Second-Half Surge Lifts Vikings over Bears, 86-71
Jan. 19, 2007
PORTLAND, Ore. - Four players scored at least ten points, but it wasn't enough as the University of Northern Colorado men's basketball team dropped a road game to Big Sky Conference foe Portland State, 86-71 Thursday night.
Kirk Archibeque scored a team-high 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while Sean Taibi hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 12 points. Dwayne Birden and Chris Kaba chipped in 10 points each.
The difference in the game was the second-half shooting percentage, where Portland State (12-8, 3-4) outshot the Bears (3-16, 1-6), 54.8 to 43.8, leading to a 50-40 scoring advantage in the Vikings favor.
The Vikings led by as many as eight points in the first half, but Northern Colorado rallied back to take a four-point lead on a Will Figures' layup just over three minutes into the second half at 44-40. At the midway point of the half, the Bears held a slim lead at 53-52, but the Vikings went on a 13-5 over the next four minutes to begin pulling away.
The Vikings were led by Dupree Lucas, who finished with a game-high 33 points.
The Bears conclude their two-game West coast road swing with a Saturday game against Eastern Washington. In the first meeting between the two teams this season, the Eagles prevailed in an 88-87 nail-biter. Reigning conference MVP Rodney Stuckey led EWU with 25 points while Dwayne Birden had a season-best 29 points. Tip-off is 8:05 p.m. Mountain time.
