RENO — With the relentless pressure Portland State applies, it’s only a matter of time before team with young, inexperienced guards breaks.
The Vikings blitzed Northern Arizona with its full-court trap from the outset of Tuesday’s opening game of the Big Sky Conference tournament here. Although PSU forced 10 first-half turnovers, NAU’s ability to bang on the block and dominate on the glass, particularly offensively, kept the Lumberjacks hanging around for the contest’s first 33 minutes.
NAU senior Jordyn Martin’s sixth of his seven offensive rebounds led to a put-back to give the ninth-seeded Lumberjacks their only lead of the second half with seven minutes, 29 seconds left, 57-56. But junior Brandon Hollins’ spearheaded Portland State’s press defensively and junior Deontae North took over offensively as PSU turned a deficit into a double-digit lead in an explosive spurt that lasted less than four minutes.
Portland State out-scored Northern Arizona 24-10 over the last 6:45 to post an 80-67 victory going away. North scored 20 of his game-high 25 points in the game’s final 12 minutes, Hollins’ length and motor helped the Vikings force five turnovers during the run and 21 overall as the No. 8 seed moved into the quarterfinals for the second straight season. Portland State will take on North Dakota in the first game of Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Portland State senior De’Sean Parsons battles through contact
“We have 12 guys and we use every single body on the team so we have bodies after bodies after bodies so sooner or later, they are going to break down,” said PSU senior De’Sean Parsons after scoring 14 points, grabbing five rebounds, dishing out four assists and notching two of PSU’s 10 steals.
Portland State junior power forward Traylin Farris converted his final bucket with seven minutes to play but rolled his right ankle badly, leaving the game and never returning. With Farris on the bench, Portland State head coach Tyler Geving moved North to the high post against NAU’s 2-3 zone and pushed the 6-foot-7 slashing Parsons out to the wing.
North, a junior college transfer who averaged more than 15 points per game off the bench in Big Sky play, proceeded explode. He went on a 9-1 run all by himself as PSU hit seven consecutive field goal attempts to push a 60-59 advantage to 12, 72-60 with 3:22 left.
“Coach put me in the middle and moved De’Sean to the wing so we could have a guard and a wing that could penetrate the zone and it really gave them problems,” said North, who finished 8-of-12 from the floor after halftime, converting three old-fashioned 3-point plays.
“I just wanted to be aggressive. We were struggling to score for a little bit. My teammates did a good job of finding me, getting me open and I was able to make shots.”
The Vikings entered the game leading the league in scoring and steals but a run of close losses caused the Vikings to lose nine of 12 entering the tournament.
Portland State junior Deontae North
“We stuck with it, stuck with it and that stretch between five and two minutes to go, we had some good steals and put-backs,” Geving said. “I thought Brandon Hollins was unbelievable on the press. That made a big difference in those traps. He’s so active on the ball, flies around. It was pretty impressive. Him and Deontae North saved our bacon today. I thought North made some unbelievable shots in the second half.”
Northern Arizona endured a brutal first half offensively, making just 10 of its 32 field goal attempts, including missing 11 of its 13 shots from beyond the arc. NAU also turned the ball over 10 times as the young guard combo of freshman JoJo Anderson and sophomore Marcus DeBerry struggled with PSU’s pressure.
But the Lumberjacks hung around because of the hard-nosed play of Martin and fellow senior bruiser Ako Kaluna. NAU grabbed nine offensive rebounds in the first half, leading to 11 second-chance points to enter halftime trailing 33-28 despite the cold shooting.
NAU shot 56 percent after halftime, but PSU hit 17 of 28 shots (61 percent). Northern Arizona managed five second-half offensive rebounds but just four second-chance points. Despite out-rebounding PSU 39-28, Portland State eliminated the ‘Jacks, ending Kaluna and Martin’s careers in the process.
“We rushed ourselves,” said Kaluna, who finished with 18 points. “We let the pressure get to us. Once we calmed down, it was already a substantial lead.
Northern Arizona senior Jordyn Martin
“We gave it all our effort, gave it all we had. Our mindset was points in the paint and rebounding. We executed that plan, did the best we could but it wasn’t enough.”
Martin did not hit his first second-half bucket until the go-ahead basket midway through the second half but finished with 10 points after halftime. The All-Big Sky player finished his career with 16 points and 16 rebounds as NAU finished 9-24.
“I think for the most part, we handled the pressure pretty well but we hit a little lull where they stepped up the pressure,” Martin said. “We backed down a little bit. We definitely tried to fight no matter what.”
Portland State destroyed North Dakota in the conference opener for both teams the last weekend in December. The Vikings snared 19 steals, forced 26 turnovers and ran away from the eventual league champions, 99-62. PSU posted an 88-79 win over previously red-hot Montana in Portland three weeks later to move to 4-2 in Big Sky play.
Portland State lost to Montana State two nights later, sparking a four-game losing streak that included a three-point loss to Sac State in overtime and a 130-124 loss to Eastern Washington in triple overtime. PSU beat Idaho State only to lose back-to-back overtime games to Weber State (96-93) and Montana State (92-90). Two nights after the MSU loss, PSU again pushed Montana in Missoula, falling 85-82.
At one point, PSU was 11-6. The win Tuesday moves the Viks to 15-15 but ensures Portland State will get a rubber match with the league champions.
“We got them earlier in the year and they got us on senior night so it’s going to be a great game,” Parsons said. “You can see our record but it doesn’t show how tough we go every day. We are a great team. It’s been tough but we know we can hang with anyone in the league.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
