six three-pointers from there, however, until Gilliam made the late three-pointer with only 10 seconds left in the game. The Highlanders had been 8-of-16 from beyond the arc before their dry spell, but ended the game 9-of-23.
 
The Vikings, meanwhile, shot 27-of-59 (.458) against the Highlanders, much improved from their first game of the season when they went 21-of-73 in an 84-57 loss to No. 14 Oregon. The Vikings forced 24 turnovers against the Highlanders Saturday, and turned that into 30 points.
 
Three different Vikings went into double figures against the Highlanders, with Brown leading the way with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. The six-foot Brown also led the Vikings with six rebounds Saturday, and added three assists and a steal. Jamie Orme followed Brown with 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting, while adding three rebounds, two steals and an assist. Rumel also hit double figures with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and added three rebounds.
 
Three other Vikings finished with at least seven points in the game, as the team balanced its scoring with all 10 players that entered the game getting on the scoreboard. Woods added eight points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field while leading the Vikings with six assists. Nuhu also scored nine points on 4-of-8 shooting, and added a game-high three blocks and five rebounds (three offensive).
 
The Vikings remain home for a game against Willamette University next Saturday, with tipoff scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings improved to 5-2 all time against the Highlanders with the win Saturday…The Portland State women's basketball and volleyball teams also won their first official games/matches in the new Viking Pavilion, making the Vikings 3-0 in home openers in the building.