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Santa Barbara, CA – The backcourt duo of Holland Woods and Matt Hauser was at it again as Portland State pulled out its third win of the season, 84-74, over Grambling State in a neutral site game played at UC Santa Barbara.
 
Hauser and Woods combined for 39 points, eight assists and six steals in the victory over the Tigers. They have 81 points, 22 assists and 12 steals in the last two games, both Viking road wins. Portland State has now improved its record to 3-3 on the season.
 
Hauser made 7-13 from the field, 3-9 from three-point range and 2-2 at the line for 19 points. He also made a season-high five steals. Woods scored 20 points on 6-14 from the field, 2-4 from three-point range and 6-6 at the line. He led the Vikings with five assists.
 
The Vikings had to overcome some strong shooting early by the Tigers. Grambling went on a 15-2 run in the first half and led 30-20 at the 8:21 mark. Woods sparked a 15-2 comeback rally, scoring nine, to put PSU back on top 35-32.
 
The teams settled for a 41-41 halftime tie. Grambling had grabbed the early lead with brilliant shooting, hitting 18-29 (.621) from the field in the half. But PSU forced 11 Tiger turnovers to keep it close.
 
PSU led for more than 15 minutes of the second half, but it was a single-digit game the entire way. The game was tied 66-all with 7:29 to go. From there, the Vikings outscored the Tigers 18-8 down the stretch.
 
"They responded and really bounced back to get the game tied at halftime," said Viking Coach Barret Peery of his team. "The second half was about guys responding to what they needed to do. Rashaad (Goolsby) got 10 boards in the second half. Markus (Golder) stepped up. And Matt and Boo Boo did what they were supposed to do and close it out like the experienced guys they are."
 
Golder scored nine points for the Vikings in the last 7:29, rounding out a half in which he had 10 points, three rebounds and three steals.  He scored a dozen points for the game.
 
Once again the Vikings had to play without starting center Sal Nuhu, who missed the game with an ankle sprain. And once again, the Vikings responded to his absence. Alonzo Walker had his best numbers of the season with 15 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots. Walker made 7-10 shots from the field. Goolsby scored only four points, but had a game-high 11 rebounds. 

The Vikings had a 36-32 edge on the glass.
 
 "We really missed Sal again, because this Grambling team had great athletes and size. Our guys really needed to step up," Peery said.
 
Portland State cooled the Grambling State shooting as the Tigers made only .419 from the field after halftime. PSU shot .485 in the second half and .448 for the game.
 
Grambling State, winners of the Southwestern Athletic Conference last season, dropped to 3-3 overall. The Tigers were led by Devante Jackson, who scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Jackson made 9-11 shots from the field.
 
GSU shot 31-60 from the field for the game (.517).
 
GAME NOTES: PSU hit 18-19 at the free throw line (.947), its best mark of the season… PSU finished with 25 points off 20 GSU turnovers… the teams were meeting for the first time in 40 years… Portland State plays at UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday night in a 7 p.m. game. A live stream is available at www.BigWest.tv... "We will have to bounce back quickly to play Santa Barbara tomorrow. They didn't play today and they have gotten rest. Our guys need to be really mentally tough in a quick turnaround," said Peery.