Howard scores 22 as Montana State dumps Portland State 79-71

Howard leads Montana State to 79-71 victory

PORTLAND, Ore. — Bobby Howard had 22 points and eight rebounds Saturday to lead Montana State to a 79-71 win over Portland State.

Erik Rush added 17 points for the Bobcats (13-12, 8-6 Big Sky) and Branden Johnson and Marquis Navarre each had 12.

The win was the first for Montana State in Portland since 2004.

Dominic Waters led Portland State (10-15, 5-7) with 21 points. Julius Thomas added 14 for the Vikings, who lost their fourth straight home game.

Montana State trailed 19-18 with 9:53 left in the first half before rattling off a 22-8 run to take a 40-27 lead at the break. The Bobcats led by as many as 16 points in the second half and sealed the game by hitting 10 of 12 free throws down the stretch.

MSU shot 70 percent in the first half and finished the game at 52 percent. Portland shot 42 percent for the game and was 9 for 30 from 3-point range.

(This version CORRECTS spelling of Waters name in fourth paragraph.)