It was yet another painful week for Vikings men’s basketball. Portland State dropped two in a row on the road, falling to Sacramento State 63-55 this past Thursday before losing to first-place Northern Colorado 85-72 on Saturday night.
The Vikings, though, are wounded warriors. Without starting power-forward and the team’s leading rebounder Chehales Tapscott, Portland State’s inside game has suffered and the team has now lost six of its last eight games.
Junior center Nate Lozeau returned to action against Sacramento State, playing four minutes, but did not play in Saturday’s game. The Vikings have now dropped to seventh place in the Big Sky with a record of 4-7 in conference play and 11-12 overall.
Thursday evening, Portland State failed to capitalize on a 48-43 lead with 10:20 to play in the second half, allowing Sacramento State to go on a 16-7 run late in the game to pull off the 63-55 victory. Despite five Vikings scoring in double figures, Portland State only managed to make 18 of 51 shot attempts for .353 shooting from the field. The Vikings lost the game on the glass, and were out-rebounded by the Hornets 48-32, including giving up 18 offensive rebounds for 21 points.
“We just gave that game away,” senior guard Melvin Jones said.
Things wouldn’t get much better over the weekend, as the Vikings lost to first-place Northern Colorado 85-72 on Saturday night. Trailing by as much as 27 early in the second half, Portland State rallied to cut the deficit down to six with just under two minutes remaining in the game. The Vikings hit eight consecutive three-point field goals during one key stretch.
“Coach liked our effort; that was one positive,” Jones said. “We could have easily given up when we went down 27, but we didn’t.”
Another positive was the strong production head coach Tyler Geving received from his bench. Junior Dane Johnson had one of his best games of the season, scoring 12 points, dishing out four assists, and going a perfect 3 of 3 from three-point range and 3 of 3 from the line. Senior Alonzo Brandon made two three-pointers in six minutes to help spark the Vikings’ second-half run as well.
“When Dane comes in, the offense runs smoother. He gets the ball to the open guys,” Jones said.
“Alonzo got his opportunity too,” Jones added. “And when he came into the game, he came in big…He kind of led the run at the end, and I think the rest of us fed off him.”
However, the Bears caused the Vikings enough offense problems throughout the night to get the win, holding Portland State to .396 shooting from the field. The Vikings also committed 15 turnovers, which resulted in 29 points for the Bears. In the end, Northern Colorado’s 42-18 rebounding advantage was simply too much to overcome.
“Rebounding has been huge issue for us,” Jones said. “Teams are getting second-chance points on us, killing us on the glass, and that’s one of the big things that’s keeping us from being a top team.”
Four Vikings scored in double figures in the loss, including senior forward Phillip “Tree” Thomas, who led the team with 13 points. Junior guard Charles Odum contributed 12 points, four rebounds and two assists, and is now the team’s leading scorer, averaging 14.3 points on the season.
The Vikings are certainly happy to return home, as the team has struggled away from the Stott Center this season. Portland State has a record of 1-9 on the road, but with four of their next five games at home, Geving hopes the team can still turn things around.
“Coach harps on us every day about rebounding and crashing the boards,” Jones said. “We’re doing [okay] in other areas, but we’re getting killed on the offensive glass. In practice, we’re going to be doing a lot of rebounding drills, that’s for sure.”
The players aren’t ready to give up on the season, either. With eight games left, Portland State must win at least seven games to reach 18 wins on the year and become eligible for postseason play. Although the Vikings cannot appear in the NCAA Tournament this season due to a postseason restriction, the team can still qualify for other tournaments such as the CBI or CIT.
“Everybody is trying to make sure that we just stay together, keep fighting, and not quit,” Jones said. “Coach wants us to keep our heads up and keep playing hard.”
Portland State will try to get back on the winning track this Thursday, as the team faces Idaho State at 7:05p.m. in the Stott Center.
“We just have to find a way to start winning these games,” Jones said. ?