Boxscore – PDF

Corvallis, OR – If college basketball games were 42 minutes instead of 40, who knows what might have happened?
 
But the fact is they are 40 minutes, and for Portland State that wasn't quite enough. Trailing by 19 points in the second half, the Vikings roared back to within four in the final minute, but ended up losing to Oregon State, 81-76, at Gill Coliseum.
 
The Vikings put doubt in the minds of the Beavers late, but in the end couldn't overcome star Tres Tinkle. The senior forward scored 26 points, grabbed nine rebounds, had seven assists and two blocked shots to lead the OSU effort.
 
Portland State had a star of its own in the game as Holland Woods scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half. He scored 10 points in the last seven minutes and five in the last two minutes. When Woods pulled up and hit a 15-foot jump shot with 20 seconds left, the score was 80-76.
 
The Beavers struggled to in-bound, finally did, and got fouled. Gianni Hunt made one of two shots.
 
PSU raced up the floor once again but was off on a pair of three-point attempts in the closing seconds.
 
"I give our guys a lot of credit. They battled, they scratched, they clawed to the very end. They had some opportunities to win the game. Oregon State answered when it needed to," said Viking Coach Barret Peery. "We had to adjust with our lineups, with foul trouble and injuries. I think we handled a tough situation very well."
 
Taking on Oregon State was always going to be a tall order in more ways than one for Portland State.
 
The Beavers came in at 6-1, 4-0 at home, and started a taller player than the Vikings at every position. In addition, the Vikings were without starting center Sal Nuhu once again due to an ankle sprain. PSU also had starting forward Alonzo Walker for just a half due to a heel injury.
 
Tinkle's performance and an overall field goal shooting percentage of .556 for the Beavers were keys to the game.
 
Portland State couldn't match that, making 28-70 from the field (.400). OSU's 7-foot center Kylor Kelley played a big role in the Vikings' shooting troubles, blocking six shots.
 
The loss ends a grueling four-game, eight-day road trip for the Vikings. They split the four games, and now go home for their next two. PSU is now 3-5 on the season, while Oregon State improved to 7-1.
 
Portland State was strong through most of the first half. A Chris Whitaker put-back on a fast break with 11:16 to go in the half gave the Vikings a 15-14 lead.
 
Sean Miller-Moore had back-to-back scores to get OSU back on top and the Beavers would not trail again. The lead was briefly as many as 10, but a late jump shot by Matt Hauser to end the half had the Vikings within 41-34.
 
Tinkle then hit three three-pointers in the opening six minutes of the second half for OSU. That staked the Beavers to a comfortable 19-point lead at 57-38.
 
Still, the Vikings battled. They outscored OSU 32-18 the rest of the way with Woods scoring 16 of those points over the final 12 minutes.
 
"Our guys had a lot of poise when they smacked us at the start of the second half," said Peery.
 
Despite being the smaller team, and playing four and at times five guards in the second half, Portland State out-rebounded Oregon State, 39-32, including 17 offensive rebounds.
 
Matt Hauser scored 13 points with four assists for the Vikings. Rashaad Goolsby added 10 points and seven boards. Markus Golder came off the bench to score 10 points with five rebounds.
 
OSU got 18 points and six assists from Ethan Thompson.
 
GAME NOTES: PSU is now 2-4 away from home this season… the game was Portland State's first appearance in Gill Coliseum in eight years… OSU is 7-0 against the Vikings in their Big Sky era (1996-97 to present), 5-0 at Gill… five of those games – including this one - have been decided by five points or less… PSU comes home to host CSUN next Friday at Viking Pavilion. Tip-off is 7:35 p.m. following a PSU women's game.