Portland State’s late surge falls short at Montana, leaving Big Sky top seed unsettled

A 21-point deficit, a late push, and an unresolved finish to the regular season

Portland State’s bid to erase a 21-point second-half deficit at Montana ended in a 74-68 loss on February 28, 2026, at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula, a result that kept the Vikings’ conference-tournament positioning unresolved entering the final day of Big Sky regular-season play.

Portland State trailed by 21 with 5:30 remaining, then produced a late run that cut the margin to five in the final two minutes. During the decisive stretch, the Vikings went 7-for-9 from the field and forced four turnovers while outscoring Montana 16-3, briefly putting the outcome in doubt before the Grizzlies closed out the win.

How the game turned: early mistakes, a brief lead, and a pivotal ejection

The Vikings’ start in Missoula mirrored their previous road outing in the state: early turnovers helped Montana open on a 9-0 run. Portland State stabilized defensively and eventually took a first-half lead, moving ahead 21-20 on a Terri Miller Jr. drive near the five-minute mark before extending the advantage to 28-22 after a made three by Isaiah Williams.

Montana ended the half on an 8-0 run to lead 30-28 at the break, with Malik “Money” Williams scoring 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the opening 20 minutes. The Grizzlies then stretched the margin early in the second half, extending their run to 13 consecutive points.

Miller was ejected in the second half following a flagrant elbowing foul, removing Portland State’s leading scorer from the game and altering the late rotation and shot-creation options available to the Vikings.

After the ejection, Montana expanded its surge to a 19-1 run, building the cushion that Portland State later tried to erase.

Key performances and efficiency gaps

• Montana’s Isaiah Williams finished with 27 points and seven assists.
• Portland State’s Jaylin Henderson led the Vikings with 20 points and six assists.
• Keyon Kensie Jr. recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.
• Tre-Vaughn Minott pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.

The box-score margins reflected a Montana advantage in overall efficiency. The Grizzlies shot 49.1% from the field compared with Portland State’s 39.1% (25-of-64). Both teams made nine three-pointers, but Portland State needed 34 attempts to get there (9-of-34) while Montana hit 9-of-22 from deep.

Montana improved to 16-14 overall and 10-7 in conference play. Portland State fell to 18-10 overall and 12-5 in Big Sky play, extending a skid to three straight losses and four losses in its last five games.

What it meant in the standings

Despite holding a share of the Big Sky regular-season title at the time of the loss, Portland State had not clinched the tournament’s No. 1 seed. With Montana State and Eastern Washington both sitting one game back in the loss column, Portland State’s path to the top seed required a win in the regular-season finale against Weber State and/or losses by its closest pursuers.

Montana, meanwhile, completed a season sweep of Portland State, following a 64-60 win in Portland on January 29.