For the second week in a row, Portland State remained unbeaten on its home floor at the Peter W. Stott Center trouncing the Clan of Simon Frasier, 80-39.
The Vikings were able to balance their attack putting four players in double figures, while Simon Frasier was unable to put any in double figures including its top two leading scorers (Jordan Mason and Jeremy Neufeld) as a result of stifling defense from the Vikings.
“We got off to great intensity from the start, especially on defense, right from the tip-off to the end,” Head Coach Joel Sobotka said.
The Vikings shut down any offense Simon Frasier may have had in mind, and that intensity carried over to the offensive end leading the Vikings to a 12-0 start. PSU’s Anthony Lackey and Jeb Ivey combined for all 12 points in the early run and from there, the Vikings never looked back. At halftime, Lackey was a perfect 4-4 from the field with 10 points and Ivey, 4-6, also had 10 points for the half. Kevin Briggs gave a nice lift off the bench scoring eight points in the first half while grabbing two boards. Portland State shot an impressive 61.5 percent from the field in the first half.
“We played good team defense and executed on offense,” senior forward Jerrohn Jordan said. In the second half, the Vikings continued to roll, leading up by as many as 44 points. Ivey finished a solid game with 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Lackey led all scorers with 15 points on 3-4 shooting from beyond the arc. Balancing the team, Seamus Boxley added seven points and five assists. Off the bench, Troy DeVries and Charles Madison chipped in with 11 a piece, DeVries on 4-8 and Madison on 4-7. The Vikings as a team shot 56.6 percent from the field and 54.2 percent from the three-point line for the game.
The Vikings also racked up 24 assists as a team, which was better than last week’s game, but their turnover margin grew to 21 as opposed to just 15 in last week’s contest.
The Vikings will go on the road this Saturday to face Boise State. “This will be a big challenge for us; this is a good team from the WAC Conference and it’s on the road,” Sobotka said.
The following Tuesday, Portland State will head to Arizona State. The game can be heard on 910 AM.