Greeley, CO – They say all good things must end. For Portland State that meant Saturday afternoon at Bank of Colorado Arena. The red-hot Northern Colorado Bears won their sixth game in a row, taking down the first-place Vikings, 77-65, in a Big Sky Conference game.
 
Playing on the road and trailing in the second half had been a comfort zone for PSU throughout the conference season. The Vikings went into the game 6-0 in Big Sky road contests, with five second-half, come-from-behind wins and three from double-digit deficits. But they couldn't muster enough offense to match the Big Sky's top scoring team as Northern Colorado came away with the win. The final margin of 12 points was the largest lead of the game for either team.
 
Portland State's school-record six-game road winning streak ended with the loss, as did a four-game overall winning streak. However, the Vikings maintain first place in the Big Sky Conference at 11-2. PSU will have a two-game lead over either Montana or Montana State at the end of the day with five games left in the regular season. Those two second-place teams (both 8-4) match up on Saturday night.
 
Jaylin Henderson scored 29 points to lead the Vikings. But PSU shot poorly in the game, hitting only 21-55 from the field (.382) and 16-26 at the free throw line (.615). PSU was unable to mount a late challenge as it made just 8-24 second-half shots.
 
On the other side, Northern Colorado had to earn its points. Shooting .493 as a team entering the game, PSU held the Bears to 24-57 (.421). UNC was good at the free throw line though (21-27, .778), out-rebounded the Vikings, 41-34, and had only six turnovers.
 
Bears' guard Quinn Denker totaled 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Brock Wisne had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Portland State got out to a 17-8 lead with 12:08 to play in the first half. Then a stretch without a PSU field goal for more than five minutes allowed the Bears to catch up. They took an 18-17 lead and eventually stretched it to a 37-34 halftime lead.
 
PSU had 18 points from Henderson and 11 from Terri Miller Jr. at the break, but as a team were shooting only .419 from the field.
 
Keyon Kensie Jr. tied the game with a three-point field goal to open the second half. Then the Bears scored eight in a row and led for the remainder of the game. PSU was down six with a minute and a half to go. However, the Bears were able to run clock, get a short jumper from Denker, then more two free throws to put the game away.
 
Miller had 18 points for the Vikings, but only five players were able to score. Despite the loss, PSU is 17-7 on the season.
 
Northern Colorado improved to 17-10 overall. At 7-7 in the Big Sky, the Bears move into fifth place.
 

GAME NOTES

• Kelcy Phipps had five points and a career-high seven rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench… Tre-Vaughn Minott led the Vikings with 11 rebounds to go with seven points and two blocked shots.
• PSU is now 8-5 on the road this season.
• Portland State returns home next week for a pair of games. The Vikings will host Idaho on Thursday night at 6 p.m. in a game nationally-televised on ESPNU. On Saturday, the Vikings play Eastern Washington at 2 p.m.