Boise, ID – Three breakaway plays in the second half, the kind Portland State has thrived on over the past six weeks, gave the Vikings the momentum they needed to pull out a 66-52 Big Sky Tournament first-round win over Idaho State.
 
Khalid Thomas, who has been as hot as any player in the Big Sky in recent weeks, started the rally with an aerial attack on the rim following a long pass from Ezekiel Alley. A moment later he nailed a three-pointer against an expiring shot clock. Then, Michael Carter III had back-to-back breakaway dunks. What was a slim 37-36 Viking advantage was soon a 50-38 lead with 7:59 to go in the game. The Bengals never got closer than nine points down the stretch.
 
Thomas led the Vikings with 17 points and five rebounds. Alley added 15 points and five rebounds. Marlon Ruffin and Hayden Curtiss were key off the bench in the second half when the Vikings finally got the pace to their liking. Ruffin had eight points and two steals after intermission, while Curtiss added five points and a blocked shot.
 
Carter scored six of his 10 points after halftime, including the two emphatic dunks, and made three steals. That was a big momentum shifter as PSU forced the Bengals into 14 second-half turnovers.
 
"The first half we felt a little bit of nerves, I think," said Viking Coach Jase Coburn. "In the second half we played really well. It is like I tell these guys all the time, 'we need to be able to function in adversity' and we faced some adversity in the first half. We talked about it at halftime. Khalid, Zeke, Michael Carter, Marlon Ruffin, Hayden Curtiss… a lot of guys really stepped up. I am really proud of our team."
 
"Our mentality was we have to put the fire on them early," said Thomas. "In the first half, we got off to a slow start. In the second half, we were heating them up and were just wanting it more."
 
Thomas made 7-13 shots from the field and 3-7 from three-point range for his game-high 17 points. He added an assist, a steal and a blocked shot.
 
"It was our defensive intensity that really picked up, created turnovers and got us going. That's what we do," said Alley.
 
Portland State's win was its ninth in the last 12 games. The seventh-seeded Vikings are now 13-16 on the season. They will face number-two seed Southern Utah (20-10) on Thursday in a quarterfinal round game at Idaho Central Arena.
 
Portland State led 7-0 early on but Idaho State stayed close by using its superior size to work the offensive glass. The Bengals used six offensive boards for six second-chance points and climbed back to a 15-15 tie with seven minutes remaining in the first half.
 
Idaho State got its first lead on a 10-point run, going up 28-23 with 1:40 remaining in the half. PSU's Alley answered with a three-pointer, then Thomas scored on the fast break to tie it again at 28-28, but the Bengals took a 30-28 halftime lead.
 
ISU had a decided 24-9 rebounding advantage at the break. The Bengals had 10 second-chance points from nine offensive rebounds.
 
PSU finally gathered the lead for good on a drive by Alley with 14:03 left in the game. That made it 35-34 Vikings. But it wasn't until PSU's 11-point run, sparked by Thomas and Carter, that the Vikings were in control.
 
The trademark pressure that PSU has used all season finally took hold in the second half. The Vikings forced 14 of the Bengals 20 turnovers after intermission and allowed them to shoot only 5-22 from the field (.227). For the game, Idaho State made just 16-50 shots (.320) and missed all 15 three-point attempts.
 
Portland State went 24-52 from the field (.462), 5-15 from three-point range (.333) and 13-19 at the line (.684). The Vikings outscored ISU 38-22 after halftime.
 
Liam Sorensen had 14 points to lead the Bengals, who finished the year at 7-23. Idaho State won the rebound battle, 43-24, but couldn't overcome PSU's defense.
 

GAME NOTES

• Mikal Starks had four points, a team-high six rebounds and two assists off the bench.
• Portland State is now 4-1 all-time in Big Sky Tournament first round games. The Vikings are 5-8 all-time in quarterfinal round games.
• Portland State beat Idaho State twice during the regular season, 63-55 in Pocatello and 73-69 in overtime in Portland.
• Portland State advances to play number-two seed Southern Utah on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. PT. The game will be live streamed on ESPN+.