Portland, OR – The magic number appears to be 70 for Portland State. When the Viking offense can get there, the team gets a win. Unfortunately, that didn't happen against Montana on Saturday night at Viking Pavilion as the Grizzlies beat the Vikings, 73-67.
 
Over the last seven games, PSU has gone 3-4. In all three wins they have been over 70 points and in all four losses they have been under 70.
 
On this night, Portland State was unable to overcome its slow start and couldn't reach the 70 mark. The Vikings led 8-4 early in the contest, but soon gave up the lead as Montana was on top for the final 31 minutes.
 
PSU shot only 10-31 from the field (.323) in the opening half, while the Griz were 14-26 (.538). That allowed Montana to pull out to a 38-27 lead at the break and they wouldn't give it up. 
 
Even a 40-point second half by the Vikings was not enough. 
 
Montana stretched its lead to 15 at 44-29 before the Vikings responded. An 11-2 run, highlighted by a pair of Hunter Woods' three-point field goals trimmed it to 46-40. Josh Bannan then scored six in a row to get the Griz' lead back to double-digits. 
 
Down 10 with six minutes remaining, the Vikings had another 10-2 charge. That brought them as close as they had been since the middle of the first half at 66-64 with 1:50 left. But, on the next possession, Bannan slipped behind the PSU defense for a dunk and soon the Vikings had to play the foul game to try and catch up. It would not happen as Montana went on to the six-point win.
 
With the victory, the Grizzlies jumped over the Vikings in the Big Sky Conference standings at 4-6. They now reside in sixth place and Portland State falls to seventh at 3-6. The loss was PSU's second in a row and fourth in five games. The Vikings are 9-13 on the season.
 
Cameron Parker paced the Vikings with 21 points and 10 assists. Jorell Saterfield added 12 points and a team-high five rebounds. Woods scored 11.
 
Bannan scored 17 points with 11 rebounds and six assists from his point forward role. He made 7-8 shots from the field. Dischon Thomas led all scorers with 25 points, six assists and three blocked shots. He hit five three-pointers for the Griz. Josh Vasquez scored 17 points, including making four straight free throws in the closing seconds to ice the game for Montana.
 
Portland State shot 17-30 from the field in the second half (.567) but were playing uphill most of the night. They made only 4-14 from three-point range and 9-17 at the free throw line. That was costly in comparison to the Griz, who were 10-25 from distance and 11-13 at the line.
 

GAME NOTES

• Isaiah Johnson had 10 points and three blocked shots off the bench for Portland State.
• Montana has won three straight against the Vikings by a combined 17 points. 
• PSU is 4-4 at home this season. The Vikings are half-way through their Big Sky schedule. They play five at home and four on the road in the second half.
• Portland State is home again next week. The Vikings host Idaho on Thursday and Eastern Washington on Saturday. Both games are at 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.