Before tip-off of the men’s basketball game on Friday, the sixth-placed Portland State team was unsure if it would have a spot in the postseason tournament.
Forty minutes of play later, the Vikings secured their spot in the Big Sky Tournament with a win over Idaho State, and two days later the Viks rode the momentum to defeat first-placed Weber State.
The Vikings (12–17, 7–9 Big Sky) closed out league play at the Stott Center over the weekend facing a do-or-die scenario: The top five teams in the conference had already claimed their berths in the postseason tournament, and PSU needed a win to claim the sixth and final spot.
They claimed their ticket to the playoffs with a 98–63 win over Idaho State on Friday. The 35-point margin of victory is Portland State’s largest of the season, and was aided greatly by senior guard Dominic Waters and junior guard Melvin Jones.
In a closely contested first half that featured four early lead changes, with the score tied at 18-all Waters led the Viking charge by scoring 13 straight Portland State points to bring the Vikings out in front. From here they would never look back. Waters chalked 20 points and two steals in the first twenty minutes to give his team a 46–34 lead going into the break.
After halftime, the Bengals fought and chipped away at the lead, but Jones took the reigns and scored nine points in a 31–6 Portland State run that covered seven minutes. Jones scored 15 of his 22 total points in the second half, most of which came from his four late-game three pointers.
Head coach Tyler Geving said after the game that, despite the five-game losing streak his team brought into the game, his players have never taken their eyes off the prize.
“It can be easy to quit when you lose that many close games. It wears on you a bit, but they fought and competed the whole time,” he said.
When all was said and done, Water would lead all scorers with 29 points, two steals and three assists. He also recorded one of the team’s season-high eight blocks.
“He played like a senior leader tonight that wants to take us to the tournament,” Geving said.
Portland State also benefitted from intense defensive pressure that caused the Bengals to turn the ball over 22 times. The Vikings scored a total of 31 points off turnovers and ran up 21 fast break points.
“We came out and just tried being the aggressor early on, and it paid off,” Geving said.
Having already secured a berth in the postseason tournament with Friday’s win, the Vikings could have ended the weekend effort there, but Waters and company had a score to settle with the Weber State squad, and they used Sunday afternoon’s meeting to do just that.
In the season’s previous matchup, the Wildcats (19–9, 13–3 Big Sky) secured a three-point victory over the Vikings in Ogden, Utah. Portland State rallied back late in the game, but failed to sink the tying basket in the closing seconds.
On Sunday, just the opposite happened.
Though both teams had little to gain from a win, both fought tooth-and-nail during a first half that saw the lead change 11 times, and the largest was just by four points.
Playing in his last game in front of a Stott Center crowd, Waters again led the Vikings’ offense. He shot 3 of 6 from downtown and led both teams with 15 points when Portland State entered the break leading 36–35.
The PSU defense again provided the pressure, and effectively shut down Weber State’s Franklin Session, who led all scorers in the Wildcats’ earlier win over the Viks. Session entered the locker room on Sunday without putting a single point on the board in the half.
The second half began as back-and-forth as the first, but turned with the score tied at 47-all. With 12 minutes left to play, Portland State scored 15 unanswered points, five of which came from senior forward Julius Thomas. Capping the run was a three from Waters, his last of four on the night, to set the score at 62–47.
Weber State clawed their way back to come within three points in the closing minute, but failed to get any closer and PSU walked away with a 84–79 win over the regular season champions.
In their final games before a home crowd, the PSU seniors played in true form. Waters led in scoring with 28 points and snatched two steals, and Thomas chalked 17 with seven rebounds and five steals. Forward Jamie Jones scored 21 with eight rebounds and a game-high five blocks.
Portland State heads into postseason play for the sixth consecutive year, and Waters doesn’t feel this year’s record will put his team at the disadvantage.
“I’m confident. I know we can beat anybody,” he said. “I think we can compete with anybody as long as we play defense.”
Portland State is finished with conference play, but plays one final game at Seattle University tonight at 7 p.m. before taking on Montana State in Bozeman for Saturday’s Big Sky Tournament quarterfinal. Tip-off for that game is set for 6:05 p.m.
DIGITS
57
Points scored by Dominic Waters over the weekend, marking the second consecutive week he scored this many points.
66
Points scored by the three PSU seniors in their last game at the Stott Center. Collectively, they scored 118 on the weekend.
52
PSU points scored off turnovers over the weekend.
38
Portland State’s largest lead over Idaho State on Friday night.
6
Consecutive Big Sky Tournaments Portland State has now appeared in.
11
Number of times the lead changed in the game versus Weber State.
10
Shots blocked by Jamie Jones over the weekend.
8
Shots blocked by PSU in each game, tying a season high.
15
Team steals on Friday night.
2010 Big Sky Men’s Basketball Tournament
Quarterfinals
Sat, March 6
No. 5 Northern Arizona at No. 4 Montana
No. 6 Portland State at No. 3 Montana State
Semifinals
Tue, March 9
No. 2 Northern Colorado vs. Highest remaining seed
No. 1 Weber State vs. Lowest remaining seed
Championship
Wed, March 10
Semifinal winners