Ogden, UT – On stormy seas, Terri Miller Jr. kept the Viking ship afloat. Then Jaylin Henderson brought it into port in the late going as Portland State picked up a thrilling overtime win over Weber State in the Big Sky Conference opener at Dee Events Center, 95-90.
 
PSU battled foul trouble, poor shooting early, a final-minute deficit, and a history of struggles at Dee Events Center to come away with the victory. 
 
Miller brought the Vikings back from seven points down at halftime, scoring 19 of his 29 points in the second half, including 12 in a row at one point. But he fouled out late and it was Henderson that kept PSU alive. The senior guard scored three times in the final minute. PSU trailed 75-72 with 17.4 seconds left, but Henderson scored on a pair of drives in the closing seconds. The final score coming with 2.0 showing on the clock to tie the game, 76-76, and send it to overtime.
 
Henderson then scored nine points in overtime as the Vikings took the lead and held off the Wildcats. Henderson finished with a career-high 34 points as he and Miller combined for 63. Henderson added six rebounds and seven assists.
 
"Jaylin is a great player. Probably one of the best athletes in college basketball," said Vikings Coach Jase Coburn. "But this year he has really developed his game. He creates plays, get assists, scores. That was 45 hard minutes, but he is in shape to do it."
 
The tandem of Henderson and Miller was excellent, but they also received great support from others in the lineup. Keyon Kensie Jr. scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year. Tre-Vaughn Minott, saddled with foul problems for much of the game, came back to get a pair of key blocked shots in overtime while making 4-4 free throws. He had 10 points and 13 rebounds. Alex Dupre scored a career-high 10 points with four rebounds. 
 
"TV came back with his four fouls (after sitting a long time) and played with force and energy and made big plays for us in overtime. That was huge for us," Coburn said.
 
Kelcy Phipps also had a key steal leading to a Henderson dunk in the final minute of regulation. And Brayden Barron and Isaiah Williams had important minutes off the bench while the Vikings had foul trouble.
 
Most important of all the Vikings picked up a win on the road to open conference play. And they did it in the most difficult venue to win throughout their Big Sky history. It was just Portland State's fifth win at Dee Events Center in 30 years. No matter, the Vikings are now 1-0 in the Big Sky, 7-5 overall this season.
 
"Weber State does a good job every year and they are always really talented and well coached," said Vikings Coach Jase Coburn. "We have talked about figuring out ways to win on the road all the time. And, even more than winning at Weber for us, is just winning on the road in conference play." 
 
Saying this was a close game would be an understatement. There were 20 lead changes, 16 in the second half alone. There was just one in overtime, and it came on a Kensie three-pointer with 3:54 remaining in the extra session. Henderson followed with a three. Suddenly, PSU was up 83-78 and never trailed again.
 
Kensie made a pair of free throws, Minott hit four of his free shots, and Henderson scored nine in the closing minutes.
 
Portland State had control early in the game. The Vikings led 26-21 with 4:30 remaining in the first half. But Weber State closed out the half with a 16-4 run, turning a five-point Viking lead into a seven-point deficit. PSU made only 1-9 shots from the field over that stretch.
 
The Vikings shot only 11-32 (.344) in the half and trailed 37-30 at the break.
 
Miller got hot in the second half and single-handedly brought PSU back. His run of 12 straight points pushed the Vikings in front 51-50 with 10 minutes left in the second half. From there, the teams traded the lead most of the rest of the way.
 
PSU's last lead in regulation was at 68-67 on a Henderson drive with 2:39 left. But the Wildcats stormed back to a 75-72 advantage in the closing seconds, setting up the exciting finish.
 
Miller's 29 points came on 12-16 from the field and a career-best 5-6 three-point shots. Henderson was 11-24 from the field, 3-6 from three-point range and 9-16 at the line.
 
"Terri has really developed into being a matchup nightmare," said Coburn. "He has always been a problem in the post, but he has really worked on his shooting and ball-handling and gotten better. He gives us a lot of versatility. Terri is a monster in the post, but hitting five threes… he is a problem for people."
 
The Vikings shot .427 from the field compared to .403 for Weber State. PSU had a 51-46 rebound advantage.
 
Weber State dropped to 6-8, 0-1 on the season. The Wildcats were led by Tijan Saine Jr., who scored 23 points with seven rebounds and eight assists. Edwin Suarez Jr. had 19 points and 13 rebounds.
 

GAME NOTES

• The largest lead for either team was seven points. Appropriately, each team led for just over 20 minutes in the game.
• Portland State made 12-28 three-pointers (.429) and blocked seven shots, three by Tre-Vaughn Minott.
• This was the second 30-point game of Jaylin Henderson's career… he has played every minute of the last three Viking games and four games overall this season.
• PSU is now 3-4 on the road this season… the Vikings are 5-1 all-time in overtime games under Head Coach Jase Coburn, including wins in the last five in a row.
• Portland State began its 30th season as a member of the Big Sky Conference. PSU has won regular season titles in 2005 and 2008, and Big Sky Tournament titles in 2008 and 2009.
• Portland State moves on to face Idaho State in Pocatello on Saturday. That game is at 4 p.m. MT/3 p.m. PT and can be seen on ESPN+.