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Portland, OR – Portland State's comeback was thrilling, but in the end it wasn't enough as a hot-shooting Southern Utah team beat the Vikings, 83-81, at Viking Pavilion.
 
The Thunderbirds were shooting over 60% from the field for most of the game and the Vikings found themselves down by 11 with under eight minutes to play. But an 11-point run tied the game and PSU actually led by a point on three occasions in the final 3:07. However, after Matt Hauser gave the Vikings an 81-80 lead on a short jump shot with 1:07 to play, they would not score again.
 
Southern Utah guard Dre Marin hit a corner three-pointer with 37.7 seconds left to give the T-Birds the lead and ultimately the win. The Vikings final chance went by the wayside when Holland Woods missed a contested three-pointer at the buzzer.
 
Woods led all scorers with 25 points while Hauser pitched in 20. Cameron Oluyitan scored 24 to lead Southern Utah.
 
The loss ended the Vikings' mini two-game winning streak, and three-game winning streak at home. PSU is now 7-7 on the season, 1-1 in the Big Sky. The Thunderbirds improved to 8-4 on the season and are 1-0 in the Big Sky. It was SUU's fourth win in a row.
 
The closeness of the game emphasized the parity in the Big Sky Conference as all five games played in the league on Monday night were decided by a combined 13 points.
 
Southern Utah handled the Vikings' pressure early and shot the ball well to build a 16-7 lead. The Thunderbirds made six of their first seven shots.
 
The Vikings crept up on the T-Birds and finally took a 28-26 lead on a Sal Nuhu basket inside with 8:59 left in the half. The game remained close as there were four ties and seven lead changes in the remainder of the first half. Southern Utah led 44-43 at the break.
 
The Thunderbirds made 16-26 shots (.615) in the first half while the Vikings made 16-34 (.471), as well as 6-12 from three-point range. Woods had 16 at halftime to lead the Vikings. John Knight III had 12 points for SUU.
 
Southern Utah shot the ball even better in the second half, making 12 of their first 18 attempts and growing the lead to 73-62 with 7:55 left. Oluyitan scored 13 in the first six minutes of the second half, then Knight and Maizen Fausett kept the offensive roll going for the Thunderbirds.
 
With PSU down 11, Nuhu asserted himself, inspiring the Viking comeback. He opened by hitting a free throw line jump shot. Then he blocked a pair of shots leading to run outs with one resulting in a Hauser three-pointer. When Nuhu made a layin with 5:27 to play, the Vikings had scored 11 in a row and tied the game, 73-73.
 
The game was a see-saw affair the rest of the way, with the lead changing hands six times. 
 
Southern Utah finished the game shooting 31-57 from the field (.544). PSU's defense buckled down to hold the T-Birds to 2-13 from the field in the last eight minutes. They made 15-21 from the line (.714) in the game. In addition to Oluyitan, Knight scored 20 points with 11 rebounds and Fausett had 15 points and 12 boards.
 
The Thunderbirds, who entered the game leading the Big Sky in rebounding margin, out-rebounded PSU, 42-32.
 
Portland State shot 32-73 from the field (.438), hitting 10-27 from distance (.370) and 7-12 at the line (.583).
 
Hamrick scored 13 points for the Vikings, hitting 6-9 shots. Nuhu had eight points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots.
 
GAME NOTES: Southern Utah won for the first time ever in Portland. PSU had won the previous seven home games against the Thunderbirds… Woods also had five assists, increasing his PSU career record total to 431… Portland State goes on the road for two games later this week. The Vikings play at Idaho on Thursday at 6:30 p.m., then Eastern Washington on Saturday at 2:05 p.m. A live stream is available at Pluto TV, www.pluto.tv and www.WatchBigSky.com. Live stats are available www.ViksLive.com.