Portland, OR – Portland State held off a second-half rush by Weber State to pull out its first Big Sky Conference victory of the year, 74-72, at Viking Pavilion.
 
The Vikings flipped the script from a poor performance on Friday night to come back and dominate the first 30 minutes of this game. Behind 20 first-half points from senior guard James Scott and some patented "Peery Pressure" on defense, the Vikings jumped to a double-digit lead and were up 42-30 at intermission.
 
PSU forced the Wildcats into 12 first-half turnovers and out-rebounded them 24-15 to build the lead. When the second half started the Vikings went ahead by as many as 17 on two occasions. But Weber State held the Vikings scoreless for over six minutes, putting on a 15-0 run, and led 67-62 with 7:04 to play.
 
Portland State trimmed it back to a two-point deficit, 72-70, at the 2:13 mark when senior forward Khalid Thomas hit a contested three-pointer. PSU prevented the Wildcats from scoring the rest of the way on four missed shots.
 
Two big plays sealed the win for the Vikings. First, Scott worked his way into the lane in the final minute. He knocked down a short turnaround jumper and drew a foul with 31 seconds left. His made free throw gave PSU the lead back for the first time in eight minutes of action at 73-72.
 
After a Weber State timeout, the Wildcats worked a play that found center Cody Carlson underneath. But senior forward John Hall blocked his attempt at the rim. Freshman guard Paris Dawson grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He made one of two on the other end, extending the lead to 74-72 with 4.1 seconds to play. A wild dash to the rim by Weber State was unsuccessful and the Vikings came away with the win.
 
"You talk about those plays at the end, our guys really stepped up and made plays when they had to," said Viking Coach Barret Peery. "Give Weber State a lot of credit. They went on a tremendous run to come back and make the game crazy.  I thought Paris and Khalid and John Hall made some big plays at the end of the game."
 
"But more importantly we wanted to figure out who we were over the last 36 hours. How were we going to respond after what happened with us on Friday night. The guys really responded with what we can be."
 
Scott, who goes by "Monty" to friends and teammates, had a big game all around for the Vikings, scoring 26 points on 9-17 from the field, 3-5 from three-point range and 5-8 at the line. He also had team-highs of six rebounds, six steals and three assists as Peery moved him into the starting point guard role for the first time.
 
Thomas was clutch as well with 20 points on 7-14 from the field, 3-6 from distance and 3-5 at the line. He also had six rebounds and made the big three-pointer with just over two minutes left.
 
"I thought Monty and Khalid really showed up and acted like seniors, stepping up and making big shots for the team. That's what is expected of them, whether it was today or the entire season. I thought they really responded when we were challenging them," said Peery.
 
Portland State's weakness on the afternoon was 20 turnovers, but the Vikings made up for it with a big advantage on the glass. They out-rebounded WSU, 43-29, including 16 on the offensive glass for 18 points.
 
The Vikings are now 2-3 on the season, 1-1 in Big Sky Conference play.
 
Weber State had five players score in double figures, led by 15 from Isiah Brown. The Wildcats dropped to 3-2 on the season, 1-1 in the Big Sky.
 
GAME NOTES: With the move of James Scott to point guard, Peery moved junior guard Ian Burke into the starting lineup. "We wanted to make some adjustments. I was excited to move Ian into the lineup and put the ball into Monty's hands a little bit more. Yesterday was a crash course in point guard play for Monty."… Kyle Greeley scored seven points with five rebounds and two assists in 19 minutes off the bench… PSU steps out of conference play on Tuesday night when the Vikings play at Oregon State. The game tips off at 6 p.m. and can be seen on the Pac-12 Network… Big Sky Conference play continues on Dec. 31 at Eastern Washington in a 6 p.m. game.