Boxscore – PDF
 
Pocatello, ID – Portland State appears to have its groove back.
 
The Vikings used the same formula on Thursday in Pocatello that has been successful for them the past two weeks as they picked up another Big Sky Conference road win over Idaho State, 89-76.
 
The Vikings scored 80+ points for the fifth straight game and seven of the last eight. In addition, the trademark "Peery Pressure" defense forced Idaho State into 24 turnovers. It added up to a relatively easy win as PSU led for the final 35 minutes of the contest at Reed Gym.
 
Point guard Holland Woods had another big night for the Vikings, scoring 29 points with four assists. He made 12-19 field goals and 3-3 at the line to lead all scorers. Center Sal Nuhu added 15 points and 11 assists for his sixth double-double of the season.
 
Portland State has now won three in a row and five of its last seven games. During the three-game winning streak PSU has averaged 88.7 points. The Vikings are 15-14 on the season, 9-8 in the Big Sky Conference.
 
The Bengals made their first five shots of the game and led 11-8 early before PSU's full-court pressure took effect. The Vikings forced nine turnovers in the first nine minutes and turned them into 14 points to get the game to a 24-18 lead.
 
By halftime, the Bengals had committed 17 turnovers for 21 Viking points. PSU led 43-32.
 
Woods had a big first half, scoring 16 points for Portland State. Although the Vikings were outshot 48% to 43% from the field, they got up 17 more shots due to the Bengal turnovers.
 
Portland State never trailed in the second half and led by as many as 15 points. Idaho State was never really out of the game, but also seemed to never have a realistic shot at a win. An 11-2 run by the Bengals early in the half gave them life. But the Vikings answered quickly with a Lamar Hamrick three-pointer, a Sal Nuhu dunk, then a jumper by Matt Hauser to get the lead back to double digits.
 
Portland State shot 36-75 for the game, a .480 mark. More importantly, they were 18-33 after halftime for a .545 percentage. PSU has also been strong at the free throw line in recent games as well, and made 11-12 in this one (.917).
 
Hauser finished with 14 points, and Hamrick had another potent game off the bench with 12 points on 5-7 shots from the field.
 
Idaho State, which has struggled in Big Sky play, lost its 12^th game in a row. The Bengals are now 6-20 overall, 3-14 in the Big Sky.
 
Tarik Cool and Chier Maker each scored 15 points to lead Idaho State. ISU shot well at 29-58 from the field, but turnovers were the Bengals undoing.
 
GAME NOTES: Portland State has forced 79 turnovers in the last four games (19.7) and made 48 steals (12.0)… PSU is 5-11 on the road this season… Woods has scored over 20 points 12 times this season... senior forward Markus Golder did not play due to a leg injury. As a result freshman Kyle Greeley got his first start, becoming the 10^th Viking to start a game this season… the Vikings beat Idaho State, 82-76, on Jan. 18 in Portland and have swept the season series… Portland State plays at Weber State on Saturday night at 6 p.m. PT. The game will be live streamed on Pluto TV, www.pluto.tv and www.WatchBigSky.com.