PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland State outscored Sacrametno State, 44-29, in

the second half to cruise to a 80-65 win Thursday night at Memorial

Coliseum.

The win improved the Vikings to 13-10 overall and 5-6 in the Big Sky.

It also halted PSU’s five-game losing streak. The Hornets fell to 9-13

overall and 3-8 in conference games.

Sacramento State opened a seven-point lead with 7:50 left in the first

half but saw PSU outsocre them 18-11 in the remaining minutes to tie the

gam, 36-36, at halftime.

Both teams traded leads for the first five minutes of the second period

before the Vikings went on a 11-2 run to blow the game open, 59-49.

Sacramento State was able to respond with its own run and closed the

deficit to four, 65-61, with 6:06 remaining.

Portland State, however, pulled away behind a three-pointer by Ime

Udoka and stellar free throw shooting to seal the game. The Vikings made

8-of-9 attempts from the charity stripe in the final four minutes of the

game.

Derek Nesland led PSU with 19 points. Hasan Artharee added 14 and Udoka

contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

Junior Pablo Gonzales led all scorers with 23 points. Gonzales was

9-of-16 from the floor and 5-of-8 from behind the three-point arc.

Junior Rame Batta, who had 17 points at halftime, ended the game with a

career-high 19.

Sacramento State continues its road trip on Saturday against Eastern

Washington. The game, which will be broadcasted on KTKZ 1380 AM, begins

at 7 p.m.