Boxscore - HTM | PDF
 
Portland, OR – Ryan Edwards career-high 21 points and stellar play off the bench from Braxton Tucker and Deante Strickland led Portland State to another second-half comeback. The Vikings took a 91-77 Big Sky Conference victory over Idaho State at Lewis and Clark's Pamplin Sports Center.
 
Portland State trailed by seven points early in the second half, but turned it on offensively, outscoring the Bengals 57-39 after halftime. It marked the eighth time this year that PSU has overcome a second-half deficit to pick up a win.
 
At the forefront of that rally was 7-1 center Ryan Edwards, who made 9-11 shots from the field, including 3-4 three-pointers for his 21 points while playing only 18 minutes. Strickland scored a career-high 18 points on 6-11 field goals and 4-7 three-pointers. He added eight assists and seven rebounds. Tucker scored a season-high 14 points in 18 minutes on 7-11 shots.
 
And for good measure, Brandon Hollins racked up his third straight double-double with 13 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.
 
"It makes you proud of the fact that everybody is buying into what we are doing and taking advantage of their opportunity," said Viking Coach Barret Peery. "Those guys were ready. It was a great team effort, and I love the stat of 24 to 5 assists-to-turnovers. The guys really shared the ball and did a good job."
 
It didn't look like an offensive gem early for the nation's fourth-highest scoring team. PSU got a lot of good looks at three-pointers in the first half but simply struggled to put them down. They hit only 4-18 from distance (.222). On the other end, Idaho State was dropping threes, making 7-13 in the half (.538). Although the Vikings had a dozen more total shot attempts, Idaho State pulled out to a slight edge, 38-34, at halftime.
 
"I thought we got great shots in the first half. I didn't hate many of those shots. It was going inside out. In the second half, we went inside out and we made them," said Peery.
 
A Jared Stutzman three-pointer to open the second half pushed Idaho State's lead to seven at 41-34. That's when the Vikings began their run and, remarkably, the three-point shot was a key. PSU made 7-11 three-pointers after intermission, with five different players converting.
 
With the game tied at 55 midway through the half, Edwards keyed a 17-6 run that gave the Vikings control. The big man hit four shots from the field, including a three-pointer. His last basket came at the 6:16 mark and gave PSU its first double-digit lead at 72-61.
 
The Bengals never got closer than seven points after that. The Vikings made 8-10 free throws in the last 1:07 of the game to close it out.
 
Portland State's record improved to 16-11 on the season, which means the Vikings have already passed last year's win total (15-16). The Vikings are 6-8 in the Big Sky Conference.
 
After shooting only .359 in the first half, the Vikings made 19-30 (.633) shots in the second half. They shot .478 for the game and out-rebounded Idaho State, 42-33.
 
Idaho State got 17 points and four assists from Brandon Boyd. Stutzman and Geno Luzcando each scored 15 points.
 
The Bengals are now 12-13 on the season, 7-7 in the Big Sky.

"We definitely wanted to have a win before we left on the road again," Peery said. "Our team has been very good on the road, very resilient, but we know we have two tough games coming up."
 
GAME NOTES: Brandon Hollins had 10 rebounds by halftime… Holland Woods scored 12 points and had seven assists for the Vikings… Traylin Farris sat out his second straight game with a sore ankle… PSU is 7-4 at home this season… Portland State beat Idaho State, 87-83, on Jan. 18 in Pocatello. The Vikings came back from a 16-point second-half deficit in that contest… PSU has won three straight against Idaho State… the Vikings are on the road next week, playing at Southern Utah (Thursday) and Northern Arizona (Saturday).