Moscow, ID – No lead is too large. At least that was the lesson for the Portland State Vikings as they came away with a much-needed 76-69 win over Idaho at ICCU Arena.
 
Ahead by 25 points with 7:57 left in the game, the Vikings appeared home free. But Idaho, the top three-point shooting team in the Big Sky Conference, started hitting shots. Coupled with the Vikings struggles at the free throw line down the stretch, it made for a much closer score at the end – and some nervous moments - than PSU wanted.
 
After a pair of road losses last week, Portland State got just what it needed, though it ended up a little harder than expected. The victory solidified the Vikings' third-place position in the Big Sky standings at 6-4, one game ahead of Idaho State and 1 ½ games ahead of three other teams. PSU is now 14-9 on the season.
 
"Winning on the road is really hard in the Big Sky," said Vikings Coach Jase Coburn. "I'm very proud of our guys tonight after a tough week last week. We have a very resilient group and they found a way to hang on and win this one." 
 
PSU got a big performance from senior forward Isaiah Johnson, who turned in a career-high 22 points on 10-13 shots from the field. He added seven rebounds and three steals as the Vikings turned the Vandals over 21 times.
 
"Isaiah was outstanding," Coburn said. "As his coach I never take him for granted. He is such a winning player that does winning things for the team. He's a really hard worker, an outstanding teammate and an unbelievable person."
 
Terri Miller Jr. scored 14 points with six rebounds, and Cole Farrell came off the bench for 13 big points for Portland State. 
 
The Vikings shot a sturdy 27-54 from the field, but were only 19-32 at the line (.594). Idaho shot poorly early on, but rallied late in the second half. The Vandals hit nine three-pointers after intermission, with several coming late, and a total of 12 in the game. 
 
Idaho took a 5-2 lead in the first two minutes before the Vikings got going. And boy, did they go. Farrell hit back-to-back three pointers in a 12-0 run that eventually stretched to a 23-4 run over the next 10 minutes.
 
PSU's largest lead of the half was 35-12 before settling for a 39-19 advantage at intermission. Johnson led a good shooting first half with 10 points on 5-6 from the field and five rebounds. Portland State was 17-29 shooting overall (.586).
 
Perhaps better than their offense was the Vikings' defense. PSU held Idaho to 7-26 from the field (.269) while forcing 11 turnovers.
 
The Vandals hit four three-pointers in the opening minutes of the second half, but PSU was able to hold them off, eventually growing the lead to 62-37 with under eight minutes to play.
 
Idaho came back though, at one point scoring 10 in a row down the stretch. A Titus Yearout three-pointer with 29 seconds left closed the margin to only 72-67. 
 
Jaylin Henderson was able to make four straight free throws on the Vikings' final two possessions and PSU sealed up the win.
 
Idaho finished at 22-56 shooting (.396), hitting 12-32 from three-point range (.375). Yearout led the way with 14 points.
 
The Vandals are now 5-6 in the Big Sky, 10-14 on the season.
 

GAME NOTES

• Tre-Vaughn Minott led PSU with nine rebounds in the game… Qiant Myers had six assists for the Vikings.
• Isaiah Johnson's previous career high was 21 points in a win over Wofford earlier this season.
• The Vikings made 12 steals and scored 20 points off Idaho turnovers.
• Portland State is now 5-7 on the road this season.
• PSU has beaten Idaho in seven straight games and 10 of the last 11 overall… the Vikings are 7-4 in Big Sky games in Moscow against the Vandals, having won five straight…. the Vikings sweep the season series after beating Idaho, 75-63, in Portland on Jan. 11.
• Portland State plays at Eastern Washington on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN+.