Boxscore – PDF
 
Greeley, CO – A dominant inside game, led by the 22 points of Alonzo Walker, led Portland State to a big road win at Northern Colorado, 83-71.
 
The Vikings scored 60 of 65 points from the field in the paint. The inside play led to what was easily PSU's best shooting performance of the season. The Vikings made 32-56 from the field (.571) and 18-20 at the free throw line (.900).
 
Portland State knocked off the Big Sky's third-place team by flipping the script on one of the top defensive teams in the league. UNC had held opponents to 62.0 points per game on the season. Moreover, the Bears had won three in a row and eight of their last 10 games.
 
With the win, the Vikings are 12-13 on the season, 6-7 in the Big Sky Conference. They have played 16 games on the road and only nine at home. They now look forward to five of the last seven contests at Viking Pavilion.
 
Northern Colorado drops to 15-8, 8-4 in the Big Sky, with the loss.
 
PSU trailed 15-6 early in the contest. But center Sal Nuhu and Walker got going inside, and Lamar Hamrick came off the bench to provide a spark.
 
The Vikings grabbed the lead late in the half on back-to-back scores inside by Walker, both of which were assisted by Hamrick.
 
Walker and Hamrick combined for 22 points in the first half, leading the Vikings to a 36-31 lead. Hamrick made 5-5 field goals and Walker was 5-7 in the half. PSU shot .593 as a team.
 
Northern Colorado briefly closed the Viking advantage to three early in the second half. But PSU pulled away, again with solid shooting on high-percentage opportunities. The Viking lead got to double-digits at the 13:20 mark and the Bears never got closer.
 
Portland State's largest lead was 21 at 75-54 with just over two minutes to play. Northern Colorado tacked on some late three-pointers to narrow the margin.
 
Walker's 22 points were one off his career high. The senior forward made 10-15 from the field and 2-2 at the line. Nuhu scored 13 points on 4-6 from the field and 5-6 at the line. He had a team-high eight rebounds. Senior forward Rashaad Goolsby came off the bench for nine points (3-4 FG, 3-3 FT) and six rebounds.
 
"Rashaad, Sal and Zo were really, really good inside tonight," said Viking Coach Barret Peery. "Our guys took what Northern Colorado gave us and really did a good job.
 
"I also think we defended the three-point line well. (The Bears) were going to take them no matter what."
 
Northern Colorado was the Big Sky leader in threes made at 10.3 per game. They ended up with 11, making four in the last two minutes when the game was decided. But they needed 36 attempts to do so (.306).
 
Hamrick had another great night off the bench, scoring 13 points on 6-8 from the field. He also had six rebounds and a team-high five assists.
 
PSU's .571 shooting was easily its best of the season. And it came after the worst shooting night of the year at Southern Utah on Saturday (.254).
 
"For the guys to handle this travel from Cedar City to Greeley and come back after a poor shooting game, I was really, really proud of them. This is one of our best wins of the season," Peery said.
 
Bodie Hume scored 26 points with eight rebounds for Northern Colorado.
 
GAME NOTES: PSU had a 60-26 advantage on points in the paint… Portland State's all-time steals leader, Holland Woods, had four steals in the game… PSU out-rebounded Northern Colorado, 34-30… Matt Hauser started his first game since Jan. 4, scoring eight points. He had missed seven games and came off the bench in the most recent game… the Vikings swept the season series with Northern Colorado. They beat the Bears, 69-65, on Dec. 28 in Portland… Portland State will return home for its next three games. The Vikings will host second-place Eastern Washington on Saturday at Viking Pavilion. Tip-off is 7:05 p.m. The game will be televised on Eleven Sports and Pluto TV Channel 532, www.pluto.tv and www.WatchBigSky.com.