Aaron Moore was one rebound away from a double-double in Portland State’s 66-58 victory over the University of California, Riverside at the Stott Center on Saturday. With the football team cheering on their fellow Vikings as part of the crowd of 870, PSU’s men’s basketball survived a second-half surge by the visitors to win their third game in a row. Part of the final year of ESPN’s BracketBusters program, the showdown against the Highlanders was PSU’s seventh appearance in the 11-year run of the series.
The Vikings wasted no time against Riverside, methodically building their lead. After Highlander forward Chris Harriel hit a three-pointer to put the visitors up 5-4, PSU went on a 15-6 run to take back the advantage. The Vikings pressed the Highlanders defensively, holding their opponents to just 37 percent shooting from the floor in the first half and taking a 33-26 lead into the locker room.
Michael Harthun scored eight points in the opening 20 minutes, while Renado Parker added another six.
Within the first four minutes of the second half, Riverside went on a 12-2 run that erased their deficit and gave the Highlanders a 36-35 lead. Riverside center Chris Patton spurred the comeback, scoring 14 points within the first nine minutes after halftime as the visitors went up by eight.
“[Patton] kind of went to work there on us, and then we had to go back to doubling him,” Viking head coach Tyler Geving said. “He’s a load in there and he’s a good player. You can see why he had 36 against Fullerton.”
But after hitting a jumper off a Harriel pass that put his team up 50-42, Patton taunted the PSU bench as he made his way back on defense and promptly earned a technical foul and a seat of his own. With Patton off the court, a switch flipped for the Vikings.
Harthun drained the two free throws from the technical, and PSU didn’t allow another Riverside basket until less than five minutes remained. The Vikings went on a 16-0 run to take back the momentum and the lead for good, restoring confidence to Geving’s crew and energy to the PSU fans in attendance. The Highlanders could get no closer than four points for the rest of the game, and PSU came away with a well-earned victory. Harthun, who went 3-of-4 from three-point range, was the Vikings’ leading scorer with 15 points. Moore finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, and Gary Winston chipped in 10.
The Vikings are scheduled to play the University of North Dakota this Thursday in the fourth game of their five-game home stand. Live scores and stats can be found at goviks.com.