Portland, OR – In the waning seconds of Saturday night's Big Sky Conference game between Portland State and Northern Colorado, Viking fans were praying that lightning might strike twice. Instead, it was just the steady Portland drizzle that dampened their evening as the Bears beat the Vikings, 69-67.
 
Just two days removed from a thrilling 75-74 win over Northern Arizona on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Hunter Woods, it appeared the Vikings might do it again. 
 
In that game, PSU trailed by five points with 17.8 seconds left to play. On Saturday, the Vikings were down a mere four points with 14 ticks remaining on the clock. UNC star Dalton Knecht had just swished a pair of free throws to cap his 31-point night and the Vikings were desperate.
 
Cameron Parker took the ensuing inbound pass, raced the length of the court, got into the lane and hit a tough driving layin. That trimmed the score to 69-67 with 9.3 seconds left. Plenty of time for another miracle, right?
 
Following a quick timeout Portland State immediately got the break it needed. The Vikings' dogged press caused the Bears' Daylen Kountz to step on the end line after catching the inbound pass. Suddenly, it was Viking basketball with 7.7 seconds left under their own basket.
 
PSU inbounded and found Jorell Saterfield in the corner. He let fly with a tying 20-foot  jumper. The ball rimmed out, but was rebounded by Woods, who quickly tossed it back at the rim. The ball fell away and the Vikings were denied another chance at an improbable win.
 
Credit Northern Colorado for its performance. A team on a seven-game losing streak, the Bears could have folded in the second half when they trailed by as many as 14 points. But Knecht wouldn't let that happen. 
 
PSU was ahead 58-44 with 8:52 left to play when the Bears leapt into action. UNC went on a 13-point run - the last 11 of which came from Knecht - and it was game on with five minutes to play. 
 
Northern Colorado finally took the lead at 63-62 on a pair of free throws from Jamel Melvin at the 3:20 mark. The Bears never trailed again. Knecht scored four of UNC's final six points and PSU scored only twice on its final seven possessions.
 
Cameron Parker led Portland State with 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Bobby Harvey came off the bench to hit five of six field goals, including three three-pointers for 13 points. Woods added 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
Knecht was the star of the show with 31 points on 11-21 from the field, 6-13 from distance and 3-3 at the line. He also led the Bears with six rebounds. Kountz added 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals.
 
Portland State led for more than 24 minutes in the game. The Vikings were up 35-30 at halftime after shooting .516 from the field. They slumped to only 12-33 in the second half (.364). Most of those misses came late after the Vikings appeared to be in good shape with the 14-point lead.
 
The disappointing loss dropped the Vikings to 8-10 on the season, 2-3 in the Big Sky Conference. Northern Colorado improved to 6-12, 1-5. 
 

GAME NOTES

• Portland State's bench scored 35 of the Vikings' 67 points, combining to make 15-22 shots from the field (.682). Harvey scored 13, Isiah Kirby had 10 points on perfect shooting (4-4 FG, 2-2 FT) and Isaiah Johnson scored eight on four of five from the field. Kendall Munson grabbed five rebounds in nine minutes off the bench.
• Portland State is on the road next week, playing at Weber State on Thursday, then Idaho State on Saturday.