Boxscore – HTM | PDF
 
Flagstaff, AZ – Portland State's mid-season woes continued at Northern Arizona as the Vikings lost on the road to the Lumberjacks, 82-75, at JL Walkup Skydome.
 
After beginning the year 5-3, the Vikings have dropped eight of their last nine games. They are now 6-11 on the season, 1-5 in the Big Sky Conference. NAU improved to 5-12, 3-4.
 
This game had a familiar look as the Vikings struggled offensively with shooting and turnovers. PSU shot 26-67 from the field for a .388 mark and had 23 turnovers. That neutralized a 45-33 rebound advantage for the Vikings.
 
On the other side, Northern Arizona was 27-55 (.491) and had only 15 turnovers. The Lumberjacks also did a good job of setting the tempo by running game clock in the half court. They scored 30 points off PSU's turnovers.
 
Following a strong shooting start by Portland State, the production fell off. Deante Strickland sparked the Vikings with three early three-pointers. Strickland hit a pair of threes in a 10-1 Viking run. Portland State also held NAU scoreless for a span of more than four minutes and were up 18-12 midway through the first half.
 
That's when turnovers started to become a problem. After a season-high 25 in a loss at Southern Utah on Thursday, PSU had 14 more in the first half against the Lumberjacks. NAU converted those turnovers into 19 points and that allowed the 'Jacks to come back to lead at halftime, 37-31.
 
Bernie Andre made 6-6 shots and had 14 points by halftime for NAU. His three-pointer off a Viking turnover at the 4:42 mark of the half put NAU ahead 26-24. The 'Jacks would never trail again.
 
Northern Arizona scored the first seven points of the second half and had their largest lead at 44-31. Down 46-33, the Vikings worked their way back into the game with a 15-6 run. Strickland's driving layin with 11:54 left closed the gap to 52-48.
 
The Lumberjacks quickly were able to get back to a double-digit advantage, leading by as many as 15, and held on from there. PSU was never closer than eight points until the closing seconds of the game.
 
Holland Woods scored a team-high 21 points for the Vikings. He had four steals, but also committed eight turnovers.
 
Strickland scored a career-high 19 points, hitting 5-11 three-pointers. Michael Mayhew added 12 points and six rebounds.
 
Andre scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Lumberjacks. Luke Avdalovic and Ted McCree scored 18 points each.
 
GAME NOTES: Robert McCoy had a team-high 10 rebounds in the game for Portland State… the NAU win stopped a three-game Viking winning streak in the series with the 'Jacks… Strickland has averaged 14.0 points and shot 41% from three-point range in the last three games… Portland State returns home next week to host Eastern Washington on Thursday and Idaho on Saturday. Both games tip off at 7:05 p.m. at the Viking Pavilion.