Bozeman, MT – Try as they might, Portland State wasn't coming back on Montana State this time. The Bobcats held off a Vikings' charge in the second half and came away with a big, 72-67 victory at Worthington Arena.
 
MSU's defeat of Portland State had a significant impact on the Big Sky Conference standings. The Vikings dropped to 7-8 and sixth place in the Big Sky, while the Bobcats leap-frogged them into fifth at 7-7. PSU is now only one-half game ahead of a seventh-place tie between Idaho State and Northern Arizona (6-8) with three games remaining in the regular season.
 
Portland State pulled off a remarkable comeback against Montana State four weeks ago in Portland. The Vikings trailed by 15 points with just over four minutes to play, but they rallied for a 94-91 win. On Thursday, there was a similar feel for a while as MSU gave up an 11-point second half lead and the game was tied with under eight minutes to play. 
 
But PSU made only 5-14 shots down the stretch while Montana State made 5-9 and tacked on 7-10 free throws. The Vikings never trailed by more than six points in the closing moments but were unable to string together consecutive baskets.
 
Eddie Turner finished with a game-high 27 points for MSU, including 17 in the second half. He had 11 points in the final six minutes. Brandon Walker added 14 points and nine rebounds.
 
Isiah Kirby paced the Vikings with 16 points, making 7-14 shots from the field. Bobby Harvey had 12 points on 4-9 three-point field goals.
 
PSU out-rebounded Montana State, 43-34, but shot just 25-63 from the field (.397), including 6-24 three-pointers. The Bobcats were 27-59 (.458) from the field.
 
Kirby carried the Vikings early, scoring nine of the PSU's first 16 points.
 
The opening 20 minutes were remarkably closely played. There were 10 lead changes and five ties as neither team led by more than five before halftime. PSU went into halftime with a 37-36 lead.
 
With the Vikings up 41-40 early in the second half, the Bobcats mounted the biggest run of the game. MSU scored 12 points in a row with the first six coming from Turner and the next six from Walker. 
 
PSU faced its biggest deficit of the game at 52-41 with 14:32 to go. Then the Vikings came back on a 13-2 run of their own to tie the game at 54.
 
Portland State struggled with its shooting the rest of the way and committed five turnovers in the last six minutes.
 
PSU is now 16-12 on the season. Montana State improved to 12-15 overall.
 

GAME NOTES

• KJ Allen and Kendall Munson led the Vikings with seven rebounds each… Ismail Habib had three assists.
• PSU has now lost five in a row in Bozeman. The Vikings are 5-9 on the road this season.
• The Vikings won the previous meeting with Montana State, 94-91, in Portland.
• Portland State plays at Montana on Saturday at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN+.