Portland, OR - Portland State led for the first 38 minutes against Utah Tech, then nearly gave it all away. But they didn't, and that's all that mattered in the end as the Vikings hung on for a 71-68 win over the Trailblazers at Viking Pavilion.
 
PSU never trailed in the game and was up by double digits for a good portion of the contest. But a bad final four minutes let Utah Tech back into the contest.
 
A pair of Isaiah Johnson free throws had the Vikings ahead 68-57 with 3:59 to go. Then PSU fell apart on its next five possessions with three turnovers and two missed shots.
 
Utah Tech ran off 11 points in a row following those empty Viking possessions. Justin Bieker's three-pointer with 1:42 remaining tied the game at 68-68 and forced a PSU timeout.
 
The Vikings came out with a plan to go inside to Terri Miller Jr. He was fouled and buried a pair of free throws with 1:24 left for a 70-68 Viking lead. 
 
The Trailblazers didn't have an answer this time. They missed on their next trip up court, got the offensive rebound, then turned the ball over. 
 
Still, Utah Tech had a chance. Miller missed a shot inside with 30 seconds left and the Trailblazers had the ball back. Tennessee Rainwater was fouled on a drive to the basket, but he missed both free throws with 6.7 seconds remaining. Shane Nowell rebounded for the Vikings, was fouled and made one of two shots. A desperation attempt by the Trailblazers fell short and PSU eked out the win.

"Good teams find a way to win," said Vikings Coach Jase Coburn. "We got out to a great start and we just need to figure out how to continue to be aggressive and push forward in those moments. It was a weird game as we had some different lineups out there we hadn't played this season, so we had to scrap it out the best way we could."
 
Portland State won its second game in row to move to 4-3 on the season. Utah Tech dropped to 2-7 overall. PSU is now 2-0 at home and has won five straight home games dating to last season.
 
Jaylin Henderson led the Vikings with 22 points. Nowell added 12 points, five rebounds and two steals. Johnson scored 10 points with six rebounds and two blocked shots. 
 
Beon Riley posted 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Trailblazers.
 
PSU roared to a 16-1 start behind 11 quick points and three three-pointers from Henderson. Utah Tech was able to cut the deficit back to single digits on a few occasions in the first half but an 11-30 (.367) shooting ledger prevented a serious threat.
 
By halftime, Henderson had 17 points on 7-9 from the field and the Vikings were ahead 37-26.
 
Utah Tech warmed up in the second half, making 18-31 from the field (.581). Still, the Vikings maintained a double-digit advantage for most of the half until the final four minutes.
 
The Trailblazers shot 29-61 for the game (.475) while the Vikings were only 25-59 (.424). Free throws proved to be a major part of the game. Though they didn't shoot particularly well at the line (16-26), the Vikings had a huge advantage over a poor-shooting Utah Tech team (3-11).
 
PSU out-rebounded the Trailblazers 41-34 and had a season-high eight blocked shots.
 

GAME NOTES

• For the first time this season, the Vikings had a repeat leading scorer. There were six different leading scorers in the first six games. Jaylin Henderson, with 22 points, became the first two-time leading scorer. He had 23 points in a win at San Diego. He leads the Vikings in scoring this season (15.6).
• Qiant Myers had a career-high three blocked shots to go with nine points, five rebounds, five assists and a steal. 
• Tre-Vaughn Minott grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds - the most by a Viking this season.
• This marks the first time Portland State has ever faced Utah Tech, a member of the Western Athletic Conference, in basketball. The Trailblazers are the third opponent in the last four (Milwaukee, Wofford) that is a first-time opponent for the Vikings.
• PSU is now 70-15 at home in non-conference games over the last 16 seasons.
• Portland State's next game is Wednesday, December 4 at Seattle University. Tip-off is 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on ESPN+. PSU returns home to host Denver on Saturday, December 7. Tip-off is 2 p.m. at Viking Pavilion and the game can be seen on ESPN+.