Portland, OR – Cameron Parker and Jorell Saterfield combined for 48 points, including 32 in the second half as they sparked a big Portland State comeback and victory over Air Force, 68-64, at Viking Pavilion.
 
The Vikings were down 12 points with 7:53 left in the game when they put together a rousing comeback led by Parker and Saterfield. The Vikings went on a 14-2 run to tie the game, and ultimately a 29-13 run down the stretch to pull out the win. Parker scored 13 and Saterfield had 12 in the decisive seven minutes.
 
"They stepped up and made big shots and big plays at the right time," said Viking Coach Jase Coburn. "They made a decision to fight this thing out and win. They fought through a difficult stretch and maintained confidence that we could win."
 
Portland State's victory was its third in a row and eighth straight at home dating to last season. The Vikings are now 5-4 on the season and stopped a four-game Air Force winning streak.
 
Parker tallied a career-high 24 points on 5-6 from the field and 14-16 at the free throw line. He added six assists. 
 
Saterfield posted his third 20-point game of the season, scoring 24 as well. He made 10-17 from the field, 3-8 from three-point range and 1-2 at the line. 
 
Rytis Petraitis came off the bench to score a career-high 22 points and grab eight rebounds for Air Force. The Falcons dropped to 5-4 on the season. 
 
The contrast of styles went the way of Air Force for much of the contest. The Falcons half-court game trumped PSU's high-pressure, up-tempo attack until the Vikings' frenzied rally in the late-going.
 
PSU started fast, building an 11-2 lead in the first five minutes, with Hunter Woods scoring six of the 11. Air Force was able to crawl back into the game over the next 10 minutes though.
 
A dunk by Carter Murphy gave Air Force its first lead at 25-24 with 5:14 to go in the first half. It was short-lived as Saterfield came right back to hit a three-pointer for the Vikings a few seconds later. The Academy had one more brief lead before halftime, but the Vikings went into the locker room with a 30-29 halftime advantage.
 
Portland State was up 35-33 early in the second half when Air Force took off. The Falcons went on a 16-2 run, sparked by 10 points from Petraitis, and led 49-37. The Vikings had a scoreless span of 5:57 and looked like they couldn't muster enough offense to make it a game.
 
But, down 51-39 with 7:53 to play, the Vikings started their charge. They reeled off nine straight points with seven coming from Parker - all on drives to the hoop.
 
The run extended to 14-2 when Saterfield knocked loose an Air Force pass then took it in on a breakaway dunk. That tied the score at 53-53 with 5:02 to play. It was a back-and forth affair after that.
 
PSU got the lead for good on a Saterfield three-pointer with 1:33 remaining. Following an Air Force miss, Keshaun Saunders hit a baseline jumper and it was 65-62 Vikings with 43 seconds left. Parker added a pair of free throws at the 25-second mark and the Vikings were home free.
 
"I think our team decided during one of the timeouts we just weren't going to lose," said Coburn. "We increased our defensive intensity and passion and created some turnovers and run-outs and that got us going.
 
"I'm proud of the team coming back. A lot of guys stepped up and made plays for us when we needed it."
 
PSU shot 22-44 from the field (.500), hitting eight of their last 10 shots from the field. The Vikings were 20-27 at the line (.741).
 
Air Force out-rebounded PSU 29-24, but shot only .400 from the field (18-45) and .676 at the line (23-34).
 

GAME NOTES

• Cameron Parker passed the 1,000-point mark in his collegiate career in the first half. He now has 1,019 points in 117 career games. 
• The were seven ties and 10 lead changes in the game.
• Portland State leads the all-time series with Air Force, 5-2. PSU is 3-0 against the Falcons during the Big Sky Conference era. The game marked the first time the teams had met since Dec. 11, 1999.
• At halftime there was a Teddy Bear Toss as Viking fans brought teddy bears and other stuffed animals to the game. They tossed a total of 342 stuffed animals onto the court. They will be donated to Les Schwab's Toy Drive (https://www.kptv.com/toydrive/).
• Portland State is off for a week. The Vikings next game is Saturday, Dec. 10 at Cal Poly. Tip-off is 7 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN+.