Flagstaff, AZ – Viking veterans Ian Burke, Khalid Thomas and Trey Wood showed the way for Portland State with an electric shooting performance and 97-76 win over Northern Arizona on the road.
 
Burke, a junior guard who has played the most games (68) of any Viking on the roster, scored a season-high 21 points with a team-best five assists. Burke made 8-11 from the field, 3-5 from three-point range and 2-2 at the line. Wood, a sophomore forward who has played in the second-most games (41), scored a career-high 10 points on perfect 4-4 shooting with a pair of three-pointers. Thomas, a senior forward who has played 40 Viking games, went for a career-high tying 25 points on 10-15 from the field, 3-6 from distance and 2-2 at the line.
 
Their combined effort led a tour de force shooting performance by the team. PSU buried a season-high 14 three-pointers on 27 attempts (.519) and was 37-66 overall from the field (.561) - the best mark against a Division I opponent this season. The Vikings also made 9-10 from the free throw line.
 
If Portland State had come out tired in this game, it wouldn't have been a surprise. PSU was playing its seventh game in 14 days with a limited roster and after a Thursday night contest in Portland. The game was also being played at 7,000 feet elevation.

"I'm really proud of the resiliency of our team, everything we have been going through to come out and play like we did today was tremendous," said Viking Coach Jase Coburn. "Everybody stepped up and made huge plays offensively and defensively."
 
The contest was also a different kind of game than PSU had been used to this season. Normally a defensive-minded group, the Vikings found themselves in a shootout. And, they were up to the task.
 
The win ended a five-game losing streak for Portland State. PSU is now 5-13 on the season, with three of those wins being Big Sky Conference road games. The Vikings are 3-7 in league games.
 
NAU, which was led by 19 points from Jalen Cone, fell to 7-12 on the season, 3-5 in the Big Sky.
 
The Lumberjacks also shot well, posting .491 from the field and making 10 threes. But PSU's defensive pressure forced 19 turnovers leading to 29 points.
 
The Vikings raced to an early 10-point lead. Defensive pressure created six NAU turnovers in the opening moments. Mikal Starks scored PSU first seven points and Burke soon had six points getting PSU to an 18-8 lead.
 
The 'Jacks came back to take a brief lead at 32-31. However, the Vikings kept scoring. NAU sat back in a zone and PSU shot well over it. Thomas was the main beneficiary, scoring 19 points in the first half on 8-10 from the field and 3-5 from three-point range. Burke had nine points and four assists.
 
PSU led 52-46 at halftime after shooting .541 from the field, including 7-14 on three-pointers.
 
NAU was 17-26 from the field (.654) but had 12 turnovers, which the Vikings turned into 18 points.
 
Back-to-back three-pointers by Paris Dawson and Burke pushed the Vikings to a 64-49 advantage early in the second half forcing NAU into a timeout. The Lumberjacks briefly cut the lead to single digits on two occasions, but the Vikings just kept shooting.
 
NAU was forced back into a man-to-man defense, but it didn't matter to the Vikings. They shot even better in the second half at .586 from the field and 7-13 from distance.
 
Back-to-back three pointers by Michael Carter III and Wood put PSU to a 19-point advantage at 89-70 with 6:12 to play and another NAU timeout. Two minutes later Dawson buried a three for a 92-70 lead and the Vikings coasted to the win.
 
GAME NOTES: 

• For the second game in a row, the Vikings started a four-guard lineup including Mikal Starks, Damion Squire, Michael Carter III, Ian Burke and Khalid Thomas.
• All nine Vikings that played scored at least four points or more.
• Thomas added eight rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot to his 25 points.
• "I'm really happy for our staff and all the hard work they have been putting in," said Coburn after the game. "This was a really huge win for us."
• "It was awesome to see all the Portland State fans at the game on the road. They really provided a positive energy for us," Coburn said. Four Viking players and three three coaches are from the state or have ties to Arizona.
• Portland State comes right back home on Monday, hosting Northern Colorado at 7:30 p.m. The game airs on ESPN+