Portland, OR – Something was amiss with Portland State at Viking Pavilion on Saturday and Omaha took advantage. The Mavericks held the Vikings to their fewest points at home in five seasons, winning 60-55, in a Big Sky Conference-Summit League Challenge game.
 
No disrespect to Omaha but the outcome was definitely a surprise for Vikings fans. PSU had won 14 straight home games, their last four games overall, and were coming off an impressive road win at South Dakota on Wednesday. 
 
Credit Omaha in using a three-quarter court trap and occasional zone defenses that slowed down the fast-paced Vikings. PSU went into the game averaging over 85 points but were held 30 points under that mark on their own home floor.
 
When the Vikings got shots up, they struggled to hit, managing only 20-50 from the field (.400), 6-30 from three-point range (.200) and 9-17 at the line (.529). Omaha actually made the exact same number of field goals (20-50/6-20), but provided the difference at the charity stripe (14-16, .875).
 
Portland State dropped to 5-3 on the season with the loss while Omaha improved to 4-7.
 
The Vikings got 12 points each from Keyon Kensie Jr. and Tre-Vaughn Minott. Kensie had a team-best six rebounds and Minott was 6-7 from the field. Jaylin Henderson scored 10 points and handed out six assists. 
 
Ja'Sean Glover led the Mavericks with 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
 
PSU's slow start on offense was remedied by Sebastian Tidor, at least for a while. The 6-5 guard checked into the game at the 14-minute mark and proceeded to score eight points in a 10-3 Viking run. That turned a 10-7 deficit into a 17-13 lead just four minutes later.
 
For the Vikings though, that was about it for first-half highlights. Omaha's trap limited PSU's possessions and the Vikings were down 30-25 at halftime.
 
Kensie sparked the Vikings with PSU's first seven points of the second half. That closed the gap and Portland State went ahead 43-41 on a pair of Henderson free throws with 13 minutes to play. 
 
The lead changed hands three three times over the next six minutes. However, the Vikings couldn't sustain it, making only 4-17 shots over the final 12 minutes of action. Trailing by only three in the last two minutes the Vikings had five empty possessions out of six. Omaha made its final four free throws and got out of Viking Pavilion with the win.
 

GAME NOTES

• The largest lead in the game was only eight points for Omaha. PSU's largest lead was four.
• PSU's 14-game home winning streak last almost exactly one year. The last home loss was Dec. 7, 2024 to Denver (68-67).
• Senior transfer Isaiah Williams made his first appearance of the season for the Vikings. Williams missed the first seven games due to injury.
• Head Coach Jase Coburn lost his first challenge of the season. He is 2-1 in official challenges.
• The Vikings are off until next Saturday when they host George Fox University in a non-conference game. That contest tips off at 2 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.