Portland St. starts strong, holds off Utah St. for 83-79 win (Nov 20, 2017)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Bryce Canda and Michael Mayhew had 17 points apiece as Portland State charged out to an early lead and then held on to defeat Utah State 83-79 on Monday night to remain unbeaten.
Deante Strickland nailed a 3-pointer that led to Portland State (4-0) closing the first period on a 21-11 run to go into the break leading 45-29.
Utah State (2-3), which lost to No. 17 Gonzaga on Saturday night, started sluggish but got a spark in the second half, as the Aggies hit their first six shots, opening on a 15-5 run to close to 50-44 with 17:14 left. The Aggies took the lead when Sam Merrill, who had 18 of his career-high 23 points in the second half, made two free throws to lead 60-58 with 8:15 left.
Portland State retook the lead on two Traylin Farris free throws with 5:49 remaining. The Vikings made nine free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
