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Bozeman, MT – Holland Woods' runner in the lane with 2.4 seconds remaining gave Portland State a much-needed road win as the Vikings beat Montana State, 77-76, at Worthington Arena.
 
Woods scored 30 points – a career-high – and the Vikings needed every one of them, particularly the last two as MSU had taken the lead only seconds before. The junior point guard crossed over his defender on the perimeter, drove into the lane and hoisted a tear drop in traffic. The game-winner ended a frantic final four minutes that included eight lead changes.
 
"Big Time players make those plays to win games and Boo Boo did that," said Viking Coach Barret Peery.
 
For the game, Woods made 11-20 shots from the field, 4-9 three-pointers and 4-5 free throws. He added six rebounds and six assists. And, with three steals he established a new Portland State record for steals in a career (129).
 
It was a much-needed effort in perseverance for a Portland State that had an awful lot working against it. PSU went into the contest having lost three games in a row and was facing a third straight road game. On top of that, the Vikings were without second leading scorer Matt Hauser, who sat out with an ankle sprain. But Head Coach Barret Peery rallied his troops who played solid start to finish.
 
"This was a great team win. I'm proud of how everyone contributed," said Peery. "Obviously the Big Sky is going to be tough every night!"
 
The Vikings improved to 8-9 with the win, 2-3 in the Big Sky Conference. Montana State dropped to 9-8, 3-3.
 
The Vikings pulled out to an early 12-3 lead. Montana State came back to take its first lead at 14-13. The game was tight after that as there were 10 lead changes through the remainder of the half.

Woods made a driving layin late in the half to stake the Vikings to a 40-35 lead at the break. He had 16 points, six rebounds and three assists at halftime to lead PSU. The Vikings were very solid at 14-27 shooting from the field (.519) and 8-11 at the line (.727). Harald Frey had 12 points to lead the home team.

Woods scored five more as the Vikings built to their largest lead of the second half, 53-45. MSU responded with a nine-point run to take the lead back. Jubrile Belo finished it with an emphatic dunk to put the Bobcats back on top 54-53.

It was a battle the rest of the way. With 3:25 left Amin Adamu scored a conventional three-point play to put the Bobcats ahead 68-67. The next seven scores to close out the game altered the lead each time.

Woods night was a battle with another All-Conference guard in Frey. When Frey hit an awkward bank shot from 15 feet with 10.9 seconds left the Bobcats went on top 76-75. After two timeouts the Vikings brought the ball up court. Woods worked his man to the middle, went down the lane, and tossed up a shot from about 10 feet for the decisive field goal.

Frey got off a desperation half-court heave for MSU but it was no good.

Portland State finished at .484 from the field, .733 at the free throw line. The Bobcats shot .500 from the field and .788 at the line.

Sal Nuhu scored 12 points with six rebounds and four blocked shots for the Vikings. Ian Burke, starting in place of Hauser, had six points, seven rebounds and four assists. Rashaad Goolsby had nine points and three blocked shots off the bench. He made a key basket with just over a minute to go.

Frey scored 26 points with five assists for MSU. Adamu added 20 points.

GAME NOTES: Portland State's win over Montana State was its fourth in the last five against the Bobcats and 7^th in 10 meetings… PSU is now 3-7 on the road this season… Woods had three steals in the game to raise his career total to 129 at Portland State and establishing a new school record. He passed Calaen Robinson (128)… Woods had his ninth 20+ point game of the season… Portland State moves on to face Montana on Monday night in a 6:05 p.m. PT game. A live stream is available at Pluto TV, www.pluto.tv and www.WatchBigSky.com. Live stats are available www.ViksLive.com.