Boxscore – HTM | PDF
 
Bozeman, MT – Senior guard Tyler Hall elevated his position on the Big Sky Conference's all-time scoring list and in the process led his Montana State team to a 98-88 victory over Portland State at Worthington Arena. Hall scored 32 points, increasing his career total to 2,114 - good for second place on the BSC scoring ledger.
 
Hall's backcourt mate Harald Frey added 25 points as the Bobcats handed the Vikings their fifth loss in a row. PSU's offense, which has struggled in recent weeks, showed some improvement but not enough to keep up with Montana State. The 98 points were the most the Vikings have allowed since Duke scored 99 last season in a win over PSU.
 
Michael Mayhew found the range for the Vikings, hitting 5-7 three-pointers and scoring 17 points. Holland Woods had an off shooting night, but still managed 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
 
Portland State dropped to 5-8 on the season, 0-2 in the Big Sky Conference. The Vikings have lost five games in a row for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
 
Montana State improved to 5-8 overall, 2-1 in the Big Sky.
 
MSU shot the three-pointer well early, making five of the first seven attempts to stake a 23-14 lead. The Vikings trailed by double digits for most of the first half and were down 48-38 at the break.
 
In the second half, Hall and Frey combined for 35 of the Bobcats' 50 points. MSU pushed the lead deeper into double digits and led by as many as 19 with nine minutes to play.
 
Down 90-72 with 5:16 remaining, the Vikings forced four Bobcat turnovers and ran off 12 straight points, getting scores from five different players. That made it 90-84 with 2:25 left. But the Bobcats made 6-6 free throws down the stretch and got a key jump shot from Frey to seal the game.
 
Montana State shot 30-56 from the field for a .536 percentage, making 12-26 (.462) from distance and 26-34 (.765) at the line. The Vikings were 26-59 (.441), 12-31 (.387) from three-point range, and 24-33 (.727) at the line.
 
Hall went 8-16 from the field, 6-13 from three-point range and 10-10 at the line for his 32 points. Frey was 8-13, 3-6 from three and 6-9 at the line while handing out seven assists.
 
Woods made only 3-15 shots from the field for PSU, but also hit 10-10 at the line to score 17. Mayhew was 5-8 from the field and 2-3 at the line for his 17. Sal Nuhu added 16 points, hitting 5-6 shots and 6-8 at the line. Michael Nuga was also in double figures with 13 points.
 
GAME NOTES: Portland State was out-rebounded 38-31. It marked the third straight game the Vikings have been out-rebounded since winning the rebound battle over the first 10 games of the year… PSU's .441 shooting percentage was its best in five games… the Vikings had 12 steals, forcing 18 turnovers… MSU's Tyler Hall is only 55 points short of the all-time Big Sky Conference scoring mark held by Eastern Washington's Bogdan Bliznyuk (2,169)… Portland State moves on to face defending Big Sky Conference Champion Montana on Saturday night in Missoula. Game time is 6 p.m. PT and it will air on Pluto TV Channel 237 and www.WatchBigSky.com. Live stats can be found at www.ViksLive.com.