More March March: Go Viks!

Those of us at OSG HQ would also like to welcome the official football team of OSG's basketball brotherhood, Portland State, to the idea of playing later in the month of March as well...

Julius Thomas got free for a tie-breaking dunk with 3.5 seconds left and Portland State ((Dominic Waters pictured, thanks Steve C. Wilson/AP)) held on for a 79-77 win over Montana State on Wednesday night in the Big Sky Conference tournament championship game.

The Vikings repeated as conference champions and clinched their second consecutive NCAA tournament berth, despite allowing the Bobcats to rally from 10 points down and tie it at 77 with 11 seconds left on a 3-pointer by Branden Johnson.

Thomas scored off a pass from Andre Murray to put Portland State (23-9) ahead again, then Murray snuffed Montana State’s hopes by not allowing Bobby Howard to get off a shot at the buzzer.

Divaldo Mbunga had 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bobcats (14-17), who were the No. 6 seed in a six-team tournament.

Jeremiah Dominguez scored 22 and Thomas finished with 17 points for the Vikings.

Montana State outrebounded Portland State 34-25 and took advantage of the Vikings’ struggles at the foul line to have a chance at the end after stalling early in the second half. The Vikings finished 6-for-11 from the foul line in the second half and were only 12-for-19 in the game.

Thomas went 1-for-2 with 1:25 left to give the Vikings a 77-74 lead and leaving Montana State in position to tie it on Johnson’s 3-pointer.

Johnson scored 17 and Erik Rush finished with 16 points for Montana States, but the Bobcats’ reserves were outscored 24-2 by the Vikings’ bench.

Montana State opened the second half 4-for-5 from the floor took a 50-48 lead when Johnson tipped in a rebound off a missed free throw.

But Dominguez responded by driving through traffic and making a layup to start a 13-1run. Murray hit a 3-pointer and Dominguez took a steal in for a reverse layup that put the Vikings ahead 61-51.

The Bobcats got right back in it with six straight points and had a chance at the end as Portland State continued to miss free throws. The Vikings missed one shot every time they went to the line—the only time they got two points was when Dominguez went 2-for-3.

Now all they need is to wear a lot of black and have big belt buckles...
Then, we're set...