By BOB MESEROLL
Missoulian sports editor
The Griz frittered away a nine-point lead with less than six minutes to play in a 59-57 loss to Portland State in front of 3,330 fans at Dahlberg Arena.
Montana's 14th loss in its last 16 games dropped the Griz (2-6, 5-15) into sole possession of last place in the Big Sky Conference. Portland State's win, its first in Missoula since 1976, moved the Vikings (3-5, 9-12) into a tie for sixth place with Montana State. The Bobcats fell to league-leading Eastern Washington 64-61 in Bozeman in Thursday's only other league game.
Senior Ryan Pederson, who played a season-high 24 minutes as John Seyfert nursed an injured ankle, hit a 3-pointer to give the Griz a 49-40 lead with 6:53 to play.
Senior point guard Derrick Mansell scored the last of his career- and team-high 14 points a minute later to keep the lead at nine, 51-42.
It was the Grizzlies' last field goal until Kevin Criswell nailed a 3-pointer with 5.1 seconds left.
In the interim, a span of 5 minutes, 50 seconds, the Vikings outscored the Griz 18-3.
"When (the Vikings) needed to score, they looked like they had fire in their eyes," Montana coach Pat Kennedy said. "When we needed to score, we looked unsure that we could do it."
Portland State's 6-foot-7 post player Seamus Boxley scored 12 of the Vikings' final 19 points to finish with a game-high 22.
"It's a pretty big win for us," Boxley said. "This showed some heart and character."
Boxley hit both ends of a one-and-one to bring the Vikings within 52-51 with 2:07 to play.
The Griz missed a golden opportunity to extend the lead when Kamarr Davis found an open seam in the lane, drove to the hoop, but missed the layup.
"We got the type of shots we wanted," Kennedy said. "We couldn't finish. You could sense that their guys wanted to finish the game and make the plays they needed to win it. Our guys looked like we hadn't been here before."
Boxley was fouled on the Vikings' next possession and made both free throws to give Portland State the lead at 53-52 with 1:27 to play, its first lead since the closing minutes of the first half.
Davis turned the ball over on Montana's next possession, leading to a fastbreak layup by Boxley.
The Griz got back within 55-54 when Criswell was fouled away from the basket and converted both freebies with 47 seconds remaining.
But a drive to the hoop by Antone Jarrell gave PSU a 57-54 lead and a free throw by Marshal Hartman extended it to 58-54 with 10 seconds to play. Hartman finished with 13 points, 11 in the second half.
Criswell's trey cut the gap to 58-57 with 5.1 seconds left, giving the Griz a glimmer of hope.
Boxley was fouled with 4.1 seconds to play and made just one free throw.
The Griz, out of timeouts, inbounded the ball to Mansell, who dribbled up court but lost control of the ball as he neared the basket as time expired.
"With four seconds left it's really hard to run a play so it's basically just get the ball in and push it," Mansell said. "I lost the ball a little bit."
Portland State owned a 38-28 advantage in rebounding and shot 45 percent from the floor to 42 percent for the Griz.
The Vikings scored 16 of their first 19 points from inside the paint before the Griz switched to a zone defense for the rest of the game.
"We've struggled with the zone all year, but I think we attacked it pretty well," Portland State coach Heath Schroyer said. "We got the ball into the posts a good bit and anytime you can play inside-out, you're going to have some success against the zone."
Things don't get any easier for the Griz when Eastern Washington comes to Dahlberg Arena on Saturday night. The Griz handed the Eagles their only league loss back in early January.
"We've got to work extremely hard to keep these kids positive," Kennedy said. "We've got to learn how to win."
NOTES: Seyfert was on crutches after injuring an ankle in Wednesday's practice. ... Senior Steve Horne started, but played just 10 minutes. He suffered a severe cut over his right eye in Tuesday's practice. ... Mansell had five of Montana's eight assists, but also seven of its 14 turnovers. ... Criswell, who played just 25 minutes, was Montana's only other player in double figures with 10 points. Davis, who has taken over as the team's leading scorer, had just eight on 3-for-12 shooting.
Sports editor Bob Meseroll can be reached at 523-5265 or by e-mail at sportsdesk@missoulian.com.
Portland State (59)
Min FG-A FT-A Reb PF A Pts
f - Jarrett 23 1-4 0-1 1 1 2 2
f -Hartman 29 5-10 3-5 6 2 1 13
c -Boxley 34 8-12 6-8 6 2 0 5
g- Walker 38 4-14 0-1 5 2 1 8
g -Funn 29 0-2 0-0 2 2 2 0
Oduniyi 14 2-2 0-1 1 2 0 5
Glasser 6 0-0 0-0 2 2 1 0
Scott 16 2-6 2-2 7 3 3 7
Haughton 10 1-1 0-0 3 1 0 2
Totals 200 23-51 11-18 38 18 10 59
Montana (57)
Min FG-A FT-A Reb PF A Pts
f-Horne 10 0-2 0-0 2 0 0 0
f-Davis 28 3-12 2-2 6 5 2 8
c-Easley 19 1-4 0-0 3 3 0 2
g-Mansell 40 5-8 3-4 1 1 5 14
g-Criswell 25 2-6 4-6 4 1 0 10
Booker 16 2-5 1-2 1 2 0 5
Cummings 15 0-0 2-2 2 2 0 2
Dlouhy 13 2-3 0-0 1 1 0 5
Pederson 24 1-4 0-0 4 5 0 3
Venters 9 4-4 0-2 2 2 1 8
Totals 200 5-14 12-18 28 22 8 57
3-point goals - Portland State 2-10 (Oduniyi 1-1, Scott 1-2, Hartman 0-3, Walker 0-4), Montana 5-14 (Criswell 2-2, Dlouhy 1-2, Pederson 1-3, Horne 0-1, Davis 0-1, Easley 0-1, Booker 0-1).
Turnovers - Portland State 16 (Boxley 5), Montana 14 (Mansell 7).
Steals - Portland State 4 (Walker, Jarrell, Funn, Hartman), Montana 5 (Criswell, Easley, Venters, Pederson, Dlouhy).
Blocked shots - Portland State 4 (Boxley 2), Montana 3 (Easley 2).
Officials - Verne Harris, Ken MacDougall, Don Tuggle.
Attendance - 3,330.
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