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Portland, OR - Portland State entered Thursday needing a change after losing eight of the last nine games overall, including a four-game skid at home. Who could have guessed part of the change would be star guard Holland Woods cutting off his signature hairdo?
 
The Vikings, behind the new-look Boo Boo and a red-hot Jamie Orme, snapped their cold streak Thursday night with a 78-65 win against Eastern Washington. The Vikings put forth their most efficient offensive performance of the season, shooting over 60 percent for the first time.
 
Portland State also hit 40 percent of its three point attempts, the highest since a Dec. 5 game against Portland when they shot 44 percent.
 
PSU also had 22 assists against just nine turnovers.
 
"I was really proud of, coming off that weekend turning the ball over like we did, tonight we had 22 assists and nine turnovers. The guys really shared the ball and that was huge for us," said Viking Coach Barret Peery.
 
The second half may have been the best 20-minute stretch of the season for the Vikings. They outscored Eastern Washington 45-30 in the second frame while making an astonishing 17-25 shot attempts (68 percent). PSU also hit on five of 10 threes in the half, including a stretch of three straight from Orme that put them in control.
 
"It felt a lot like how we should play. Our guys really defended when they needed to defend. And when we have been good is when we have been able to get stops, then break out and run," said Viking Coach Barret Peery.
 
Woods led the Vikings with 15 points and 11 assists in his 38 minutes. After a cold first half, he took control of the offense down the stretch. The two-man game with Orme led the Vikings to the victory as Orme finished with 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds. The duo combined for 25 second-half points. Orme finished perfect from behind the arc, making three triples, all of which were assisted by Woods. They came in an 11-0 run that turned a 51-47 PSU deficit into a 58-51 lead.
 
In the first half, Eastern Washington remained an arms length ahead of the Vikings. The visitors led for nearly 16 minutes in the half and the Vikings would hold just two leads for a combined 27 seconds. Still, Portland State trailed by just two points at the break.
 
The Vikings came out of the locker room hot. Orme got the ball on a fast break and threw down an emphatic two-handed slam to tie the game. An Eagle turnover on the other end led to a Woods layup for their first lead in over 14 minutes.
 
The back-and-forth game continued as Eastern Washington regrouped after a timeout and the teams traded the lead. Orme knocked down his first three of the game at the 9:39 mark to put the Vikings ahead 52-51. On the next possession, Orme connected from downtown again to give Portland State its biggest lead of the game to that point at four points.
 
Orme connected on another three a couple possession later, capping off an 11-0 run for the Vikings that saw them hit 4-5 shots.
 
"Jamie has been spending a ton of time in the gym. He hasn't been satisfied with how he has played lately. So to see him get a little happiness tonight and be rewarded was really nice," said Peery.
 
Portland State never looked back and when Woods banked home a three with just under six minutes remaining, it became clear that the Vikings weren't going to lose this one.
 
Deante Strickland made a big impact down the stretch, converting a circus shot-and-one basket and hitting a dagger three with less than two minutes left. The exclamation point came when Woods connected with Robert McCoy on a huge alley oop to give the Vikings a 76-64 lead with just a minute remaining.
 
The offense came up big in the second half, but the defense locked in to limit the Eagles as well. Portland State held their opponent to just 35 percent from the field in the second half and 43 percent for the game.
 
The Vikings also got a huge contribution from their bench, which outscored Eastern Washington's 24-2. Michael Nuga had a 10-point game, Strickland added eight and Brendan Rumel contributed six points in just nine minutes.
 
The Vikings also had significant contributions from the other starters. Sal Nuhu scored 13 points and McCoy poured in 11, including a couple of three pointers early in the game that helped the Vikings stay close.
 
The fastbreak game favored the Vikings Thursday night as well, outscoring Eastern Washington 12-0 in that category.
 
With the win, Portland State improves to 7-11 on the season, 2-5 in the Big Sky. Eastern Washington dropped to 5-13, 3-4.
 
Jacob Davison led the Eagles with 26 points. Mason Peatling scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds before fouling out.
 
GAME NOTES: The win gives Portland State a 24-23 lead in the Big Sky series against Eastern Washington. The Vikings are now 15-7 in games played in Portland between the two teams… PSU hosts Idaho on Saturday night in a 7:05 p.m. game at the Viking Pavilion.