Last stand

The Portland State men’s basketball team hosts its last two conference games of the season this weekend, and their playoff hopes rest in the balance.

On Friday night, sixth-place Portland State (10–17, 5–9 Big Sky) will host Idaho State, and on Sunday afternoon Weber State will come to play at the Stott for the Altitude/Big Sky Game of the Week.

With a one-game lead over Idaho State and one spot in the conference tournament still up for grabs, Portland State will secure a seed in the postseason brackets with a win on Friday. A loss to the Bengals will cause a sixth-place tie in the standings, and make Sunday’s matchup a must-win situation for the Vikings if they hope to make the six-team Big Sky Tournament next month.

The Vikings look to break their current five-game losing streak on Friday against Idaho State (7–20, 4–10 Big Sky) and at the same time, stop the stretch of four consecutive losses at the Stott. The Bengals come into Portland on a two-game losing streak of their own, and have won just once on the road this year in 15 tries.

Portland State maintains the edge in the overall series with ISU, winning eight of the last ten meetings between the teams and the last four in Portland. The Bengals are led in scoring by senior guard Amorrow Morgan, who is averaging 16.7 points per game.

Before arriving in Portland for Sunday’s matchup, Weber State (18–8, 12–2 Big Sky) already secured the Big Sky regular-season title and will host the conference’s postseason tournament in Ogden, Utah. The Wildcats are on a winning stretch of four games and have walked off the court with a win in eight of their last nine games.

In Portland State’s earlier meeting with Weber State this year, the Vikings came back from being 11 points behind with three minutes left, but missed two chances to tie the game and ended up losing 86–83. Senior guard Dominic Waters put up 21 points and six assists for the Vikings, but Wildcat Franklin Session would lead the scorers that night with 24 points and six assists of his own.

Waters has been on fire as of late, scoring 57 points in the last two games while dishing 12 assists. Senior forward Jamie Jones is also performing well for PSU, with a league leading eight double-doubles—seven of which have come in the last 14 games.

But Portland State will need skilled play this weekend from Waters, Jones and the rest of the roster to break the worst losing streak the Viks have seen since the 2005–06 season.

Friday’s tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. and Sunday’s game is slated to begin at 1:05 p.m. Both games are at the Stott Center and will be broadcast on 800 AM, KPDQ. Sunday afternoon’s game will be televised on Altitude and Comcast SportsNet, channel 37.

7:05 p.m., Fri
Portland State
(10–17, 5–9 Big Sky)
vs.
Idaho State
(7–20, 4–10 Big Sky)

1:05 p.m., Sun
Portland State
(14–12, 8–5 Big Sky)
vs.
Weber State
(18–8, 12–2 Big Sky)