Portland State got into the paint with ease, turned live-ball turnovers and blocked shots into easy baskets, and owned the offensive glass on the way to a 74-56 victory at Viking Pavilion in Portland, Oregon.

The Vikings (12-7, 4-2 Big Sky) have won eight of their last 10 while the Wildcats (7-13, 1-5) are scuffling and are 2-9 in their last 11 games against Division I opponents.

“We played terrible for most of the game,” WSU head coach Eric Duft said. “The emphasis all week was we’ve got to start fast … it was a big game for them. They did a good job and they have a good team.”

The Wildcats did not start fast. WSU missed its first seven field goals while Jaylin Henderson and Isaiah Johnson hit from deep to get PSU ahead 12-0 in the first 4 1/2 minutes.

Photo supplied, Portland State

After a timeout, Weber did respond. Blaise Threatt, who missed two games with a harsh stomach illness, returned Thursday and got things going for the Wildcats. He and Miguel Tomley spurred WSU in cutting the deficit to 28-24 at the final media timeout of the half.

But WSU wouldn’t make a field goal for the rest of the half. In the first of at least three times for PSU, Tre-Vaughn Minott blocked a Weber shot that led to a quick bucket (this one a Shane Nowell dunk) and Qiant Myers drove the paint to beat the buzzer and put the Vikings up 39-29 at halftime.

After Portland State made it 43-31 early in the second half, Weber’s second push arrived from behind the arc. Threatt, then Nigel Burris, then Tomley made 3-pointers in consecutive possessions to make it a three-point game — except Tomley’s didn’t count.

Threatt grabbed an offensive rebound and threw to Tomley, but refs blew play dead as Tomley rose to shoot because the shot-clock operator had reset the shot clock to 30 seconds instead of 20. In resumed play, a pair of fouls led to Alex Tew making one free throw.

“I felt like we had a little bit control of the game at that point but they waved it off and … it got away from us again,” Duft said.

Barely more than two minutes later, Henderson was laying in a bucket off a Johnson steal and Portland State led 52-40. Weber couldn’t get it closer than eight points the rest of the way.

“We’ve got to play a lot better than that and handle the ball better,” Duft said. “They’re a hard team to play against with their pressure and their athleticism … but we’ve got to play better than that.”

Though somewhat rusty with four turnovers, Threatt led all scorers with 22 points, led Weber State with seven rebounds, and dished four assists. He shot 8 of 16 from the field, including two of his team’s five 3-pointers.

Tomley scored eight points, but all in the first half. Viljami Vartiainen had six points on two 3-pointers, going plus-four in 17 minutes of an 18-point loss. Dyson Koehler scored six points and grabbed four steals but shot 1 of 6.

After Threatt’s eight field goals, the rest of the team combined to shoot 11 of 36 (30.5%).

Portland State shot 17 of 29 in the first half. Though WSU slowed that down in the second half, the Vikings found plenty of easy buckets to hold the lead while the Wildcats shot 9 of 27.

Henderson led five double-figure scorers for PSU with 14 points, adding six rebounds and five assists. Johnson also had 14 points.

Minott was a menace inside, scoring 13 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking four shots. Myers scored 13 points and dished five assists, while Terri Miller Jr. pitched in 12 points.

If held only to paint points and free throws, Portland State still outscored Weber 57-56. The Vikings racked up 50 points in the paint to WSU’s 18. PSU held a 17-7 advantage in fastbreak points and, though the offensive rebound battle was close at 16-10, the Vikings converted frequently and won second-chance points 16-3.

Owing to the same illness that sidelined Threatt, redshirt freshman shooting guard Nemanja Sarenac did not travel with the team and freshman center Declan Cutler, who missed two days of practice, recorded one block in two second-half minutes.

WSU next goes to Sacramento State (6-13, 2-4) at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Hornets held on to beat Idaho State at home 75-71 to end a four-game skid.

Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Kolton Mitchell swished a deep, difficult, running 3-pointer as time expired to lift Idaho (9-11, 4-3) to a 77-76 win over Northern Colorado (14-6, 6-1), handing the Bears their first league loss.

Northern Arizona (12-8, 3-4) put together a 70-61 win at Eastern Washington (6-14, 2-5).