After arguably the best season in the history of Portland State basketball, the 2007-08 edition of the Vikings will go down in the record books as the team most commonly associated with phrases like the most, the best and the first. The Vikings finished the season with 23 wins, the most in the history of the program.
Viking basketball fans rushed the court Wednesday night to celebrate a Big Sky Tournament Championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament–both firsts in Portland State history. Senior point guard Brian Curtis dribbled out the final 15 seconds near center court while his teammates danced around him. When the horn finally sounded, confetti and streamers fell from the ceiling of the Rose Garden and Portland State fans flooded the court to be with the team. “It’s a great feeling,” said senior forward Deonte Huff. “You dream about this all your life.”
Senior forward Deonte Huff broke free along the right wing and threw down an emphatic one-handed dunk over Bengals star forward junior Matt Stucki to give Portland State its first double-digit lead with less than three minutes gone in the second half. The Vikings (22-9, 15-2) cruised the rest of the way to a 72-61 semifinal victory over Idaho State (12-19, 8-9) in the Big Sky Tournament at the Rose Garden Tuesday night. “This is a great win for us. We have spent all year talking about getting to this point,” said Vikings head coach Ken Bone. “It’s an exciting time for our program.”
Whispers and chatter concerning Jeremiah Dominguez’s chances of becoming the Big Sky Player of the Year swirled around the Vikings and the speedy point guard for much of the second half of the season.
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.
After defeating Montana State Thursday night to clinch the Big Sky regular-season title, Portland State will host the Big Sky Tournament at the Rose Garden, March 11-12. If the Vikings win the conference tournament, they will earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. However, if a lower seed upsets Portland State in the Big Sky Tournament, the Vikings could possibly earn a berth in the “other” national tournament–the NIT.
The last time the Vikings finished a game with less than 70 points was Jan. 10, which was also the last time Portland State (18-9, 11-2 BSC) had lost a game. Well, that was until Saturday night.
Despite junior point guard Jeremiah Dominguez being unable to finish the game due to illness, the Vikings still defeated Northern Colorado (11-15, 4-9 BSC) 88-79 Wednesday night to clinch at least a share of the Big Sky regular-season title. With Portland State’s ninth-straight victory now wrapped up, the only detail left to be worked out is whether the Vikings (18-8, 11-2 BSC) will host the Big Sky Conference Tournament March 11-12 at the Rose Garden.
Making six free throws in the final 30 seconds, junior point guard Jeremiah Dominguez led the Vikings to their eighth straight victory Saturday, holding off Weber State 76-73. But, in a game that saw 20 lead changes and the game-tying shot clank off the rim at the buzzer, Dominguez singled out point guard Brian Curtis as the difference maker.
With a 22-4 run over a six-minute stretch in the second half, Portland State (16-8, 9-2 BSC) put the game out of reach to secure an 81-58 victory over Idaho State (9-15, 6-5 BSC) Thursday night at the Stott Center. The win extends Portland State’s winning streak to seven games.
Head coach Ken Bone would have to hold out two hands to show with his fingers the number of wins on Portland State’s current winning streak, as the Vikings reeled off two more victories this past week to bring the streak to six straight games.