Vermillion, SD – The thermometer logged a frigid nine degrees outside Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Wednesday night, but Vikings Terri Miller Jr. and Keyon Kensie Jr. were both toasty warm inside. The PSU tandem each turned in a 20-point double-double in leading Portland State to a 77-71 win over South Dakota in a Big Sky Conference-Summit League Challenge game.
 
Miller, a 6-8 senior forward, had a season-high 26 points on 10-15 from the field, 2-3 from three-point range and 4-6 at the line. He also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Kensie, a 6-8 junior guard, tossed in a career-high 22 points with 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
 
Portland State won its fourth straight game, improving to 5-2 after one month of play. South Dakota, a winner of its previous four games at home, dropped to 5-4.
 
Miller and Kensie were the difference for the Vikings, combining for more than half the points and rebounds of the men in green and black.
 
"Terri's ability to take over a game and take advantage of mismatches is really impressive," said Vikings Head Coach Jase Coburn. "And Keyon… we have challenged him to get a double-double every game. He is so talented and has his best basketball ahead of him. He improves every game."
 
Defense was also a key, as the Vikings held the Coyotes well below their season average of 85 points. Only a barrage of late free throws got USD over 70 points. PSU forced 17 Coyote turnovers for 22 points.
 
"Holding them down to 38% from the field was great," Coburn said. "We really challenged our guys because we knew how good they were offensively. We fouled a little at the end of the game but we stepped up to the challenge defensively."
 
A close game throughout the first half, the lead changed hands four times before PSU finally took the lead for good. A three-pointer by Miller with 8:33 left in the half had the Vikings on top for the rest of the way. Miller was dominant with 18 points by intermission, hitting 7-10 from the field, a pair of three-pointers and a pair of free throws.
 
The Vikings shot .517 in the first half, and took a 38-31 lead into halftime for their largest lead to that point.
 
Offense was a little harder to come by in the second half. That's when PSU's defense really took charge. The Vikings held USD scoreless for nearly five minutes before recharging their own offense.
 
PSU's lead finally got to double digits on an inside basket by Miller with 10 minutes remaining. The largest advantage was 13 points, but the Coyotes trimmed it all the way down to five points inside of two minutes to play.
 
Miller made a key putback with 55 seconds left to get PSU's lead back to 72-65. The teams traded free throws the rest of the way.
 
Portland State was 28-59 from the field (.475) and 18-26 at the free throw line (.692). South Dakota made 22-58 (.379) and 23-34 at the line (.676).
 
Senior guard Jaylin Henderson, the team's leading scorer, had a big night distributing the ball with a career-high 11 assists to go with 11 points.
 
Isaac Bruns scored 28 points with nine rebounds to lead the Coyotes.
 

GAME NOTES

• Terri Miller Jr. has been on fire in the last four games, averaging 20.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and shooting .653 from the field, .700 from three-point range and .733 at the free throw line.
• Portland State is now 2-2 in road games.
• The high-flying Vikings continued their acrobatic ways with seven dunks and six blocked shots.
• Sophomore center Kean Webb, a transfer to the program from San Diego, played in his first game after missing the first six with injury. Webb saw six minutes of action, had one rebound and one blocked shot.
• Head Coach Jase Coburn is now 67-66 in his five seasons at Portland State. He is over .500 for the first time since being 2-1 in his first season.
• This was a first-ever meeting between Portland State and South Dakota. It was PSU's third-ever game in the Big Sky Conference-Summit League Challenge. PSU is 1-2 in those games.
• The Vikings will be home on Saturday afternoon hosting Omaha in another Big Sky-Summit Challenge game. The contest tips off at 2 p.m. at Viking Pavilion and can be seen on ESPN+. PSU will defend a 14-game home winning streak, which ranks as ninth longest in the nation.