Riverside, CA – Make no mistake about it, the Portland State Vikings are rolling. PSU pulled off its fifth straight win to open the season with a 73-57 defeat of Cal Poly on day two of The Lancer Joust Basketball Tournament.
 
PSU's 5-0 start is the best ever for a Viking team in the Big Sky Conference era (1996 to present). In four previous seasons, Portland State had started 4-0 but never 5-0. The Vikings have now matched the best start in school history as the program began 5-0 during the 1976-77 campaign.
 
Unlike Friday night's win over California Baptist, where PSU trailed for more than 36 minutes, the Vikings took charge of this game right away and led for the last 37 minutes. The lead was double digits early in the first half, and went to as many as 25 points in the second half. In all, it was the most comfortable game of the season to date.
 
"We jumped on them early and got out on top with a good lead," said Viking Coach Jase Coburn. "We came out today and knowing we wanted to get the upper hand after a quick turnaround (from last night's game). They beat us the last two years and were capable of doing so again.
 
"Credit to our team for taking it to them today. We played two games in less than 24 hours. It was a good team win again."
 
This game looked a lot like the previous four. Tough defense, contributions up and down the lineup from starters and players off the bench alike. PSU held its third opponent under 60 points this season.
 
Like it had in the previous four wins, the Vikings had sturdy defense throughout. PSU held the Mustangs to 8-27 first-half shooting in building a 35-22 halftime advantage.
 
The Vikings extended that lead to 25 with 14 minutes left in the game. The closest the Mustangs would get was 14 points in the closing moments but PSU was never threatened.
 
Senior forward KJ Allen had the first double-double of the season for the Vikings with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He led four PSU players in double figures.
 
Senior guard Jorell Saterfield had 12 points on 4-8 three-point field goals, adding four rebounds and four assists. Bobby Harvey scored 11 points and Isaiah Johnson came off the bench for 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
Portland State shot .448 from the field and made 10-24 three-point field goals. They also out-rebounded Cal Poly, 43-31, and held the Mustangs to .373 from the field.

Kobe Sanders had 20 points to lead the Mustangs who dropped to 2-3 on the season.
 

GAME NOTES

• Portland State has never been 5-0 in 28 seasons in the Big Sky Conference era.
• The Vikings are holding opponents to 60.8 points per game this season.
• KJ Allen is leading the team in scoring (12.0) and second in rebounds (5.8). Isaiah Johnson is second in scoring (10.2) and first in rebounds (6.6).
• Portland State will play St. Thomas of the Summit League in the final game of the tournament on Sunday. Tip-off is 2:30 p.m. and the game can be viewed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU7SOHqlABM