Boxscore - PDF
 
Portland, OR – Portland State left no doubt about its intentions Monday night at Viking Pavilion, out-running the Idaho Vandals, 90-69, in a Big Sky Conference game.
 
A Saturday night loss to Eastern Washington after a strong first half had left a bad taste in the Vikings mouths. On this night, PSU started strong and maintained that intensity for 40 minutes, providing a convincing victory for Viking fans.
 
"Coming off that loss we were pretty bitter. So our big deal tonight was we needed to play 40 minutes, be consistent, be who we are supposed to be the entire game," said Viking Coach Barret Peery.
 
Matt Hauser's hot shooting led the Vikings on the offensive end as he scored 24 points for the second consecutive game. He made 8-15 from the field and 6-10 from three-point range. Alonzo Walker had a strong performance with 15 points and five rebounds. Markus Golder scored 10 points and Sal Nuhu added a dozen points and six rebounds. 
 
Those four players combined to shoot 23-38 from the field (.605), as the Vikings had their second straight game shooting over .500. PSU was 34-67 from the field (.507) overall.
 
"Matt does a lot of things that creates space for Boo Boo (Woods), and the floor gets bigger when Matt hits shots. It allows us to go make plays for each other. The best stat of the entire night for us was 24 assists and only seven turnovers. When we are healthy and playing the right way, really good things happen. I was proud of our guys tonight," said Peery.
 
Defensive pressure was once again a key. PSU forced 10 Vandal turnovers in the first half as it built its lead, and 16 overall in the game. The Vikings had 15 points off turnovers.
 
A pair of 9-0 runs by the Vikings highlighted the opening half. PSU led 45-26 at the break after taking advantage of that pressure. The Vikings made seven steals in the half and 11 for the game. 
 
Idaho never got closer than 18 points in the second half, and the Vikings led by as many as 26. 
 
PSU held the Vandals to 25-58 from the field (.431) and no three-pointers (0-7). 
 
The win improves the Vikings record to 13-14 on the season, 7-8 in the Big Sky Conference. 
 
Trevon Allen, the Big Sky's second leading scorer at 21.5 points per game, was held to 16 by the Vikings. He made 5-14 shots for the field and added four assists.
 
"Allen is one of those four or five guards in this league who is a real scorer," said Peery. "We knew he would get shots, but we needed to make sure they were tough shots. He is a threat everywhere on the court, and he can really get up and down the floor."
 
Idaho, which came off a big win over Eastern Washington last Thursday, dropped to 7-18 on the season, 3-11 in the Big Sky.
 
GAME NOTES: Holland Woods led the Vikings with seven assists and three steals. He leads the Big Sky Conference with 56 steals… Hauser added five assists and three steals… PSU had only seven turnovers in the game… PSU is now 8-3 at home this season… Idaho beat the Vikings, 72-61, on Jan. 2 in Moscow.... the Vikings return to action on Thursday night at home, hosting Montana State at Viking Pavilion. Tip-off is at 7:05 p.m. and the game is televised on Eleven Sports. A live stream is available on Pluto TV Channel 532, www.pluto.tv and www.WatchBigSky.com. Live statistics can be found at www.ViksLive.com.