SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Deontae North (30) and Holland Woods (26) combined for 56 points to lead hot-shooting Portland State to an 87-84 come-from-behind win over Santa Clara men's basketball on Saturday.
Brandon Hollins added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Vikings (8-2) who hit their final 16 field-goal attempts in overcoming a 17-point second-half deficit to claim their fourth-straight victory.
KJ Feagin tallied a season-high tying 24 points and Matt Hauser scored a career-high 22 for the Broncos (3-6) who held a 38-24 rebounding edge and shot 51 percent from the floor, but were forced into 14 turnovers, a number of them due to Portland State's full-court press.
The Vikings shot 56 percent from the floor, including 20 of 24 (83 percent) in the second half. North hit all seven of his field goals attempts during the final 20 minutes and Woods went 6-for-6.
Feagin's jumper with 1:54 left gave the Broncos an 82-78 lead, but North scored on a layup on the ensuing possession. With just one minute remaining, Michael Mayhew nailed a deep 3-pointer from the wing for an 83-82 Portland State lead, its first since the opening moments of the game.
North, who matched his career high in points, hit a pair of free throws and Hauser countered with a runner in the lane with 20 seconds left.
The Broncos had a chance to win it after Mayhew missed two free throws with 15 seconds on the clock. Hauser's jumper with six seconds to go bounced around on the rim and Josip Vrankic, who notched his first-career double-double (12 points/14 rebounds), missed a potential tap in.
Hollins nailed a pair of free throws with 0.5 seconds to go.
The Vikings, who didn't miss a field-goal attempt in the final 14 minutes of the game, slowly chipped away.
A pair of free throws from Henry Caruso increased the lead to 56-39 with 14:51 left, but North keyed a 6-0 run and the Vikings were within single digits with under 10 minutes left.
Portland State didn't take a free-throw attempt in the first half, but went 16 of 26 during the final 20 minutes. North was 11-for-16.
The Vikings out-scored the Broncos 20-5 off turnovers, including 16-0 in the second half.
The Broncos were able to build an early lead by controlling the defensive glass and hitting from the outside.
Hauser, who was 6-for-8 behind the 3-point line, scored eight of the team's first 15 points and by the time he nailed his third 3-pointer of the opening half, the Broncos led 29-18 with less than eight minutes on the clock.
Vrankic had six rebounds in the first six minutes of the game and Jarvis Pugh came off the bench to corral seven caroms in the first half as the Broncos held a 23-16 edge on the glass at halftime.
DOUBLING UP
Josip Vrankic posted his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-best 14 rebounds. He had seven rebounds in each half. Henry Caruso just missed his third double-double of the season with 16 points and nine rebounds. He fouled out with 1:09 left in the game.
LONG-RANGE ACCURACY
Matt Hauser has been on fire from behind the 3-point line. He has connected on 13 of 18 (72 percent) over the last two games. Hauser hit 7 of 10 in last Saturday's win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
NOTES
• Matt Hauser, KJ Feagin, Emmanuel Ndumanya, Henry Caruso and Josip Vrankic started for the sixth-straight contest.
• This was the second meeting between the programs. The Vikings, who play in the Big Sky Conference, defeated the Broncos, 76-63, on Dec. 18, 2001, at the Stanford Invitational.
• Portland State is coached by Barret Peery, who spent last season as Santa Clara's associate head coach. He also served as an assistant for Herb Sendek at Arizona State (2014-15). Peery is one of 12 former Sendek staffers serving as a Division I head coach.
• Feagin also scored 24 points against Sam Houston State (Nov. 25) at the GCI Great Alaska Shootout. He has scored 26 points in his career twice (last vs. USF, Feb. 9, 2017)
• Hauser (22 points) has increased his career-best point total in each of the last two games. He had 21 (on 7 of 11 FGs) in last Saturday's win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
• Vrankic (12 points) has scored in double figures in the last five games.
• Deontae North (30) and Holland Woods (24) had the highest two point totals by opposing players this season. Victor Sanders of Idaho had 24 points on Nov. 22.
NEXT UP
The Broncos head to Southern California next for just their second road game of the year. They play at USC on Thursday with tipoff set for 7 p.m. from the Galen Center.
HIGHLIGHTS
HIGHLIGHTS | Plenty of eye-popping offensive plays for the #SCUBroncos tonight. Here are some of the best ones! #StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/Hib00Sy7pK
— Santa Clara Hoops (@SantaClaraHoops) December 10, 2017
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