Cheney, WA  – Portland State held on in the closing moments to defeat Eastern Washington 65-61 at Reese Court and remain undefeated in first place in the Big Sky Conference.
 
The Vikings entered the game intent on extending their undefeated streak to open Big Sky play and maintain their first-place position in the standings. Consider it Mission Accomplished. PSU is now 6-0 and has its best undefeated start to league play in school history. The Vikings are 12-5 overall.
 
In addition, PSU's six-game winning streak is the longest since the end of the 2020 season.
 
"I'm proud of the guys," said Vikings Coach Jase Coburn. "We just have to keep pushing forward, not focus on the outcomes but just make sure we are getting better each day. Tonight wasn't easy but we found a way to finish it."
 
PSU had a 10-point second-half lead but gave it all back over a scoreless span of seven minutes. Eastern Washington tied the game at 50-50 with 5:13 to play and it was a back and forth battle after that. 
 
Fortunately, Terri Miller Jr. came up big in the late-going. Despite having an uncharacteristically poor shooting night, Miller was clutch when it mattered most, scoring seven points and getting a final assist in the last two minutes.
 
The Vikings were up only 56-55, but Miller scored a driving three-point play with 1:47 remaining. He added two free throws a moment later, then had a layup and an assist in the final minute.
 
"Terri stepped up big time for us down the stretch," said Coburn.
 
The senior forward finished with a game-high 22 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Tre-Vaughn Minott scored 13 points on 6-7 from the field but fouled out in only 19 minutes of action. Keyon Kensie picked up his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Eastern Washington was allowing the most points to opponents in the league, but PSU did not fully take advantage. Still, a defensive stand in the first half, holding the Eagles without a point for nearly seven minutes, staked the Vikings to a 33-26 halftime lead. Only the play of Eastern's talented Isaiah Moses hurt the Vikings as he had 14 of the Eagles' 26 first-half points.
 
PSU was 13-25 from the field in the first half, while Eastern was only 9-27. And the Vikings had a 17-10 rebound edge.
 
Jaylin Henderson stretched Portland State's lead to 10 at 50-40 with a driving layin at the 11:33 mark. 
 
Portland State froze up after that, missing 10 straight shots from the field and Eastern Washington made a game of it in the final minutes.
 
The Vikings finished at 26-56 from the field (.464). The Eagles shot 20-52 (.385). Behind Minott and Miller, PSU outscored Eastern Washington, 46-26, in the paint.
 
Moses had 22 points to lead the Eagles who are now 2-4 in the Big Sky, 4-15 overall.
 

GAME NOTES

• The Vikings picked up their first win at Reese Court since 2014-15. They had lost nine in a row at Eastern Washington.
• Jaylin Henderson handed out nine assists to go with nine points.
• Portland State is 5-4 in road games, having won their last three away from home.
• Portland State will play at Idaho on Saturday at 2 p.m. It will be televised on ESPN+.