Portland State University earned their first ever chance to compete in the NCAA tournament last night, beating Northern Arizona 67-51 in the Big Sky Conference championship game. The win marks the 14th straight in conference for PSU. Though close at the start, PSU opened the game up with a decisive 18-4 tear at the end of the first half, the AP reports.
Deonte Huff posted 17 for Portland State, including a breakaway dunk in the first half run. Northern Arizona, meanwhile, had 13- and 10-point efforts, respectively, from Nate Geiser and Kyle Landry, but managed just a single field goal in the final twelve minutes of the first half, and never succeeded in pulling closer than within nine of top-seeded PSU. (More NCAA basketball stories.)