Bozeman, MT – Montana State eked out its 10^th straight victory taking over first place in the Big Sky Conference, but the Portland State Vikings made it oh, so difficult in a battle of the league's two hottest teams. The Bobcats came away with a 77-74 win at Worthington Arena, the closest game in their 10-game run.
 
The Vikings saw their four-game winning streak go down to the Bobcats but not for a lack of effort. PSU continued its superb play of recent weeks and was in it until the end, tying the game at 72 and 74 before the Bobcats pulled it out in the final 22 seconds.
 
PSU trailed by as many as 11 in the second half, but came back and took a brief lead with just over nine minutes to play. It was a single-digit contest the rest of the way with the Vikings tying the game twice.
 
PSU was down 72-67 with 3:39 remaining to be played. Junior guard Damion Squire pulled off a driving three-point play then, with 2:12 left, senior forward Khalid Thomas threw down a fast break alley-oop pass from junior guard Ian Burke to tie the game at 72-72.
 
Montana State answered with a put-back dunk from star big man Jubrile Belo to lead 74-72. Each team had an empty possession, then Squire buried a pull-up mid-range jumper tying it again at 74-74 with 47.2 seconds to go.
 
RaeQuan Battle then hit the game decider for MSU – a free throw line jump shot with just over 21 seconds remaining.
 
After a Portland State timeout the Vikings looked for a tying or go-ahead shot. The play broke down but Thomas scooped up the ball and made a drive to the rim. His shot in traffic bounced off and out of bounds with 3.5 seconds to go. Montana State took over and got one of two free throws from Amin Adamu in the ensuing foul. Burke got off a half-court heave at the buzzer but it bounced off the rim and the Bobcats survived.
 
"We were down and but never gave up. We really have a group of fighters. I love going out there with these guys and competing every night," said Coach Jase Coburn. "To come on the road against a team as hot as Montana State and play like that is gratifying. We knew it wasn't going be easy but we really battled."
 
Portland State was led by the 18 points of reigning Big Sky Conference Player of the Week Ezekiel Alley. The senior guard also had a team-high five rebounds. Thomas and Squire scored 16 points each.
 
The Vikings fell to 8-14 with the loss, 6-8 in the Big Sky. Combined with an Eastern Washington (6-7) win over Weber State (11-3), the Vikings drop from sixth to seventh place in conference play.
 
Montana State's win vaults it into first place at 11-2. MSU is now 19-5 on the season.
 
Five Bobcats scored in double figures, led by the 16 points and eight rebounds of Abdul Mohamed.
 
A well-played game all the way around, MSU shot 27-53 from the field (.509) and 11-19 from three-point range (.579). The Bobcats made 9-12 from distance in the first half, building a 40-33 lead.
 
Portland State was 31-66 from the field (.470), 9-10 at the line (.900), but only 3-17 (.176) three-pointers. The Vikings kept it close by forcing 16 Bobcat turnovers while only committing eight.
 

GAME NOTES

• Head Coach Jase Coburn started his 10^th different starting lineup in 14 Big Sky games. The Vikings were without junior guard Michael Carter III (trapezoid) and sophomore forward Jacob Eyman (knee).
• Damion Squire made 7-9 shots from the field, including his only three-point attempt and his only free throw for 16 points. He added three assists.
• Zeke Alley is averaging 19.8 points over the last five games.
• Junior guard Marlon Ruffin is averaging 13.8 points off the bench in the last four games.
• Freshman forward Hayden Curtiss blocked a PSU season-high four shots. His career high for blocked shots is six which he pulled off against Montana State last season while a member of the University of Portland basketball team.
• The Vikings are now 4-3 in Big Sky Conference road games.
• Portland State plays at Montana on Saturday night in a 6 p.m. PT game. It airs on ESPN+.