Despite a furious rally down the stretch, the Vikings men’s basketball team suffered another heart-breaking defeat, falling at home to the Montana Grizzlies 69-67 in front of a season-high crowd of 1,307 in the Stott Center.
Three nights after blowing a 15-point second-half lead against Montana State, Portland State (10-11, 4-5 in conference) attempted a rally of its own. Senior guard Charles Odum took charge with about three minutes to play, leading the Vikings on a 10-1 run in which he scored all the points and brought the Viks back within one with four seconds remaining.
“We turned up the pressure a little bit,” head coach Tyler Geving said. “They had the lead and maybe got a little tentative, and we cranked it up a little more, got some steals off our press. It gave us a chance.”
The Vikings fouled Grizzlies forward Mathias Ward, who made the first free throw but missed the second. Chehales Tapscott rebounded for the Vikings and put the ball in guard Gary Winston’s hands as he raced up the floor. The Grizzlies defense, however, thwarted any opportunity for a Vikings’ miracle as they converged on Winston, preventing him from even getting a shot off.
“It’s frustrating because I don’t feel like we are a 10-11 team and I don’t feel like we are a 4-5 team [in-conference],” Geving said. “I feel like we are a lot better than that.”
Odum led the Vikings in scoring with 19 points but also committed seven turnovers.
Tapscott scored 14 points and finished with a career-high 16 rebounds. It was also his eighth double-double of the year and the most rebounds by a Viking since 2007.
Forward Renado Parker contributed well off the bench, scoring 10 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
The night was not a total loss, as Vikings fans and Geving donated a combined $1,400 to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. Geving, who in recognition of the Coaches vs. Cancer program was originally going to donate $100 for every three-pointer the Vikings made, decided to donate $1,000 after the game.
The Vikings will play their next three games on the road, traveling to Weber State tonight, Northern Arizona on Saturday and Idaho State next Thursday before returning home on Feb. 15 to face off against Sacramento State.