Portland, OR – If you want to call Portland State's Wednesday night contest with George Fox a "tune up" game, then the Vikings are now firing on all cylinders. PSU beat the Bruins, 104-58, at Viking Pavilion in a game that was never in question.
 
Paris Dawson led all scorers with 19 points off the bench, hitting 6-8 from the field and 6-6 at the free throw line. But it was the Viking starting unit that set the tone and made the game a runaway. A 17-2 run early in the first half, put PSU ahead 27-10 just nine minutes into the game. By halftime the lead was more than 30.
 
James Jean-Marie had his third straight double-double of the season with 14 points on 7-10 shooting. He added 11 rebounds in only 16 minutes of action. Marlon Ruffin had 14 points, making 6-9 from the field. Khalid Thomas added 10 points and five boards. Michael Carter III and Mikal Starks each scored eight points while none of the starters played more than 19 minutes.
 
George Fox tried to set a fast pace and shoot lots of three pointers. That was to the liking of the Vikings. PSU rolled to a big lead early, shooting 22-32 from the field (.688) in the first half, leading 53-22 at the break. 
 
The Vikings' shooting percentage was the result of lots of good shots at the basket. PSU forced 14 Bruins' turnovers and turned them into 28 points. 
 
George Fox never got close as 26 points early in the second half before the Vikings blew them away and led by as many as 49. 
 
PSU had numerous runouts, scoring 26 fast break points, getting 66 points in the paint and hammering nine dunks against the Division III Bruins. 
 
For the night, all 13 Vikings played with everyone playing nine minutes or more. In addition to Dawson's play, Ezekiel Alley had eight points and seven assists off the bench. Ian Burke scored seven points with five assists. The bench scored 50 points in all.
 
Portland State finished at 41-71 from the field (.577) and 18-23 at the line (.783). George Fox shot 19-58 (.328) and 11-21 (.524), and converted only 9-31 three-point attempts (.290). The Bruins had 27 turnovers which the Vikings converted into 50 points. 
 
Kalu Stricklin and Zac Schmerber scored 12 points each to lead George Fox.
 
Now 2-1 on the season, the Vikings will see their schedule toughen considerably. They host Portland next Tuesday at Viking Pavilion, go on the road to Iowa on Nov. 26, then have an early start to Big Sky Conference play on Dec. 2. 

GAME NOTES 

• Portland State is 54-2 all-time against lower division programs since joining the Big Sky Conference and Division I in 1996-97 (26th season). 
• PSU is 4-0 all-time against George Fox.
• Portland State hosts the University of Portland on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The game will be live streamed on ESPN+.