Bakersfield, CA – A stirring second-half comeback led the Portland State Vikings to another road victory as they defeated Bakersfield, 59-58, at Icardo Center.
 
This game was the ugly Christmas sweater of the season – not easy to look at, but in the end, a wonderful night.
 
Portland State overcame 25 turnovers, a four-field goal first half, and the loss of two big men to pick up its third win in a row and improve to 7-5 on the season. The Vikings are now 3-3 in true road games, 4-4 overall away from home and guaranteed a winning non-conference record.
 
Senior forward Isaiah Johnson was steady once again for the Vikings with 14 points, six rebounds and two steals. Johnson made 5-9 shots from the field and 4-5 at the free throw line.
 
"He's been a monster this week. When he plays that way we can beat anybody. He really impacts winning," said Vikings Coach Jase Coburn.
 
After a brilliant offensive start in their previous game – a Wednesday night win at University of the Pacific – the Vikings sputtered, spit and coughed their way through the opening moments against Bakersfield. PSU committed 10 turnovers in the first eight minutes of the game, and frankly were lucky to trail only 17-5 at that point.
 
The offensive production didn't improve through the first half. The Vikings struggled to get into their offense and actually committed more turnovers (15) than shots attempted (14) by halftime. PSU had its lowest scoring half of the season, made only four field goals, and trailed 30-18 at the break.
 
Portland State was able to turn the tables at the start of the second half. The Vikings hit six of their first nine shots, fueling a 15-4 run. That trimmed the Roadrunners lead to 34-33 with 12 minutes remaining.
 
Terri Miller Jr. provided the Vikings with their first lead of the game, 44-42, with an inside score and free throw at the 7:20 mark of the second half. Cole Farrell followed with a driving basket, then Jaylin Henderson had a breakaway dunk for a 48-42 Viking lead. Bakersfield called a timeout and a minor scuffle between the teams cost Miller Jr. a technical foul. It seemed harmless at the time.
 
But later, Miller was assessed another technical and ejected. Senior center Tre-Vaughn Minott had already fouled out after only seven minutes of action. That left the Vikings with only one big man, Hayden Curtiss, for the final four minutes. Fortunately, Curtiss hit a key basket inside with three minutes to go, and provided an offensive rebound a minute later that led to a  Henderson layin.
 
PSU led for the final seven minutes and the largest lead was 53-46 with 3:59 to play. The Vikings were still up 59-54 after a pair of Johnson free throws with 58 seconds left.
 
That's when the turnover bug hit again. Bakersfield converted four straight free throws and PSU had turnovers on its next two possessions. The Roadrunners had the ball, and a chance to win the game, with 11.7 seconds remaining and trailing by just one.
 
Corey Stephenson made a driving run at the rim but missed and the ball was tipped away as time expired.
 
"They stepped up to the challenge tonight," said Coburn of his team. "We had a chance to fold in the first half and we didn't. That was awesome.
 
"Bakersfield is a really good defensive team. They are scrappy and physical like us. We knew the emotion of the game was going to get hot. We knew there would be ups and downs. In the second half we got loose on transition and were able to figure it out."
 
After a disjointed first half, the Vikings came back with an excellent 17-25 shooting performance in the second half (.680). That led to a .538 shooting effort overall and the key to victory.
 
PSU's defense was good all night, holding the Roadrunners to 20-53 from the field (.377) and forcing 20 turnovers. The 'Runners, who defeated Portland 81-64 in Portland on Wednesday, were shooting .411 from three-point range, but made only 4-19 against the Vikings.
 
Johnson led the way, but Farrell scored seven of his 11 points in the second half, and Miller Jr. had all eight of his points after intermission. Farrell and Miller Jr., combined to hit 6-8 shots in the second half. Henderson added 12 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot for the Vikings.
 
Fidelis Okereke scored 15 points to lead Bakersfield, hitting 6-8 from the field and 3-3 at the line. The Roadrunners dropped to 6-7 with the loss.
 

GAME NOTES

• Head Coach Jase Coburn picked up his 50^th career win at Portland State. He is 50-56 overall in four seasons, 24-20 in the last two seasons.
• PSU had six more dunks in the game, two each from Johnson, Henderson and Minott. The team has 58 slams in 12 games this season.
• Portland State is off until December 31. The Vikings will host Walla Walla University in a 2 p.m. game at Viking Pavilion. PSU opens Big Sky Conference play on Jan. 4 at Sacramento State.