A hot-shooting first half by Jeb Ivey set the tone in an eventual 73-60 defeat of the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. Ivey had 20 points in the first half alone, hitting three of his six three-pointers before the intermission.
“We played as a team and played well defensively,” sophomore post Jeff Eischen said.
The Vikings controlled the tempo from the get-go. The 48.6 percent shooting in the first half helped them jump out to an early lead. The Lumberjacks struggled in the first half, shooting only 38.5 percent from the field. Many of the difficult shots taken can be credited to the Vikings defense, which did not allow the Lumberjacks to get easy shots in the half court. By halftime, the Vikings had extended their lead to 13 points, 41-28.
In the second half, the offense was a little slower for the Vikings. Ivey wasn’t given any more chances at open three’s and the Lumberjacks began to work their inside-outside game.
The Lumberjacks made several runs at the lead, but could only get as close as six points. Down the stretch, it was Seth Scott and Kevin Briggs making key plays on both ends of the floor to secure the second home conference victory.
“We’ve gone through a lot of close games this season. Everybody is going to make runs, but we just handled it,” Eischen said.
Deadly three-point threat Kelly Golob, who was averaging 15 points per contest, including four three-pointers per game, was held scoreless by the stingy Viking defense.
For the Vikings, Ivey had 22 points, five assists and no turnovers. Scott kept up his consistent, effective play from inside the paint and the perimeter for 21 points and 10 boards. Briggs had 15 points, 13 in the second half as Brandon Haughton pulled down 11 rebounds to lead everybody.
Next up for Portland State is a road trip in Cheney, Wash.