Portland, OR -  A holiday present came early to the Portland State Vikings as they routed the Northwest Indian Eagles, 110-48, at Viking Pavilion.
 
PSU was expected to have a relatively easy time of it against NWI. And they did, rolling up a lower division school by 62 points. The Vikings shot 49-81 from the field for the game (.605) and were dominant on the glass with a 57-30 advantage. PSU forced 19 turnovers by the Eagles and turned them into 26 points. 
 
"The rebounding was great. Our two guys who play the five combined for 20 rebounds (Terri Miller Jr. and Tre-Vaughn Minott)," said Vikings Coach Jase Coburn. "We really bought into a team concept, shared the ball and had 30 assists. I'm proud of the effort.
 
"This should give us some confidence moving forward. We believe we are a good team, we just need to execute offensively, defensively and on the glass. This should help as we go into two road games against a pair of good teams."
 
Miller, a senior forward, had a present of his own for the Vikings with a triple-double - just the second in school history. Miller had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in just 17 minutes of game action.
 
The Vikings improved to 5-5 on the season, 3-1 in home games. They have three non-conference games remaining before Big Sky Conference games come in January.
 
Northwest Indian College, a small college in Bellingham, WA, featuring a young roster, was overmatched from the start. It was the Eagles' fourth game against a Big Sky Conference opponent this season, and fourth loss.
 
The Vikings raced to a 15-4 lead before the first timeout of the game. With superior size, PSU was able to get inside for easy baskets. NWI came back to hit four of its next five shots and narrow the gap to 19-13. But that would be the Eagles only surge in the game.
 
Vikings' senior forward Isaiah Johnson scored early with 10 points in the first eight minutes. Then Minott, a senior center, took charge inside during the middle of the half, pulling down eight rebounds, making three steals and blocking two shots. Senior guard Jaylin Henderson had a scoring flurry late in the half for 13 points. Soon the Vikings lead was over 20, then 30. At halftime, PSU had a 59-22 advantage.
 
The Vikings shot 25-41 in the first half (.610) to 9-36 for the Eagles (.250). PSU also held a 30-18 rebounding edge.
 
The second half was predictable, but highlighted by the performance of Miller. In just seven minutes on the court, he scored six points with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. That sewed up his triple double.  
 
"Terri is a very unselfish player. We identified that when we were recruiting him. He can pass out of a double-team, score in the post, run in transition and make plays out on the perimeter," said Coburn.
 
Senior guard Shane Nowell scored 13 of his game-high 17 points after intermission. Other stars included Qiant Myers (13 points, eight assists in 21 minutes) and Henderson (15 points on 7-8 field goals).
 
Tyasin Burns and Mycole Rodriguez each scored 16 points for the Eagles. Rodriguez had a team-high six rebounds.
 

GAME NOTES

• All 10 Vikings that played scored with seven in double figures… also in double digits were Hayden Curtiss (12), Cole Farrell (12) and Isaiah Johnson (10)... Minott had seven points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots in 16 minutes of action.
• The only other triple double in Portland State history came on March 3, 2016 when Cameron Forte totaled 20 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Northern Arizona.
• PSU is 71-16 in non-conference home games over the past 16 seasons… the Vikings are 61-2 against lower division schools since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996. Head Coach Jase Coburn is 11-0 against lower division schools.
• Portland State goes on the road next week, playing at the University of the Pacific on Wednesday night and Bakersfield on Saturday night. Both games can be seen on ESPN+.