Boxscore – HTM | PDF
 
Portland, OR - The crosstown matchup between Portland State and Portland may have moved to a new venue, but the result seemed awfully familiar for both sides. The Vikings claimed victory for the third straight year against the Pilots, winning 87-78, in the shiny new Viking Pavilion.
 
Holland Woods poured in a game-high 27 points, including 17 in the first half and had some clutch buckets down the stretch to lead a Viking team that dominated on the glass. Portland State outrebounded the Pilots 55-29 on the game. The Vikings nearly had as many offensive rebounds (28) as the Pilots had total rebounds.
 
The advantage on the glass led to 28 second chance points for Portland State compared to just six for Portland. While the Vikings didn't have their best shooting night overall at just 41 percent, they did manage to connect on 10 three-pointers at a 44 percent clip.
 
Portland State also had a big performance from the bench unit, which outscored Portland's bench 32-15.
 
A hesitant start by the home team that featured numerous missed lay-ups allowed the Pilots to jump out to a 15-8 lead early on in the game. The Vikings would quickly bring it back with help from the three ball. Woods and Michael Nuga hit back-to-back threes to tie the game at 23-all.
 
Derek Brown gave the Vikings the lead 28-27 on a trey with 7:14 remaining in the first half and the Vikings wouldn't trail again. Brown's triple was part of an 11-1 run for the Vikings, who stretched the lead out to six points twice in the closing minutes of the half.
 
Sal Nuhu caused problems for the Pilot offense the entire first half, blocking five shots and adding a steal to his stat line.
 
"I was a little frustrated because we missed a bunch of shots right at the rim early, but I was encouraged because we were around the rim and on the glass," said Viking Coach Barret Peery. "Sal gave us a tremendous spark, and Boo Boo did what he did. He got a hot hand and the guys found him."
 
The Vikings had a three-point lead at halftime but had pushed that up to a 10-point advantage on a Nuga three with 15 minutes left. Jamie Orme gave the Vikings their biggest lead of the game at the nine-minute mark with a fastbreak dunk that put everyone in green on their feet. He followed with a jumper on the next possession to make it 73-54.
 
The Pilots caught fire late to cut the lead to single digits, at one point getting within five, but Woods scored the final six points of the game for the Vikings to ice it.
 
Woods was one of five Viking players to reach double figures on the night. His 27 were two shy of a career high and he added six assists.
 
Nuga had 13 points in 15 minutes, Derek Brown, Orme and Nuhu all finished with 10 points. Orme ended with a double-double, hauling in 13 rebounds. Nuhu finished one rebound short of a double-double and ended with six blocks.
 
The Vikings lost the turnover battle, a rare feat for an opposing team to do. The Pilots (47 percent) also shot better than the Vikings (41 percent), but it wasn't enough to avoid a third straight loss. The huge advantage on the glass led to the Vikings finishing with 15 more field goal attempts on the night.
 
"Tonight was an identity game and we won how we like to win. The pace was in our favor, especially in the second half, and we were on the glass," said Peery.
 
The win improves the Vikings to 5-3 on the year. They have a week off before a road trip to Provo, Utah to take on BYU on Dec. 12. PSU returns to the Viking Pavilion for three straight games beginning on Dec. 15 when they take on Loyola Marymount.