Vikings slip past Eagles

PORTLAND – Deonte Huff scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Portland State to a 76-74 victory over Eastern Washington on Tuesday.

Jeremiah Dominguez added 13 points for the Vikings (21-9, 14-2 Big Sky), who won their 12th consecutive conference game.

Kellen Williams led the Eagles (11-19, 6-10) with 18 points, while Marcus Hinton had 17 points.

“We competed hard,” said Kirk Earlywine, who ended his first season as EWU’s head coach. “To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect with the conclusion of our season having already being determined. But I should have known that we would come out and compete. We’ve been up against it all year, but we haven’t caved in. We didn’t cave in tonight. We just laid it all on the line.”

Portland State led by as many as 11 points in the second half before the Eagles came back to take a 63-62 lead on Gary Gibson’s 3-pointer with 7:29 left.

Down the stretch, Dominguez hit a 3-pointer to put the Vikings ahead 73-72. Williams, however, answered with a running jumper to put the Eagles in front with 32 seconds remaining.

Dominguez was fouled with 24 seconds left and hit both free throws to give Portland State a 75-74 lead.

Williams tried to give Eastern Washington the win in the final seconds, but he missed a short runner and Brandon Moore missed the follow-up before Thomas grabbed the rebound for the Vikings.

The Vikings will host the semifinals and championship game of the Big Sky Tournament on Tuesday and next Wednesday. The Eagles will stay home for the second consecutive season after a string of nine straight appearances.