Portland State defeats Northern Colorado 75-74

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Charles Odum scored 22 points, including the go-ahead free throws with three seconds remaining, to lead Portland State to a 75-74 win over Northern Colorado on Tuesday night.

Michael Harthun had 14 points for the Vikings (16-14, 10-6 Big Sky), and Chehales Tapscott added 12 points and eight rebounds. Portland State is the No. 3 seed in the Big Sky tournament that begins on Saturday and will host sixth-seeded Montana State in the first round.

Tate Unruh led Northern Colorado (9-19, 5-11) with 20 points and was among five Bears scoring in double figures.

After a back-and-forth second half that featured 10 lead changes, Mike Proctor's dunk put the Bears ahead 72-70 with 2:31 to play. Odum hit 1 of 2 free throws for PSU, and Tevin Svihovec made a layup with 37 seconds remaining to give UNC a 74-71 lead.

A Tapscott follow-up closed the gap to 74-73 with 14 seconds to go. Svihovec missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Odum raced down the floor and was fouled in the lane, setting up his winning free throws.

Portland State had a 30-6 free-throw advantage for the game.

Updated February 29, 2012