Portland, OR – After Portland State clinched a share of the Big Sky Conference regular season championship 10 days ago, Monday’s season finale against Weber State wasn’t supposed to be such an important game. But it was, and the Vikings rose to the moment with one of its most complete games of the season, defeating the Wildcats, 84-60, at Viking Pavilion.
The victory meant an outright championship for the Vikings and number one seed in the upcoming Big Sky Conference Tournament. It was PSU’s first outright title in 18 years and third in 30 seasons as a member of the league. Portland State finished the regular season with a 19-10 record, 13-5 in the Big Sky. PSU will play on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. PT in Boise, ID in a quarterfinal round game against the winner of Saturday’s Idaho State/Northern Arizona game.
“I think this was all meant to be,” said Vikings Coach Jase Coburn. “We could have won games previously to sew this up, but to be able to do it here on Senior Night in front of our people meant everything. We wanted to win those games, but our team didn’t hang their heads when we didn’t. Just being back home we felt like ‘we are going to do this.’ There was never a doubt in my mind that we would make this happen.”
“It means everything for the program and this athletic department. It means you can achieve success at Portland State,” said Coburn. “One of my goals has always been to make the former players proud. Since we have done this, I just hope all those former players are proud to be Vikings.”
Monday’s regular season finale was about as good as a raucous crowd of Viking fans could hope for. Portland State never trailed in the game, broke away from the Wildcats midway through the first half, then poured it on in the second half. PSU shot .557 from the field, out-rebounded Weber State, 36-33, forced the Wildcats into .387 shooting and 14 turnovers, had 11 steals, blocked five shots and even broke the school record for dunks in a season (124!).
Despite spending a fair portion of the game getting stitches, Viking forward Terri Miller Jr. dominated while he was on the court. Miller had 18 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocked shots. Jaylin Henderson led the Vikings with 20 points and 10 assists, adding seven rebounds and three steals. Tre-Vaughn Minott (10 points, nine rebounds) and Keyon Kensie Jr. (13 points) were also key players.
PSU never really gave the Wildcats a chance. The Vikings broke open a 14-14 tie midway through the first half with an 11-point run sparked by Miller. He had six points in the rally.
The fun continued with four first-half dunks and a 29-12 advantage from the 13-minute mark until halftime. Portland State led 43-26 at intermission.
The Vikings followed the lead of their star senior in the first half, Miller, who tallied 16 points with five rebounds, three assists, three steals and a blocked shot. But he missed the start of the second half after getting hit in the mouth on the final play of the first half. No problem for the Vikings as Henderson and Kensie picked up the slack. PSU went on to shoot 16-25 from the field (.640) in the half and soon led by 24 at 61-37.
After a few well-placed stitches, Miller returned to the game with 11:31 remaining. By then it was academic though. PSU’s largest lead was 65-39 as PSU led by 20 or more points over the final 15 minutes.
Weber State dropped to 16-15 on the season. The Wildcats finished league play at 10-8 and in a three-way tie for fourth place. Tijan Saine Jr. led WSU with 16 points and four assists.
Big Sky Tournament Seedings
- Portland State (13-5)
- Montana State (12-6)
- Eastern Washington (11-7)
- Montana (10-8)
- Northern Colorado (10-8)
- Weber State (10-8)
- Idaho (9-9)
- Sac State (6-12)
- Idaho State (5-13)
- Northern Arizona (4-14)
2026 Big Sky Basketball Championship Schedule
March 7-11 | Boise, Idaho | Idaho Central Arena
Saturday, March 7 – First Round
Game 1: #9 Idaho State vs. #10 Northern Arizona – 5:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. PT
Game 2: #7 Idaho vs. #8 Sacramento State – 8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT
Sunday, March 8 – Quarterfinals
Game 3: #1 Portland State vs. Game 1 Winner – 5:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. PT
Game 4: #2 Montana State vs. Game 2 Winner – 8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PTT
Monday, March 9 – Quarterfinals
Game 5: #4 Montana vs. #5 Northern Colorado – 5:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. PT
Game 6: #3 Eastern Washington vs. #6 Weber State – 8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT
Tuesday, March 10 – Semifinals
Game 7: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner – 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT
Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner – 9:30 p.m. MT/8:30 p.m. PT
Wednesday, March 11 – Championship
Game 9: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner – 9:30 p.m. MT/8:30 p.m. PT
GAME NOTES
- Jaylin Henderson had his third points-assists double-double of the season.
- Senior Isaiah Williams made his first start of the season in the final home game.
- Portland State had seven dunks in the game; four by Jaylin Henderson, two by Keyon Kensie Jr. and one by Tre-Vaughn Minott… the previous school record for dunks in a season for the team was 123, set last year.
- Portland State previously won Big Sky regular season titles in 2005 and 2008, and tournament titles in 2008 and 2009.
- The Vikings beat the Wildcats, 95-90 in overtime, on Jan. 1 in Ogden and swept the season series.
- PSU was 11-3 at home year and is 35-6 in Viking Pavilion over the last three years.
- Portland State opens Big Sky Conference Tournament play on Sunday in a quarterfinal round game. The Vikings will take on the winner of the 9/10 game from Saturday. Sunday’s game begins at 5:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. PT and can be seen on ESPN+.
