Pocatello, ID  – "Comeback-ability" should be the new descriptive for the Portland State Vikings as they pulled off a second-straight come-from-behind win on the road in overtime, beating Idaho State, 93-87, in Reed Gym.
 
A game that mirrored PSU's win Thursday night at Weber State, the Vikings came back from a second-half deficit, tied the game on a final shot in regulation, then took control in overtime for the win. The difference at Idaho State is the Vikings were down by 17 points with 15 minutes to play, 10 with under four minutes left, and eight with less than two minutes to play. At Weber State, the comeback win was from a mere seven points.
 
No doubt the biggest play of the night for PSU was Terri Miller Jr.'s game-tying three-pointer with three seconds left in regulation. The Vikings were down 78-75 and after a timeout had the ball with 13 seconds left. PSU came up court, passed the ball to Miller, who gave it up quickly, then rubbed off a screen on the far side of the court. He took a pass over the top from Keyon Kensie Jr., spotted up from five feet behind the three-point line and buried the tying shot. 
 
"We had been working on that play for a couple of weeks," said Vikings Coach Jase Coburn. "We finally got a chance to run it. Really, it was about the guys executing what we wanted to do and they did a great job with it." 
 
The shot sent the game to overtime, which appears to be a very friendly place for Viking basketball. The Vikings won in overtime on Thursday, and had won five in a row in overtime (now six in a row) under Coburn.
 
Also like Thursday night, Miller fouled out. That came one minute into the extra session as the senior forward took his game-high 25 points to the bench. Cue Jaylin Henderson. The senior guard had a big overtime session - again, just like on Thursday - scoring five points and handing off three assists.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Brycen Long and Kensie on assists from Henderson, then a pair of free throws by Henderson, gave PSU an 86-79 lead midway through overtime. The Vikings held on from there for another thrilling victory.
 
With the win, PSU picked up its first Big Sky Conference weekend road sweep since Feb. 27-29, 2020. That sweep also came against Idaho State and Weber State.
 
Portland State begins Big Sky play at 2-0 for the first time since the 2009-10 season. The Vikings are 8-5 overall on the year. 
 
"We showed a lot of grit, a lot of determination tonight," said Coburn. "We know we are a good team and we played some tough games in non-conference and walked away thinking we should have won. We learned some lessons from those games and have continued to work hard."
  
Miller led all scorers with 25 points, making 10-15 field goals. He had 19 points in the second half as the Vikings mounted their comeback.
 
Henderson scored 19 points with seven assists and six rebounds. Phipps added 15 points off the bench with nine coming in the second half on 4-4 shooting. Tre-Vaughn Minott added 11 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots. Kensie had 11 points, four rebounds and two blocks. 
 
Portland State ended up shooting .533 from the field in the game. Remarkably, the Vikings were 20-32 (.625) in the second half and overtime. And perhaps most satisfying, the Vikings made 22-26 free throws (.846) in a game where every point made a difference.
 
PSU was 3-4 from the field, 7-8 at the line in overtime.

With the loss, Idaho State dropped to 8-7, 1-1.
 
ISU's three-point shooting was a concern for Portland State going into the game. The Bengals proved that out, hitting early and often from deep. In an otherwise mediocre offensive first half for both teams, the Bengals were 6-11 from three-point range. The Vikings were just 1-7 and that was essentially the difference in the game. ISU led 36-29 at halftime.
 
ISU's hot three-point shooting continued into the second half. The Bengals made five more threes in building their lead all the way to 17 points at 54-37. That's when PSU began its methodical comeback capped by Miller's big shot, and another excellent overtime session.
 
Martin Kheil led the Bengals with 20 points. Caleb Van De Greind had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Jamison Guerra handed off 10 assists. Idaho State made 13 three-pointers overall.
 

GAME NOTES

• For the fourth straight game, Jaylin Henderson played every minute of the contest.
• Brycen Long, who has played sparingly, also was key off the bench, scoring eight points late in the contest.
• Kelcy Phipps finish at 6-6 from the field, 1-1 on three-pointers, and 2-3 at the line for 15 points.
• PSU is now 4-4 on the road this season… the Vikings are 14-14 all-time in Big Sky games played in Pocatello.
• Head Coach Jase Coburn is 6-1 all-time in overtime games, including winning the last six.
• Portland State returns to Viking Pavilion for its first Big Sky Conference home game of the season next Saturday against Sacramento State. Tip off is 2 p.m. and the game can be seen on ESPN+.