Northridge, CA – For the second game in a row a late Portland State comeback came up one shot short as the Vikings lost 69-66 to CSUN at the Matadome.
 
The Vikings trailed 49-34 with 10:41 to play in the game but rode good shooting from Ian Burke, then Marlon Ruffin, to eventually take a brief lead at 64-63. However, the Matadors got an important put-back basket by Brendan Harrick inside the final two minutes, then hit four straight free throws in the last 15 seconds to hang on.
 
Ruffin rallied the Vikings with a season-high 26 points, getting 18 in the second half, including 11 straight down the stretch. Burke scored a season-high 10 points. His back-to-back three-pointers pulled the Vikings with six at 59-53 with 5:06 to play.
 
Ruffin then went to work, single-handedly out-scoring the Matadors 11-3 in a span of two minutes and 12 seconds. Ruffin's three-pointer with 2:20 to play put the Vikings ahead 64-63.
 
On CSUN's next possession it got three chances, with the third coming from Harrick who scored inside off a teammate's miss. That put the Matadors back in the lead at 65-64 with 1:50 remaining on the clock.
 
The Vikings missed shots on their next four possessions. CSUN couldn't convert either until PSU had to resort to fouls in the closing seconds. Elijah  Hardy made two for the Matadors with 15 seconds left to make it 67-64.
 
Michael Carter III brought it back up the court for PSU, drove the lane and was fouled. He made both free shots with 6.4 seconds to go pulling the Vikings within 67-66.
 
Portland State fouled immediately on the ensuing inbound play. Atin Wright, who scored a game-high 28 points, went to the line for the Matadors and knocked down both shots with 5.3 seconds left.
 
After a timeout, Carter raced up court with the ball, looking for a tie. He fired a contested three from 28 feet but it was off as the final buzzer sounded.
 
The loss dropped Portland State to 3-6 on the season and the Vikings have now lost three in a row. CSUN improved to 4-6 on the year.
 
Portland State and CSUN went into the game as two teams looking for some offensive rhythm. Neither had been shooting over 40% in recent weeks. This was not the night to turn either's fortune on the offense end.
 
In the first half the teams combined for 24 turnovers and 31% shooting. The Matadors got to halftime up 29-22. Wright scored 11 points for the Matadors who had 16 free throw attempts. Ruffin tallied eight points on 4-5 field goals for the Vikings.
 
Wright then led the Matadors in the second half as they extended their lead to 15 on two occasions. A three-pointer by Harrick had CSUN ahead 49-34 with 10:41 to play.
 
Burke started the PSU comeback on the next two possessions with a fast break basket, then a steal and an assist. Later, he hit consecutive threes closing the deficit to single digits and setting up a thrilling ending.
 
Burke ended the night with 10 points, five rebounds and three steals in 28 minutes off the bench. Ruffin, who also came off the bench and played just over 25 minutes, hit 10-15 shots, 2-3 from three-point range and 4-4 at the line for his 26 points. He also had five rebounds.
 
Wright's 28 points came on only 7-21 from the field and 2-9 from distance. But the Matador guard was 12-13 at the free throw line. He led a CSUN advantage at the stripe. The Matadors were 25-34 while the Vikings were 17-20.
 
PSU was slightly better from the field at 22-57 (.380) to CSUN's 19-52 (.365).
 

GAME NOTES

• Senior guard Ezekiel Alley made his first start of the season for the Vikings.
• James Jean-Marie scored nine points and had a team-high seven rebounds for the Vikings.
• PSU's bench had 44 of the team's 66 points.
• Portland State lost to Cal Poly in its last game, 61-58, as it rimmed out a tying three-pointer in the final seconds.
• Portland State will play its final non-conference game next Tuesday at Utah State. Big Sky Conference play resumes on Dec. 30 when the Vikings host Eastern Washington at Viking Pavilion.