Sacramento, CA – Needing a road victory to up their stock for the post-season, the Portland State Vikings were unable to produce one at The Hornets' Nest, losing to Sacramento State, 73-61.
 
Portland State simply could not find the mark with its shooting, struggling on offense all afternoon. The Vikings shot 21-65 from the field (.323), 4-24 from three-point range (.167) and 15-26 at the line (.577). Combined with 16 turnovers, the Vikings didn't have enough to overcome the Hornets. 
 
Sacramento State had a solid offensive day, hitting 24-48 from the floor (.500), 9-23 from three-point range (.391) and 16-24 at the line (.667). That allowed the Hornets to get away with 21 turnovers of their own as they led for over 38 minutes.
 
PSU lost its sixth game in eight starts and its eighth consecutive road game overall. Now 16-14 on the season, the Vikings fall to 7-10 and into a tie for seventh in Big Sky Conference play with Northern Arizona following the game. That could change to a tie for sixth as Idaho State (7-9) plays Northern Colorado (10-6) later Saturday evening. 
 
Portland State seeks a sixth-place finish to avoid a first-round game next Saturday at the Big Sky Tournament in Boise, ID. Sixth or better advances to a quarterfinal game on Monday, Mar. 11. That makes PSU's final regular season game this Monday against Idaho at Viking Pavilion extremely important.
 
In the first 20 minutes against the Hornets, Portland State suffered through its lowest scoring half of the season. The Vikings had a very slow start with five turnovers and 1-9 shooting through seven minutes. But six forced turnovers kept the game close and PSU trailed just 7-5 with 11:49 left in the first half. 
 
The Hornets then made nine of their next 12 shots from the field to pull away. PSU did not make a field goal in the final seven minutes of the half and was down 34-20 at intermission. The Vikings were only 5-21 from the field (.236) and had 11 turnovers. They might have made up for it at the free throw line but managed just 8-16 (.500).
 
PSU then hit 1-9 from the field to open the second half and trailed 41-22. A 10-3 run gave the Vikings some brief hope, but they then went scoreless for three minutes and fell back again.
 
Sacramento State never led by less than 12 points the rest of the way and was up by as many as 20 points. 
 
KJ Allen led the Vikings in scoring with 10 points and five rebounds. Isaiah Johnson scored nine points with four rebounds. Jorell Saterfield had a team-high seven boards. 
 
Austin Patterson, Zee Hamoda and Jacob Holt all scored 15 points to pace the Hornets. Bailey Nunn scored 14 points and handed off eight assists.
 
With the win, Sacramento State moved to 8-22 on the season, 4-13 in the Big Sky Conference.
 

GAME NOTES

• PSU started the year 5-3 on the road, but are now 5-11… PSU is 10-2 at home, the site of their final game on Monday.
• Portland State plays its final regular season game at home on Monday. The Vikings host Idaho at 7 p.m. at Viking Pavilion. The game is televised on ESPN+.