Cheney, WA – Eastern Washington got an "A" for its performance on Saturday afternoon. Specifically for Angelo Allegri and Linton Acliese as the duo combined for 54 points and 24 rebounds in beating Portland State, 83-75, at Reese Court.
The Vikings and Eagles went into the game tied for sixth place in the Big Sky Conference and seeking the number-six seed in next week's conference tournament. Eastern will take that position with the win, going 12-8 in Big Sky play, and will face the number-11 seed in a first-round game. The Vikings finish conference play in seventh place at 10-10, and will face the number-10 seed in a first-round game.
PSU's game will be against Idaho State at noon MT/11 a.m. PT contest on Wednesday at Idaho Central Arena in Boise. Portland State went 2-0 against ISU in the regular season. The winner of that game moves on to face number-two seed Southern Utah on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. PT.
Against the Eagles, senior forward Khalid Thomas continued his excellent play for the Vikings. He had a team-high 24 points and 11 rebounds. Junior guard Marlon Ruffin came off the bench for 15 points and nine rebounds. Junior guard Mikal Starks had his most productive game of the season with 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Both teams got off to a fast start offensively. The Vikings hit four three-pointers in the opening six minutes. Meanwhile, Allegri made his first six shots, four from distance, and had 16 points in nine minutes for the Eagles.
Allegri finished the half with 20 points and the Eagles led 39-36 at the break. Thomas had 10 points and three rebounds for the Vikings.
Eastern Washington never gave up the lead in the second half, but also could not pull away from the Vikings until the final two minutes. PSU tied the game with 11:18 left at 53-53. The Vikings were down only two at the 4:35 mark after a pair of Thomas free throws, 63-61.
An 11-3 run over the next three minutes, including a dagger three-pointer by Acliese got the Eagles to a 10-point advantage with 1:24 to play, 74-64. That was the largest lead of the game for either team.
Acliese had 27 points and 11 rebounds while Allegri scored 27 points with 13 rebounds to lead the Eagles. The tandem combined to make 10-16 three-point field goals.
Eastern Washington finished the regular season 17-14 overall.
After shooting well early, the Vikings couldn't maintain their pace. They finished 29-70 from the floor (.414), hitting 8-26 from three-point range (.308). PSU made 9-11 at the line (.818).
The loss for Portland State was its first since Feb. 12. The Vikings had won their last four games and eight of 10 dating back to Jan. 29. Still, they go into the tournament playing their best basketball of the season. At one point, the Vikings were five games below .500 in league play. They came all the way back to one game over, then finished at .500. PSU was 6-8 in the Big Sky last year in a COVID-shortened league season.
Portland State ends the regular season with a 12-16 overall record.
GAME NOTES
- This was the Vikings' 16th game decided by eight points or less this season. They are 8-8 in such games, 6-4 in the most recent 10 games.
- PSU went 5-9 in road games this season, 5-5 in Big Sky road games.
- Portland State was without Damion Squire due to injury, then lost Michael Carter III in the first half to a sprained ankle.
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March 06, 2022 at 07:43AM
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Eagles Stop Viking Winning Streak In Season Finale, 83-75 - Portland State Vikings
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