Portland, OR – Portland State big men dominated in a Thursday win over Northern Arizona, so it was only appropriate that the Viking guards led the way in a big 82-71 victory over first-place Northern Colorado on Saturday at Viking Pavilion.
 
The backcourt trio of Jaylin Henderson, Qiant Myers and Cole Farrell combined for 52 points, 11 rebounds, 15 assists and four steals as the Vikings posted another wire-to-wire win at home. Henderson scored a game-high 21 points on 9-15 from the field, 1-3 from distance and 2-3 at the line. He added career-highs of seven rebounds and seven assists. Myers scored 16 points with six assists and Farrell came off the bench for 15 points.
 
"That's the great thing about our team. It can be anybody on any given night. When we continue to have that mindset and play the defense we have been playing, we have a shot to win any night," said Vikings Coach Jase Coburn.
 
The win was Portland State's eighth straight at home. The Vikings are now 10-1 in Viking Pavilion this season, and have led from start to finish in eight of the wins.
 
More importantly, PSU is now 16-10 on the season, 8-5 in the Big Sky Conference with a secure hold on third place. The Vikings have won three of their last four games.
 
Northern Colorado falls out of first place - at least temporarily - at 11-3 in league, 19-8 overall.
 
"This is a realization of what we need to do to win, how we need to play to win," said Coburn. "We didn't play perfect, we can always get better, but that is what we are capable of."
 
Portland State brought a little-used element of its arsenal in recent games to the matchup with the Bears. The Vikings hit 7-14 three-pointers in the first half among five different players. That staked them to an early lead and they were ahead 39-28 at halftime. Henderson had 12 points at intermission while Tre-Vaughn Minott had seven rebounds and four blocked shots.
 
Northern Colorado, the Big Sky's best shooting and scoring team, was held to 28 points on .367 from the field.
 
Terri Miller Jr. scored seven points early in the second half as the Vikings built their lead to 48-35.
 
Too good an offensive team not to respond eventually, Northern Colorado scored the next 10 points in a row. That trimmed the lead to 48-45 with 13:33 to play. It was the closest the Bears had been since the opening moments of the game and forced a PSU timeout.
 
After regrouping in the huddle, it was Minott to the rescue. He scored inside on the Vikings' next two possessions, with the second coming after an emphatic blocked shot by Farrell on the other end. After Minott's baskets, Farrell hit a driving hoop of his own and the lead was back to nine at 54-45.
 
The Bears could never get good footing after that, mainly due to PSU's efficient offense. The Vikings made 15-27 from the field (.556) and 11-15 at the free throw line (.733) in the second half.
 
In the end, defense was key. UNC scored 10 points under their season average (81) and shot well below their season percentage of .504 (.426 for the game). The Vikings blocked seven shots by the Bears and made nine steals. That performance comes after the Vikings held Northern Arizona 31 points under their team scoring average in a 58-46 win on Thursday. 

"It always starts with defense for us. We've had great individual performances and tonight it was Isaiah Johnson and TV (Tre-Vaughn Minott). They didn't have big scoring nights but defensively they were elite," said Coburn.
 
Portland State shot 30-59 for the game (.508), 9-19 from three-point range (.474) and 13-18 at the line (.722). Rebounding was even at 35-35.
 
Jaron Rillie and Isaiah Hawthorne each scored 19 points to lead the Bears. Hawthorne had eight rebounds and Rillie had four assists.
 

GAME NOTES

• Terri Miller Jr. scored 13 points... Minott had seven points, a game-high 10 rebounds and four blocks.
• PSU has won nine straight Big Sky Conference games at home dating back to last season... PSU is 21-3 at home the last two seasons.
• The teams split the season series as Northern Colorado beat the Vikings, 72-69, in Greeley on Jan. 16.
• The Vikings go on the road next week, playing at Idaho State on Thursday, then Weber State on Saturday. Both games can be seen on ESPN+.