PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland State's Isaiah Johnson capped a 13-4 run with a corner three-pointer that gave the Vikings an 83-81 lead with less than four minutes remaining. The run erased a seven-point deficit against cross-town rival University of Portland, after the Vikings had also erased an 11-point deficit earlier in the second half.
 
But the final swing of momentum went the way of the Pilots (3-0) as they pulled out a 98-91 win over the Vikings at the Chiles Center. The Pilots answered the Vikings' 13-4 run with eight straight points and 12 of the next 14 as they took control of the game late. Eight of the Pilots' 12 points during their pivotal 12-2 run late came from the free throw line, as did the Pilots' final 13 points in the game.
 
"I thought our team battled. Our players were ready. We were physical, we were tough. But we went out there and I mean, it's game one. We'll continue to get better. I'm proud of the guys for the effort, but we just came up a little too short," Portland State head coach Jase Coburn said of the game afterwards.
 
The foul-shooting discrepancy was stark. The Pilots shot 31 more free throws than the Vikings (44-to-13), including a 36-to-8 advantage in the second half. The Pilots' leading scorer, Tyler Robertson, scored 22 of his game-high 32 points from the free-throw line, and 20 of those 22 came in the second half alone.
 
The discrepancy in free throws aside, the Vikings (0-1) equated themselves well against the Pilots while making their season debut Friday. The Pilots were playing their third game in the opening week of the season, giving them an advantage over a Viking team that was seeing how it could integrate 10 newcomers in a game setting for the first time this season.
 
Even with it being the team's first game, the Vikings made their identity clear. The phrase Coburn kept using to describe his players in a preseason podcast interview was that they had a "chip on their shoulder." And that style was evident in the Vikings' multiple comebacks in the second half.
 
"Our team definitely has a chip on their shoulder. That's why they're all here. Every single guy, including myself and our staff, we're a bunch of our guys who have chips on our shoulders," Coburn said of his team. "Our guys have a certain edge to them, and that's how we want to be and that's how we're going to play."
 
The Vikings got a test of toughness right away in the second half. The Vikings were a bit unlucky to only be tied at halftime after they led for all but two or three of the opening 20 minutes. Then, the Pilots came out swinging with a 10-2 run out of halftime to take a 52-44 lead. A short time later, the Pilots had their largest lead of the game at 62-51 with 13:20 remaining.
 
But that's where the chip on the Vikings' shoulder started to show itself. Isiah Kirby, one of the Vikings' 10 newcomers, took the spotlight as he scored all 10 of his second-half points over the next four minutes. Kirby opened with a bucket that got the Vikings back within single digits, then strung eight points together a little later that cut a nine-point deficit down to one a 65-64.
 
Four of those eight points came on back-to-back plays with just over 10 minutes remaining. First, Kirby scored on an in-bounds play off a pass from Cameron Parker. He then stole the ball as the Pilots were trying to get it up the floor on the next possession and took it in for another layup. A rebound of his own miss less than a minute later completed his solo 8-0 run.
 
The Vikings eventually took a pair of one-point leads at 68-67 and 70-69, but the Pilots responded with eight straight points to go up seven at 77-70.
 
Johnson and Parker took the over the spotlight from there. Johnson snapped the Pilots' run with a ferocious dunk, while Parker hit a pull-up three-pointer then a pair of free throws that got the Vikings back within two at 79-77. Johnson followed up with a rebound basket while getting fouled, and the ensuing free throw gave the Vikings an 80-79 lead. The Pilots made two free throws on the other end to re-take the lead, but Johnson answered with his corner three that put the Vikings up 83-81.
 
That'd be the last lead for the Vikings, however, as the Pilots controlled the end of the game thanks to their advantage from the free-throw line.
 
The foul discrepancy arose early in the second half. The Vikings picked up their sixth foul with just under 16 minutes remaining, while they picked up their seventh foul with more than 13 minutes remaining.
 
Some of the fouls, Coburn and the Vikings will take, as it's a byproduct of their style of defense. A season after the Vikings ranked eighth in the NCAA with 17.3 turnovers forced per game, they opened their 2022-23 season with 15 forced turnovers against the Pilots while committing only seven themselves.
 
The element that may have been new to Viking fans, especially compared to last year was the team's three-point shooting. The Vikings hit 11 shots from beyond the arc, a total that would have tied the third-highest total for the Vikings during all of last season. The Viking finished with 41 three-point attempts Friday, their most in a game since they also attempted 41 three-pointers against Linfield on Dec. 16, 2017.
 
The Vikings hit five of their first 10 shots from beyond the arc, as they ran out to an early 19-8 lead. Jorell Saterfield hit two of the first three for the Vikings, while Parker, Keshaun Saunders and Hunter Woods added one each. Woods added another late in the half after Bobby Harvey hit one on the previous possession. All told, the Vikings finished with seven makes in the first half alone – more than they had in all but nine games last season – with five different players contributing.
 
"Our guys made some big shots. They made some plays. They made some plays defensively, too, I thought," Coburn said.
 
The balanced shooting from beyond the arc mirrored the Vikings' scoring. Six different players finished in double figures against the Pilots, all of them newcomers. Parker led the way with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting overall to go with six assists and two rebounds. Kirby and Harvey followed with 14 points each. Woods stuffed the stat sheet more than anybody, finishing with a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds to go with three assists, three steals and two blocks. Saterfield and Johnson contributed 10 points each.
 
All 10 of Johnson's points came in the second half, while 13 of Parker's 23 and 10 of Kirby's 14 also came after halftime.
 
The Vikings have no time but to take the positives and run with them as they immediately hit the road to face Seattle University at 3 p.m. Sunday. The Vikings will then play their home opener against Evergreen next Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m., before concluding a busy nine-day stretch with a road game at Oregon State at 7 p.m. on Nov. 19.
 
"I learned tonight that every single guy on this team is tough. They battled through adversity the whole game, even when they went up. Their biggest lead was 11 points and at the last four-minute media, we were right there with them. I believe in our team and we're just going to continue to get better," Coburn said.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings fell to 20-40 all time against the Pilots following Friday's loss…The Pilots are 16-10 against the Vikings since the Vikings re-started their program before the 1996-97 season.