The Vikings blitzed the Bobcats, handing Montana State its first league loss in the process.
Portland State stormed out to an 11-2 lead behind 3-pointers from Deontae North and Michael Mayhew and a 3-point play from Montana native Ryan Edwards less than three minutes into the game. North’s second 3-pointer pushed the PSU advantage to 16-4. The deficit stayed in double figures for most of the rest of the night.
The Vikings’ feared full-court press lived up to its billing, forcing 21 turnovers thanks to 10 PSU steals and relentless pressure never let Montana State get in a flow as PSU raced to a 93-74 victory at Lewis & Clark College in front of 787 on Thursday night in Portland.
“We just missed layups, we gotta finish layups and take care of the basketball,” Montana State head coach Brian Fish said. “They got us sped up. Gotta slow down a little bit but if we make a couple of layups, we’d have been fine.”
The loss drops Montana State to 4-1 in conference play, 11-7 overall. Portland State, which played without key players Traylin Farris and Brandon Hollins because of illness, has won two straight over two of the league’s top teams in Idaho and Montana State. PSU sits at 2-2 in league, 12-5 overall. Montana State head coach Brian Fish is now 2-4 in his career against the Vikings.
The MSU loss means Montana is alone in first place in the conference. The Griz posted a 78-66 win at Sacramento State on Thursday.
PSU guard Bryce Canda/by Troy Wayrynan
North, PSU’s leading scorer who finished with a game-high 22 points, and senior Bryce Canda, PSU’s second-leading scorer, battled foul trouble in the first half. Even with their two slashers on the bench, PSU extended the lead to 37-19 with 5:18 left in the first half behind Mayhew’s sweet shooting, Edwards’ indomitable size and a strong effort from its bench.
Mayhew scored 12 of his 18 points and hit four of his six 3-point makes to lead PSU to a 44-32 halftime lead. PSU’s bench, led by Deante Strickland, Derek Brown and Braxton Tucker scored 15 of PSU’s final 20 first-half points with the stars out.
In the second half, North came alive, scoring 17 points and snaring three steals on a night when the hosts held the visitors to 44 percent shooting. Canda scored eight of his 11 points after the break. He also dished out five of his six assists in the first half.
PSU finished with 22 assists on 34 made baskets during a 53.1 percent shooting effort. True freshman Holland Woods led the way with nine dimes.
Montana also had no answer for Edwards, a 7-foot, 300-pound Kalispell Glacier product, inside in isolation situations. The younger brother of former MSU center Jeff Edwards and graduate transfer from Gonzaga, scored five points during the lead-lengthening first half spurt and 11 points to go with six rebounds overall.
Montana State senior Konner Frey pictured earlier this season/ Brooks Nuanez
MSU shot 55.6 percent after halftime, including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc yet still couldn’t cut the lead under 12 points. MSU had its chances but seemed to always blow any opportunity to make a significant run.
Tyler Hall, the preseason Big Sky MVP and MSU’s leading scorer, finished with 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting. All eight of his shot attempts came from beyond the arc. He sank all four of his free throws and dished out four of MSU’s 20 assists.
Senior Konner Frey came off the bench to score 12 points but did not grab a single rebound as the Bobcats lost the battle of the boards for the first time this Big Sky season, 33-32. Junior Keljin Blevins scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds but also committed five turnovers, tied with Devonte Klines for the team high.
Senior Joe Mvuezolo continued his strong month with 11 points and four rebounds off the bench. MSU point guard Harald Frey scored 10 points but missed the front end of a 1-in-1 that could’ve cut the lead to 11 with 4:22 left. PSU’s advantage, which never exceeded 21 points, ballooned to 18 less than two minutes later.
Montana State plays at Sacramento State on Saturday night. Portland State hosts league-leading Montana.
