CORVALLIS, Ore. — The dam broke Saturday.
 
Winless in 16 tries against the Oregon State Beavers coming into Saturday – a record that included seven single-digit losses since 1997 – the Portland State men's basketball team broke through against the in-state Pac-12 program, beating the Beavers 79-66 at Gill Coliseum.
 
Saturday's win marked the Vikings' first win over a Pac-12 program since they beat both Stanford and Cal during the 2017-18 season. The Vikings' win over Stanford came at the PK80 tournament on Nov. 26, 2017, making it fitting that the Vikings beat another Pac-12 program as they head into the Phil Knight Legacy tournament – the successor to the PK80 – next week.
 
"This team is mentally tough. We know there's going to be highs and lows within a game. It's good for us to be tested early with highs and lows and be able to still fight through adversity and play at a high level, and that's what we did tonight," Portland State head coach Jase Coburn said of his team's win over the Beavers.
 
Jorell Saterfield led the Vikings (2-2) with a career-high 26 points, none bigger than a three-pointer from the right baseline with 49.7 seconds remaining that gave the Vikings a nine-point lead in the final minute.
 
"Jorell is capable of making big plays and making big shots," Coburn said of Saterfield. "He's capable of hitting from the outside and getting to the rim. He's a really good player. He does it every day in practice. We knew he was going to be ready for these big moments."
 
Saterfield's three came as part of a 9-0 run to finish the game as the Vikings were the more composed team down the stretch.
 
The Beavers (3-1) may have thought they had flipped the game in their favor early in the second half. They led 46-40 with 13:17 remaining after a 10-1 run soon after halftime. The Vikings started the second half just 1-of-8 from the field, while the Beavers hit four of their first six to erase a 37-33 halftime lead for the Vikings.
 
But it'd be the Vikings who would turn it on from there, as they hit 11 of their final 15 shots from the field.
 
The hot finish started with an 8-0 run that put the Vikings back in the lead at 48-46. Jacob Eyman opened the run with a put-back dunk, while Saterfield followed with an And-1 layup and a traditional three-pointer back-to-back.
 
Isiah Kirby then broke a 54-54 tie with a three of his own off a dish from Saterfield. Kirby scored again on a driving floater in the lane to give the Vikings a 59-54 lead with 6:23 remaining.
 
The Vikings simply never backed down from the Beavers after that. They answered every score by the Beavers after Kirby's floater, as Oregon state never got closer than three points the rest of the way. The Vikings held the Beavers scoreless over the final 2:32 of the game, as they forced the Beavers into four straight misses and a turnover down the stretch.
 
"Everybody was committed to doing their part. No matter what it was, everybody was going to do their part to get us this win," Coburn said of his team. "That's been the theme of the team so far this season. Everybody's just doing their part and playing really hard and locking in and staying mentally tough. We had two close ones that we let get away, but this one we pulled out."
 
Hunter Woods added 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting alongside Saterfield. The two of them scored 23 of the Vikings' 37 points in the first half, and finished the game a combined 7-of-16 from three-point range while the rest of the Vikings went 1-of-7 from deep.
 
Woods' biggest shot came with 4:07 remaining when he doubled the Vikings' lead to 66-60 after the Beavers had cut it to three.
 
Kirby finished with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, seven of which came in the second half.
 
Most of the Vikings' early scoring came off turnovers. Eleven of the Vikings' first 23 points came off eight OSU turnovers, while the Vikings had a 16-2 advantage in points off turnovers at halftime.
 
"That's the style of defense we're going to play," Coburn said of the team's defense. "It's been ingrained in me my whole coaching career, basically. Everything starts on the defensive end and we're going to try to create some havoc and create some turnovers. Our guys, they enjoy playing defense. They enjoy getting stops. And we enjoy being aggressive."
 
Saturday's win may have been sweetest for Viking newcomer Isaiah Johnson. Johnson played the previous two seasons for the Beavers before joining the Vikings this season. He finished with six points and five rebounds, while his presence inside meant the Vikings outscored the Beavers 32-28 in the paint.
 
"He had a big game for us tonight. He played really hard and he's been great for us and I couldn't ask for anything more," Coburn said of Johnson. "I'm really excited to coach him and really excited for his future. He just continues to get better and gosh, he's been a really good addition to our team and I'm happy he's with us."
 
The win over the Beavers provides a nice lead-in for the Vikings into next week's Phil Knight Legacy tournament. The Vikings open the tournament against Gonzaga – currently ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25 – at 9:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
 
"We're going to enjoy this one tonight and then come back and get ready for the next one, which is obviously a big one against one of the best teams in the country," Coburn said of preparing for the Phil Knight Legacy tournament. "We know we're going to have to bring it and we're going to have to play a really good game against them. We'll be excited. We're going to work hard."
 
The rest of the Vikings' schedule at the tournament will depend on that first game. The Vikings will play either Purdue or West Virginia Friday, Nov. 25, at the Moda Center at either 6 or 8:30 p.m. The team will then conclude the tournament Sunday, Nov. 27, with their opponent, location and tipoff time all to be determined from other results.
 
One of those potential games on Sunday could be a rematch with the Beavers. If it is, then the Vikings' second win over the Beavers could come a lot sooner than the first.

But it took the first win to break the dam.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings improved to 1-16 all time against the Beavers with the win…The Vikings are now 8-58 all time against current Pac-12 schools…The Vikings went 19-of-21 (.905) from the free-throw line Saturday, their best mark of the season to date…Leading scorer Cameron Parker was held to four points and one shot attempt Saturday, but he still led all players with six assists in the game…Mikal Starks led the team with three steals, while the Vikings forced the Beavers into 18 turnovers.