The Portland State Vikings’ 108-56 deconstruction of the Montana Grizzlies at Dahlberg arena before 
5103 stunned fans Saturday went significantly beyond the fact that it was the worst Montana loss in Big Sky Conference history.
The 52-point home court thrashing came within six points of the historic worst-loss ever for Montana at home – a 70-12 verdict against Washington State in 1913 – and was the worst defeat since 1970, when Oral Roberts University won by 32, 111-79.
PHOTO: Ceylon Elgin-Taylor's driving shot in second-half play was blocked by PSU Center Scott Morrison. Elgin-Taylor scored 8 points and had four assists.
Perhaps most disheartening for a Montana team and program that has struggled all season for some form of self-definition, was that it was the fourth home-court loss of the season for a team that has seemed to play well on the road, only to fizzle in front of their partisan fan base. But Montana players had little time to reflect upon that.
There was nothing cheap about the Vikings’ victory, which they demonstrated in the game’s first three possessions by grabbing a 6-0 lead in the first 1:20 of play.
Led by the dazzling play of point guard Jerimiah Dominguez, – who scored 24 points and made 6-of-8 treys – the Vikings made statement after statement on literally every square inch of the playing floor in every facet of the game.
Montana center Andrew Strait said Dominguez was the difference.
"He’s pretty impressive," said Strait of Dominguez. "It’s good to have someone like that at the head of your team you know, because when he gets in the lane he’s going to attract a crowd and he’s going to find you. He really exposed us tonight."
The effect was early panic by Montana players, which, said Montana Coach Wayne Tinkle, made things worse for the Grizzlies.
PHOTO: Sophomore guard Zach Graves drives against Vkings' guard Mickey Polis. Graves had six points in 11 minutes of play.
"They hit some shots early and they got it going and we had no answer," said Tinkle. "I thought it was the first time in quite some time that our team pulled apart a little bit... and we we weren’t makng them for each other and it just snowballed from there."
Dominguez' play early opened up the floor for other Vikings' shooters, who shot a remarkable 62.5 percent from the field and 62.5 percent (14-for-25) from three point range. They manhandled Montana on the boards at both ends, finishing with a 22-rebound advantage, 45-to-23. The Vikings forced 15 Montana turnovers, blocked eight Montana shots, and ran away with a 22-5 point scoring margin off of created-turnovers.
Even PSU reserves whipped the Grizzlies, outscoring Montana reserves 36-24.
The game was over early. The Vikings sprang to first-half leads of 6-0, 21-7 and 39-20 before finishing the first half with a 32-point 57-25 lead.
Dominguez had 19 of those points, and made a powerful on-court statement as the overwhelming favorite for Big Sky MVP.
"He’s so tough," said Tinkle. "We wanted to make him a driver and get physical with him and we let him go get 6-for-8 from three, so he’s one whale of a player and I know he’s going to get my vote for MVP."
"He’s giving us a little bit of everything," said Portland State Coach Ken Bone. "But probably more than anything else he just gives us a confidence right out in front on both ends of the court... He’s just the guy that we want to lead our offense and our defense."
What the Vikings may have left unfinished during the first half of play was neatly settled early in the second frame. The Vikings’ play was dominant down the entire lineup. Portland State got even scoring from four of its five starters. Senior center Scott Morrison had 17, wing Deonte Huff scored 12, forward Kyle Coston scored 10 and every other Portland State player scored at least three points.
Strait was the only Grizzly to reach double figures, with 10, and he did so in uncharacteristic fashion, making four of only seven attempts. That can obviously attributed to the clear-plastic face mask worn by Straight to protect a broken nose suffered Friday in practice. Strait's left cheek was swollen and his left eye partly closed (see photo at left).
"I thought our guys guarded well," said Bone. "And... I think maybe that had to do with Andrew not being quite as effective as he has during his whole year," referring to Straight's injury.
Therein lies the story of the game. Though the Vikings scored 111 points, it was their swarming, switching, ball-hawking defense that that turned the tide early. At times it seemed that the Vilkings had a better understanding of Montana’s offense than the Grizzlies, as players called switches in anticipation of Montana screens and peeled off of other screens to steal or disrupt Montana passes.
"Our guys did a great job of anticipating what they were trying to execute and I thought we guarded their plays very well," said Bone.
The Vikings’ scrambling defensive play forced Montana toward shot-clock penalties, frequently forcing Grizzly shooters to launch several desperation shots from well beyond the three-point line. And since most of those shots were off mark (Montana made only 6-of-25 treys), the Grizzlies sank further and faster into frustration.
PHOTO: Freshman post Brian Qvale sets for a shot. Qvale scored seven points in 16 minutes of play.
Defeat was painted painfully on Montana players faces early, and in their play later on, when there was no doubt of the outcome.
"We’re going to take the blame for it," said Strait. "We didn’t play well at all. We didn’t guard at all, we pretty much let them do whatever they wanted. It’s no one’s fault but our own.
"As bad as it was," said Strait, "We need to realize why it was so bad."
Said Tinkle: "We just said in the locker room that this isn’t us. It’s not Grizzly basketball. It’s terrible. We had a great crowd tonight. Senior night. But it happened. Let’s put it behind us. I said we’ll find out a lot about ourselves and how we can bounce back... We’ve got a find a way to regroup and get ready to go on the road."
Montana – on the strength of a second straight Montana State home court loss - finishes conference play at 8-8 and in fifth place. The Grizzlies will play a first-round playoff contest in Pocatello against Idaho State, a team it beat in overtime last week on a controversial last-second no-call.
Portland State, now 13-2 in conference play, returns home for a final contest against Eastern Washington, and then gets a first-round bye in prep to host the Big Sky Conference semifinal and final games.
