Vikings Top Akron; Meet Colorado State in Championship Game

The game featured 17 lead changes and eight ties.

Photo courtesy: Portland State Athletics

FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Senior guard Dupree Lucas hit a floating jumper in the lane with 1:16 remaining to put Portland State up 64-63 and the Vikings went on to down Akron 66-63 in front of 2,928 inside the Carlson Center during the semi finals of the 2007 BP Top of the World Classic, hosted by Alaska.

Portland State (2-1) will next meet Colorado State (2-1) in the championship game Sunday evening at approximately 7:00 p.m. (PST).

Senior guard Deonte Huff helped put the game away when he came up with a steal off a pass by senior forward Jeremiah Wood and went the length of the court for a dunk to make it 66-63 with 51 seconds left.

Akron (1-1) missed two three pointers in the final minute that would have tied the game. Senior forward Quade Milum missed a trey with 41 seconds to go.

After junior guard Jeremiah Dominguez missed a free throw, senior guard Nick Goddard misfired on a trey with 15 seconds remaining, and sophomore forward Julius Thomas came up with the rebound for the Vikings.

Thomas was then intentionally fouled, but couldn’t make the front end of the 1-and-1, and the Zips had one last chance after Wood came up with the rebound with 0.8 seconds left. However, the long inbound pass could not be controlled and Portland State escaped with the win.

Dominguez led Portland State with 18 points, including going 4-of-5 from three-point range. Lucas added 17 points and senior center Scott Morrison had 10 points and a team-high six rebounds.

Akron had three players in double figures, led by senior guard Nick Dials with 15 points. Wood also had a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, and Milum netted 10 points.

The game featured 17 lead changes and eight ties. Portland State’s largest lead of the evening was six points, twice in the first half, the last at 15-9 with 13:16 left.

Akron’s largest lead of the night was five, building a 44-39 lead with 17:26 to go, after the game was tied at the break at 36-36.

The Vikings shot 49.0 percent from the field, making 25-of-51 attempts, including 11-of-25 from three-point range.

The Zips finished at 39.7 percent, hitting 23-of-58 from the floor.

Akron held a 40-28 edge on the glass, including recording 19 offensive rebounds.

Source: Portland State Athletics

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