Boxscore – PDF
 
Sacramento, CA – Sacramento State's defense is ranked as best in the Big Sky Conference for a reason. Portland State found that out Thursday night in a 66-55 loss at the Hornets Nest.
 
The Hornets were allowing only 55.9 points per game to opponents, and the Vikings barely reached that standard. PSU shot a respectable .463 from the field to only .328 for Sacramento State.  
 
So how did the Vikings lose by 11 points? The Hornets got 20 more shot attempts from the field, due in large part to forcing a season-high 25 Viking turnovers. Sacramento State scored 25 points off those turnovers. And, while holding the lead down the stretch, the Hornets made 13-14 second-half free throws, 23-27 for the game (.852).
 
Portland State saw its two-game winning streak come to an end. The Vikings are now 10-11 on the season, 4-5 in the Big Sky. Sacramento State improved to 11-6, 4-4. The Hornets are 8-0 at home.
 
Senior center Sal Nuhu led the Vikings with 17 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots. Senior forward Alonzo Walker added eight points and seven rebounds.
 
Ethan Esposito scored 22 points in leading four Hornets in double figures.
 
Portland State got off to a good start and was leading 14-7 midway through the first half. But the Hornets clamped down, preventing a Viking field goal for 7-minutes, 53-seconds. Sacramento State mounted a 16-3 run over that stretch to go up 23-17.
 
The Hornets went into halftime leading 27-23. The Vikings were 8-18 from the field (.444), while the Hornets were 8-28 (.286). The difference was 10 turnovers by PSU leading to eight Sacramento State points.
 
The Hornets then scored the first seven points of the second half for a 34-23 advantage. Their largest lead was 40-27 with 14:34 to play. The Vikings were never closer than six points after that.
 
Sacramento State made 14 steals in the game and out-rebounded the Vikings, 35-32.
 
GAME NOTES: The 55 points scored were the fewest by a Viking team in four seasons… PSU drops to 3-9 on the road… senior guard Matt Hauser missed his fifth straight game due to an ankle sprain… Portland State moves on to face Northern Arizona on Saturday afternoon in Flagstaff. The game will be live streamed at 3 p.m. PT on Pluto TV Channel 539, www.pluto.tv and www.WatchBigSky.com. Live stats are at www.ViksLive.com.