Bozeman, MT – In a game that looked similar to the contest just two days prior, Montana State pulled out a 69-64 victory over Portland State and held onto first place in the Big Sky Conference.
 
Montana State beat the Vikings, 71-64, on Thursday night in Bozeman and this one played out in a very similar way. Like Thursday, PSU led for most of the first half, trailed for most of the second half, but it was so close neither team led by more than 10 points.
 
MSU took its fifth straight win, improved to 7-3 overall and 4-0 in the Big Sky. PSU dropped to 2-7 overall, 1-3 in the Big Sky.
 
James Scott scored 15 points with six rebounds and six assists to lead Portland State. Khalid Thomas scored 14 points with a team-high seven rebounds. Amari McCray added 13 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots before fouling out.
 
Montana State's Xavier Bishop, the reigning Big Sky Conference Player of the Week, tallied 22 points to lead all scorers. Big man Jubrile Belo went for 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
PSU led most of the opening 20 minutes before a flurry of six lead changes late in the half. Then, the Vikings went on a 13-3 run over the final 3:03, taking a 37-31 lead into the locker room. Thomas, who was scoreless on Thursday night, got off to a hot start, scoring seven of the Vikings' first 10 points, and 11 by halftime.
 
PSU shot only .375 from the field in the first half, but used a 23-13 rebounding edge to gain the lead. PSU had a 7-0 advantage on second-chance points.
 
But a strong close to the first half morphed into a poor start to the second for the Vikings. They committed five turnovers in six possessions to start the half. That spurred the Bobcats to a 17-5 run and 48-42 lead with 12:20 left in the game.
 
Portland State stayed close all the way to the end, but turnovers and ineffective shooting prevented them from putting on any kind of run. The Vikings had back-to-back baskets on only one occasion.
 
PSU easily won the rebound battle, 43-30, but had 18 turnovers and managed to shoot only .361 from the field.
 
The Bobcats were not a lot better at .422 from the field. However, they capitalized on Viking fouls, making 25-36 for the game (.694), including 19-27 in the second half. In fact, MSU had only one field goal made in the final 9:30 of the game. They made 15 free throws in that span.
 
PSU had a 17-4 advantage in second-chance points, but were outscored by 15 at the free throw line.

"This was a very tough trip. I thought our guys competed incredibly hard all weekend," said Viking Coach Barret Peery. "If we play that hard the rest of the season, great things will happen.

"We are growing and learning who we are, but we needed to be tougher down the stretch today. Twelve turnovers in the second half was the difference in the game and we left some points at the free throw line."

GAME NOTES: Portland State is 0-5 on the road this season… the Vikings were only 10-17 at the free throw line (.588) and are 32-57 in the last three games (.561). Prior to that, PSU was shooting .748 as a team… The Vikings will return home for six straight games beginning next Thursday against Idaho State. Tip-off is 7:05 p.m. The game can be seen on Pluto TV Channel 1051, www.Pluto.tv, www.WatchBigSky.com. Live stats are available at www.ViksLive.com.