Portland State Edges Eastern, 71-67

Brian Towne and Mike Vanderhoff scored 17 points apiece to lead Portland State to a 71-67 win over Eastern Washington Saturday as the Vikings captured their second Big Sky Conference win.

Vanderhoff, a freshman, scored eight key points in the final 7 minutes, and Towne had 13 of his total in the first half to help the Vikings (4-13, 2-6) to a 36-33 halftime lead.

Karim Scott scored a game-high 19 points and added 12 rebounds for the Eagles (6-12, 2-6). Jon Berger came off the bench for 14 points.

Eastern Washington made a 9-0 run early in the second half, with Kevin Lewis giving the Eagles a 49-43 lead at the 13:03 mark.

A Vanderhoff layup at 9:37 ended an 8-0 run that put the Vikings back on top 51-49.

Travis King connected on a 3-point basket to forge Eastern ahead 52-51 before a Vanderhoff 3-pointer put Portland State ahead to stay, 54-52 with 7 minutes left.

Vanderhoff’s layup with 2:18 left kept the Vikings ahead 64-59, and a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:42 remaining all but did the Eagles in.

Jamaal Sanford had 12 points, seven of those in the first half and a team-high 10 rebounds for the Vikings. All Portland State starters were in double figures.

Portland St. 71, E. Washington 67

E. Washington (6-12, 2-6) - Sims 2-6 2-2 6, Scott 5-12 9-9 19, K. Lewis 6-12 0-2 12, King 4-11 1-2 12, M. Lewis 1-6 2-2 4, Moss-Kelley 0-0 0-0 0, Claus 0-1 0-0 0, Egan 0-0 0-0 0, Berger 5-7 4-5 14, Turner 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-57 18-22 67.

Portland St. (4-13, 2-6) - Nesland 2-4 6-6 10, Artharee 4-6 2-5 10, Sanford 2-9 8-9 12, Vanderhoff 7-13 0-0 17, Towne 4-8 6-8 17, Duncan 1-2 0-0 3, Ambrose 0-1 0-1 0, Snook 1-2 0-0 2, Floyd 0-0 0-0 0, Garner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-45 22-29 71.

Halftime-Portland St. 36, E. Washington 33. 3-Point goals-E. Washington 3-15 (King 3-10, M. Lewis 0-5), Portland St. 7-16 (Towne 3-4, Vanderhoff 3-8, Duncan 1-2, Nesland 0-1, Snook 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-E. Washington 35 (Scott 12), Portland St. 31 (Sanford 10). Assists-E. Washington 12 (Scott 4), Portland St. 13 (Nesland 4). Total fouls-E. Washington 25, Portland St. 19. A-1,439.