PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — The Portland State men’s basketball team scored a 77-67 home win over the Idaho Vandals on Thursday night to solidify their hold on first place in the Big Sky Conference.
Keyon Kensie Jr. swiped a steal and took it for a dunk, and Jaylin Henderson sank a 3-pointer the next trip down the floor to open up a 20-point lead for the Vikings early in the second half.
Idaho rallied with a 16-point run to close to within 58-55 with 7:14 to play, but Portland State had the answer.
Kensie Jr. hit a turnaround jumper, and Alex Dupre buried a 3 to give PSU some breathing room.
The Vikings put the game away by scoring on three straight possessions down the stretch. Terri Miller Jr. hit a long ball, and Henderson found space at the elbow and sank one from 15 feet. Idaho lost the ball out of bounds on its next trip, and PSU answered with Henderson looping a long pass toward the hoop where Tre-Vaughn Minott finished with an alley-oop dunk and a 10-point lead approaching a minute to play.
“Everybody individually on the team is playing for something,” Kensie Jr. said. “We all got a goal that we want to achieve as a whole. We’re trying to get to the tournament, win regular season championship and get to the tournament.”
Kensie Jr. led Portland State with 24 points, while Henderson added 20 points and 10 assists.
Portland State broke its home basketball attendance mark by more than 100 fans with a crowd of 2,180 people Thursday night at Viking Pavilion.
The Vikings (18-7, 12-2) are back at home for a 2 p.m. game Saturday against Eastern Washington.
Thursday’s game marked the Vikings’ first nationally televised game from Viking Pavilion.
“You are going to tune in eventually. We are a God-fearing team. we put God first,” Henderson said. “We want to be in March Madness real bad, that’s the only thing I want to do.”
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Additional reporting by KATU’s Guillermo Motta.
