Portland, OR – Three electric dunks in the second half by Michael Carter III gave Portland State the spark it needed to take charge and pull out an 81-75 victory over Weber State at Viking Pavilion.
 
Carter threw down an alley-oop dunk and a broken-play jam to start the second half, going on to score 15 of his team-high 19 after intermission. Another alley-oop dunk on the fast break a moment later ignited the Vikings, who trailed late in the first half, led by only three at intermission, then by as many as 14 points in the second half.
 
Fittingly, when the Wildcats rallied late and closed within 77-75 in the final minute, Carter made a put-back layup, then tacked on two free throws with seven seconds to play for the final margin.
 
Carter made 8-11 shots from the field and 3-4 at the line for 19 points, grabbed five rebounds, matched his season high with six assists and did not have a turnover. In the second half, he was 6-7 from the field.
 
"Michael had an unbelievable second half. He is really starting to turn it on for us late in the season. I am proud of him for how he played tonight," said Viking Coach Jase Coburn.
 
The victory was PSU's second in a row, fourth straight at home, and sixth in eight games overall. The Vikings have been exciting throughout their run with seven games in a row, and nine of the last 10, decided by single digits.
 
"The opportunities we have had being in close games has helped us. We know how to finish those games off and win them now. It's really starting to show," said Coburn.
 
Portland State Basketball honored the late Deante Strickland with StrickCity Night during the game and at halftime, recognizing the former Vikings for his impact on the program.
 
"The emotion from the day was a factor, and we were able to hang in there and get the win. It was an important win for Portland State and Deante Strickland's family," said Coburn.
 
It was also a revenge win for PSU, who lost 80-69 at Weber State earlier in the season. PSU is now 10-15 overall, 8-9 in the Big Sky Conference.
 
Beside Carter, the Vikings had plenty of heroes in the game. Senior forward Khalid Thomas put on a stat-sheet filler with 17 points, 5-7 from three-point range, a team-high eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and one blocked shot.
 
Three other Vikings were in double figures as Ezekiel Alley tallied 14 points with six rebounds, Damion Squire added 12 points and three assists, and Marlon Ruffin scored 11 points off the bench, including nine in the second half on perfect shooting.
 
Portland State shot 31-65 from the floor (.477) and 11-27 from behind the arc (.407), making 8-10 at the line.
 
Weber State was led by 24 points from Koby McEwen. Dillon Jones added 13 rebounds. The Wildcats were 25-57 from the field (.439), 5-16 behind the arc (.313), and kept it close with 20-22 at the free throw line (.909).
 
The Wildcats dropped to 19-10 on the season, 12-6 in the Big Sky.
 
The game was perhaps closer than it should have been at the end. Ruffin made a three-pointer to put the Vikings up 75-61 with 6:09 to play. But PSU did not score another field goal until Carter's put-back with 30 seconds left. Prior to that, the Wildcats put on a 12-2 to get back into the game.
 

GAME NOTES:

• The Vikings have won five of the last eight meetings against Weber State, the most against the Wildcats in any eight-game stretch in the 61-game all-time series.
• Jacob Eyman returned to action after missing nine games with a knee injury. He played 16 minutes, scoring two points with three rebounds and two blocked shots.
• Portland State has forced opponents into 176 turnovers in the last nine games (19.5 per game) while averaging 9.7 steals per game.
• PSU has now had 14 games decided by eight points or less. The Vikings are 7-7 in those games, 5-3 in the last eight such games.
• Portland State wraps up its regular season on the road next week. The Vikings play at Idaho on Thursday, then Eastern Washington on Saturday.