Portland, OR – Another hot-shooting opponent and some poor first-half ball-handling was a bad combination for the Portland State Vikings as they lost to West Virginia, 89-71, in the consolation bracket of the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament at Moda Center.
 
The loss was the second in a row for the Vikings and dropped them to 2-4 overall. Their last win was last Saturday at Oregon State. Ironically, the Vikings will see Oregon State again in the seventh-place game of the PKL on Sunday at Chiles Center.
 
Point guard Cameron Parker led the Vikings with 19 points, including making 13-13 free throws. He added three rebounds and three assists. Forward Hunter Woods had 12 points, five rebounds and three steals in his role off the bench.
 
The Vikings shot only .383 from the field, but got to the foul line 38 times, making 30 (.789). West Virginia shot .656 from the field in the first half and .608 in the game overall.
 
Perhaps the biggest stat of all for the Vikings was turnovers. PSU went into the game as a steady-handed team, averaging only 12 turnovers a game. But that had 24 giveaways in this contest and the Mountaineers were able to convert them into 32 points. 
 
"We turned the ball over 24 times. We can't turn it over 16 times in one half against a team like West Virginia. And that is something we have been good with all year," said Viking Coach Jase Coburn. "We got a lot of charge calls tonight and ran some people over. We just needed to play with a little more poise.
 
"Not only did we turn the ball over but they were live ball turnovers and they were able to convert on them."
 
West Virginia opened the game shooting like the Vikings' opponent the previous night, Gonzaga. The Mountaineers made 12 of their opening 15 shots and built a 28-15 by the midpoint of the first half. Meanwhile, the Vikings had made only 5-15 shots.
 
The Mountaineers built a 33-19 lead before the Vikings ran off seven in a row. Woods made a driving layin, then a three-pointer and PSU trailed only 33-26 with 6:14 to go in the half. West Virginia came right back with a 10-1 run.
 
Despite West Virginia's quality shooting, the Vikings' biggest first-half demon was turnovers. PSU had 16 miscues. Many of those came late in the half as the Mountaineers converted them to 23 points. Combined with a 19-29 shooting performance, West Virginia went into the locker room with a 53-36 lead.
 
West Virginia improved its lead to 57-36 in the first minute of the second half. However, the Vikings pulled back within 60-50 with 13:02 to play.
 
"That's two nights in a row we didn't play well in the first half, then we really responded and dug in. So, I'm proud of the guys for continuing to fight," said Coburn.
 
PSU was unable to sustain the run and West Virginia gradually built its lead back to the 20-point mark.
 
With the win, the Mountaineers of the Big 12 Conference improved to 5-1 on the season. They will play Florida in a fifth-place game on Sunday. 
 
Tre Mitchell led six West Virginia scorers in double figures with 16 points. 
 

GAME NOTES: 

• PSU won the rebounding battle, 30-27. 
• Portland State will play Oregon State on Sunday at the Chiles Center in the seventh-place game. Tip off time will be 8 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
• The Vikings beat Oregon State, 79-66, in Corvallis on Nov. 19. This will mark the first time in history the teams have played twice in the same season.