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Portland, OR – Don't sleep on the Vikings in March.
 
Portland State wrapped up its regular season Saturday night with an 84-80 home victory over Montana State and head into the post-season as arguably the hottest team in the Big Sky Conference.
 
The Vikings won their seventh game in eight outings and completed their goal of getting a first-round bye in the Big Sky Conference Tournament next week in Boise, ID. That goal looked improbable just a few weeks ago.
 
On Jan. 19, the Vikings were 1-5 and in 10th place in the Big Sky. By Valentine's Day they were still only 4-8 and tied for ninth. But a sweetheart of a win that night over Northern Arizona sent the Vikings on a four-week run that concluded with Saturday night's victory.
 
For the record, Portland State completes the regular season at 16-15, 11-9 and tied for fourth in the Big Sky. In a Big Sky Tournament tiebreaker with Weber State (17-14, 11-9) and Montana State (14-16, 11-9), the Wildcats take the fourth seed (3-1 on the season vs. PSU and MSU), the Vikings take the fifth seed (2-2 against WSU and MSU), and the Bobcats take the sixth seed (1-3 against WSU and PSU).
 
The league records were the same, but the difference is Montana State must now play a first-round game on Wednesday against Idaho to reach the quarterfinals. Portland State and Weber State will play on Thursday in a quarterfinal at 2:30 p.m MT/1:30 p.m. PT in Boise.
 
"Give our guys a ton of credit. 1-5 after six games and our team came together even more than before. And our seniors have been really good leaders," said Viking Coach Barret Peery.
 
Saturday night's win over Montana State was the Vikings' eighth straight at the Viking Pavilion, but it wasn't easy by any stretch. The Vikings needed to overcome MSU's dynamic backcourt duo of Tyler Hall and Harald Frey. Those two combined for 55 of Montana State's 80 points.
 
For PSU, spark plug senior Deante Strickland was at it again, scoring another 19 points off the bench and seemingly hitting three-pointers whenever the Vikings needed them.
 
Portland State led virtually the entire first half and by as many as 11 points before Hall got hot late in the half. The Bobcats were within 42-41 at intermission as Hall scored 14 points with seven coming in the last three minutes.
 
The Vikings also battled foul trouble in the first half, limiting the minutes of some of their key players. The Bobcats capitalized, hitting 11-13 first-half free throws.
 
"We had a lot of adversity. We had to play without Boo Boo (Holland Woods) for a long stretch (because of fouls) which we haven't had to do this season," said Peery.
 
The second half was tight with neither team leading by more than five points and the lead changing hands six times.
 
With the game tied at 74 and 4:22 to play, Robert McCoy hit a huge baseline three-pointer for the Vikings and they would not trail again. Woods' three at the 2:35 mark put the lead to 80-74. Woods scored again inside the final minute on a shake-and-bake drive in the lane for an 82-75 advantage and the Vikings held on from there.
 
"Montana State's defense was difficult for us as they were changing man and zone. It slowed us down and we fell in love with the three-point shot way too much," said Peery. "Those 18 offensive rebounds were big, and we only turned it over eight times. We are playing the right way, but we had to battle through some things tonight."
 
Strickland added three assists and three rebounds, hitting five three-pointers for his team-high 19 points. Michael Nuga scored 15 points in 20 minutes off the bench. Woods and McCoy each scored a dozen for the Vikings.
 
PSU's shot only 44% from the field, 34% from three-point range and 55% at the line, but 18 offensive rebounds and a mere eight turnovers gave them 13 more shot attempts than the Bobcats.
 
Hall, the Big Sky Conference's all-time leading scorer, had 28 points, four rebounds and four assists on the night. Frey scored 27 points for the Bobcats. MSU shot 49% from the field and 77% at the line.
 
GAME NOTES: Jamie Orme had nine points and game-high 10 rebounds and four assists for PSU… PSU's 11-9 Big Sky mark is its best conference record since going 11-9 in 2013-14… the teams split the season series as Montana State won the first meeting, 98-88, in Bozeman on Jan. 3… a season-high crowd of 2,077 attended the game. "We've seen what this place can feel like, especially the last two nights (2,042 in a win over Montana on Thursday) we have seen what this place can feel like. We have to keep building it until every seat is full. But the crowds we have had and the energy they bring has really meant a lot," said Peery... The Big Sky Conference Tournament begins on Wednesday with first round games in Boise, ID at CenturyLink Arena.