PORTLAND STATE’S HOT SHOOTING TOO MUCH FOR MEN’S BASKETBALL

1/2/2010

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland State’s Jamie Jones and Dominic Waters each had 26 points, and the Vikings buried 13 three-pointers on the way to a 94-66 victory over Sacramento State in a Big Sky Conference men’s basketball game Saturday evening at the Stott Center.

The Vikings were on fire from the field all night, shooting 54.2 percent (32-59) from the field and 48.1 percent (13-27) from the three-point line. No team had shot 50 percent from the field against the Hornets all season until tonight and the 13 three-pointers were the most allowed by Sacramento State as well. When Portland State wasn’t burying shots from the outside, the Vikings were controlling the glass, outrebounding the Hornets, 43-25. That included 16 Viking offensive rebounds, which they turned into 17 second-chance points.

Sacramento State kept within striking distance in the first half, eventually going into halftime trailing by nine points at 43-34. However, the Vikings, aided by a 25-10 run that spanned 8:34 of the second half, outscored Sacramento State after intermission by a 51-32 margin.

The Hornets whittled down the halftime lead to just five points after Antonio Flaggs’ steal and subsequent layup drew the team within, 45-40, at the 18:04 mark of the second half. That’s when the Vikings went on their big 25-10 run, led by Jones and Waters who both scored nine points during the spurt. A Waters layup capped the run and gave the Vikings a 20-point lead (70-50) with 9:30 left in the contest. Sacramento State got no closer than within 17 points of the Portland State lead the remainder of the evening.

Sacramento State dropped its third straight game while falling to 6-10 overall and 1-3 in the Big Sky. After dropping consecutive four-point outcomes to Eastern Washington and Loyola Marymount over the last six days, Portland State dealt the Hornets one of their worst defeats of the season.

The Vikings, who are the two-time defending Big Sky Tournament champion and NCAA Tournament participant, improved to 7-7 overall and 2-0 in the conference. PSU remained undefeated at home this season (5-0) and has won 12 straight at the Stott Center dating back to last year. In addition, the Vikings improved to 20-9 all-time against the Hornets, including a 14-1 mark when playing in Portland.

Jones was a monster all night, finishing the game 10-of-14 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line while also tallying game highs in rebounds (13) and blocked shots (5). Waters, who is now shooting 53.2 percent from beyond the three-point line this season, finished the game 9-of-15 from the floor and 5-of-8 from the arc. He also led all players with five assists and 35 minutes.

Portland State, which is the best three-point shooting team in the Big Sky based on makes and percentage, did nothing to hurt that proficiency tonight. Waters, Phil Nelson (5-for-7) and Melvin Jones (3-for-6) each shot at least 50.0 percent from the arc and combined for all 13 of the team’s three-pointers. Nelson finished with 18 points and Melvin Jones had 14. The quartet of Waters, Nelson, Jamie Jones and Melvin Jones combined for 85 of the Vikings’ 94 points.

Sacramento State finished the game shooting 41.4 percent (24-58) from the floor, 53.3 percent (8-15) from the three-point line and 71.4 percent (10-14) from the free throw line. The Hornets turned the ball over just 10 times and got 21 points from their bench, but could not overcome PSU’s shooting.

Sacramento State was led by junior Duro Bjegovic’s season-high 17 points as the Croatian also added six rebounds while shooting 5-of-6 from the floor, 3-of-3 from the three-point line and 4-of-6 from the free throw stripe. Bjegovic had now grabbed at least five rebounds in six of his last seven games. Joining Bjegovic in double figures for the Hornets were freshman John Dickson (12 points, 5-of-8 shooting) and senior Justin Eller (10 points, eight rebounds). Eller is now averaging 10.3 points and 8.5 rebounds in four conference games this season. In addition, he has now grabbed at least six rebounds in six straight games and at least eight boards in four of the last five contests.

Senior point guard Sultan Toles-Bey, who came off the bench for the first time since the second game of the season, finished with seven points, three assists and two steals. Junior Michael Selling added six points and three rebounds, and Flaggs had five points and two steals.

Sacramento State returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 9, for a non-conference home game against Seattle at 1:05 p.m., followed by the program’s second-annual set of alumni games. Seattle features the nation’s ninth leading scorer in Charles Garcia, who is averaging 22.6 points per game.