Greeley, CO – Momentum is everything in college basketball. The Portland State Vikings learned that on Saturday as Northern Colorado got on a roll in the second half and never let up, beating the Vikings, 90-61, at Bank of Colorado Arena.
 
PSU led for the first 20 minutes of the game, but the Bears opened the second half on a 25-point run, effectively blowing the Vikings away. UNC out-scored PSU 54-22 after halftime.
 
Northern Colorado kept pace with Big Sky Conference leader Eastern Washington, winning its seventh game in eight starts. The Bears are now 11-7 overall, 4-1 in the Big Sky.
 
PSU dropped its second straight game and fourth in the last five starts. The Vikings are 11-8 overall, 2-4 in the Big Sky.
 
After a terrific start to the season, the Vikings now find themselves in a slump, having lost six of their last nine games. The good news is PSU comes home next week for a four-game home stand and six of the next eight contests. Thirteen of PSU's 19 games have been away from home.
 
The Vikings got off to a good start, scoring the first seven points of the game. Forward Kendall Munson warmed up midway through the half and scored 10 straight points inside, getting PSU to a 27-18 lead. Ismail Habib gave the Vikings their largest lead at 33-23 on a pair of free throws with 3:30 left. The Bears closed out the half on a 13-6 run to pull within 39-36. That was an omen of things to come.
 
Northern Colorado came out red-hot to start the second half, taking its first lead after a minute and proceeding on a 25-0 run. PSU missed its first 10 shots of the half while UNC made 10-13. Munson finally hit a short jump shot to end the Vikings' eight-minute scoring drought. By then though, the game had gotten away from the Vikings as they trailed 61-41. 
 
Portland State shot a decent .455 in the first half, but that was flipped on its head in the second half when the Bears mounted their remarkable run and the Vikings couldn't find the mark. PSU was 7-28 in the second half (.250) and missed all nine three-point attempts.
 
Conversely, the Bears made 18 of their first 24 shots after intermission. They finished at 33-64 for the game (.516). The Vikings were 22-61 (.361), including only 3-22 from behind the arc (.136).
 
Northern Colorado out-rebounded PSU, 46-33.
 
UNC's Saint Thomas, who leads the Big Sky in scoring and ranks second in rebounding, finished with game-highs of 20 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
 
Munson was a lone bright spot for the Vikings, scoring a career-high 16 points on 7-9 from the field. He also led PSU with six rebounds. Ismail Habib added 11 points.
 

GAME NOTES

• The Vikings were missing scoring and rebounding leader KJ Allen for the second straight game due to a shoulder injury. Allen had double-doubles in three of his previous four games.
• Northern Colorado has won five straight games in the series with the Vikings. The Bears entered the game as the Big Sky Conference leaders in scoring at 81.0 points per game.
• Isiah Kirby had seven points and four rebounds off the bench. He has averaged 11.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in the last three games.
• Portland State returns home next week for the start of a four-game home stand. The Vikings play Montana on Thursday at 7 p.m., then Montana State on Saturday at 4 p.m. Both games are at Viking Pavilion and can also be seen on ESPN+.