204-124 spells Viking dominance

It may have been the best road trip in the history of Portland State basketball.

After falling to California State Fullerton last week, the Vikings, 13-2 since the new year, bounced back in historic fashion, dismantling Montana State 96-68, Thursday to capture the Big Sky regular-season title outright and then crushing Montana 108-56 Saturday.

In running their Big Sky winning streak to 11 games, Portland State (20-9, 13-2 BSC) not only secured the right to host the Big Sky Tournament March 11-12 at the Rose Garden, but broke several school records along the way.

The Vikings broke the record for margin of victory over a Big Sky opponent twice. First the record fell in the 28-point win over the Bobcats (15-14, 7-9 BSC), and then Portland State nearly doubled that number with a 52-point victory over the Grizzlies (14-15, 8-8 BSC) two nights later. The loss for Montana was its worst at home in 94 years.

“It was incredible to watch,” said head coach Ken Bone. “We played at such a high level on both ends of the floor. This is the kind of basketball you want to be playing at this point in the season.”

The win over Montana gave the Vikings their first 20-win season since transitioning to Division I competition and moves them within one game of the school record, 21 wins in a season. With two more wins away from the Stott Center, Portland State also tied the school record for most road wins in a season with 10.

But it was the way the Vikings controlled every facet of both games that should have Big Sky teams worried as they prepare to come to Portland next week for the Big Sky Tournament.

In the two games combined, Portland State outscored their rivals 204-124 and made 75 of the 114 attempted shots, including 24 of 42 from behind the three-point line.

Against Montana State, the Vikings set a new single-game record by shooting 70 percent from the field while holding the Bobcats to 38 percent shooting. Portland State followed that by out rebounding the Grizzlies 45-23 Saturday and holding them to a dismal 32 percent from the field.

“We put more focus on certain areas of the game that we need to improve on,” Bone said. “We needed to get back to slapping the glass and getting after the ball, and we did that.”

The Vikings’ hot shooting and high scoring outputs are a result of their ability to: one, knock down shots, and two, get easy buckets near the basket. Versus the Bobcats, Portland State scored 40 of their 96 points in the paint, but also hit 11 of 17 three-point field goals. They out scored the Grizzlies 36-18 in points in the paint.

Junior point guard Jeremiah Dominguez was the driving force behind the Vikings dominance. A former Oregon prep player of the year, Dominguez scored 26 and 24 points, respectively, in the two blowout wins. On his way to a pair of stellar performances, Dominguez knocked down 17 of 23 shots and collected seven assists while only committing two turnovers over the weekend.

“I’d be shocked if [Dominguez] wasn’t player of the year,” said Bone. “We’re the conference champs and he’s in the top-five in several categories. He leads us on both ends of the floor, getting us into our offense and defense. He’s been a real catalyst.”