FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Senior forward
Jaquay Randolph put in a workmanlike effort, pouring in 23 points and 18 rebounds – seven on the offensive glass – but the Portland State men's basketball team couldn't overcome a slow first half in an 87-71 loss to Colorado State Wednesday at Moby Arena.
Randolph's 18 rebounds – tied for the third-most in a single game in the program's Big Sky era (since 1996) – led the Vikings to a +13 rebounding margin (38-to-25). That included a 14-to-1 advantage on the offensive glass, which the Vikings (1-2) turned into an 18-0 lead in second-chance points.
But the Rams (3-0) did enough to stay ahead of the Vikings, earning their third straight win over a Big Sky school to start the year. Their first two wins came over Montana State (84-74 on Nov. 2) and Idaho (78-67 on Nov. 6).
For the Vikings, Wednesday marked the second of a four-game stretch in which they will play three teams that made the postseason last year. The Rams were one of those three, having made the NIT last season. The Vikings also played Seattle U – another NIT team – last Saturday, and will play a Saint Mary's team Monday that made the NCAA Tournament.
"This is really good for us," Portland State head coach
Jase Coburn said of the tough stretch to the schedule. "The way we built our schedule, we wanted to have a tough stretch at the beginning of the season. A little adversity is good for us early. We needed to play some teams who were going to expose some things that we need to work on."
Both Seattle U and Colorado State also had more returning letterwinners than the Vikings.
The Rams, who returned eight players from last season, leaned on that experience to take an early lead on the Vikings. A 10-0 run over three minutes in the middle of the first half stretched the Rams' lead into double digits for the first time. Three PSU turnovers helped spark the Rams' run. They came as part of 10 first-half turnovers by the Vikings, which the Rams turned into a 15-2 advantage in points off turnovers over the opening 20 minutes.
The Rams then separated themselves further with three straight three-pointers in the first four minutes of the second half. They came as part of 10 three-pointers for the Rams, who held the Vikings to six threes on the other end.
It was a 23-point game at that point and was following a similar pattern to the Vikings' Seattle U game when the Redhawks buried the Vikings with an extended run.
But to the Vikings' credit, they fought back this time.
"I was really interested to see who we were going to be in the second half. I was pleased to see that our team this year has some fight to us," Coburn said.
"We had a chance to fold tonight and we didn't. That's something that we've already improved on from the Seattle U game. At least we understand that we're a program and a team that is never going to give up."
Randolph helped spark the Vikings' fight in the second half. He scored 10 of 12 points for the Vikings over one stretch in the middle of the second half and had a block that led to a fastbreak layup for the other bucket.
Nehemiah Pollard followed suit with a couple offensive rebounds of his own later in the half, while the Vikings got to the free throw line down the stretch. Twelve of their 17 made free throws came in the final four minutes of the game.
It wasn't enough for a comeback in the end, but the Vikings played level with the Rams in the second half, 45-45.
Randolph finished with his second double-double in as many games playing for the Vikings. The NCAA Division II leader in double-doubles last season with 25 at Southern Wesleyan, Randolph appears on his way to threatening the single-season program record of 13 that Chehales Tapscott set during the 2012-13 season.
"We challenged him [tonight]," Coburn said of Randolph. "He really stepped up and not only met expectations but exceeded them. And it's not like we were playing a team with no big guys. Those big guys [for Colorado State] were good."
Yaroslav Nikonov followed Randolph into double figures with 14 points to go with three rebounds and five assists. Pollard finished with eight points and three rebounds, all of which came on the offensive end.
Things don't get easier for the Vikings. They'll play a San Francisco team next that beat them 80-70 last season. That game is scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m., while the Vikings continue from there to play Saint Mary's at 7 p.m. Monday.
"We know what we signed up for. It's all part of our plan," Coburn said. "We'll get there. We've just got to continue to hang tough and continue to get better every single day."
GAME NOTES:
- The Rams improved to 6-0 all-time against the Vikings with Wednesday's win. This was the Vikings' first game against a team from the newly reconstructed Pac-12 Conference.
- The Big Sky-era record for rebounds in a game is 20. Cameron Forte set the record against Idaho on Jan. 30, 2016, while Tre-Vaughn Minott tied it against Sacramento State last season. The all-era record is 26 by Bernie Jones against the Oregon College of Education (now named Western Oregon) in 1959.
- Colorado State shot better than 50 percent from the field in both halves Wednesday. They finished at 52.9 percent (27-for-51), while the Vikings finished at 41.4 percent (24-for-58).
