Omaha, NE - The best basketball season in Portland State history came to an abrupt end on Thursday afternoon in the midwest. The 16th-seeded Vikings didn’t have an answer for the talented number-one seed Kansas, losing 85-61 in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional at Qwest Center.

A quick start by Kansas came as no surprise as the Jayhawks got three early dunks and leaped to a 14-3 lead. However, once the Vikings settled down and were able to run their offense, they got several easy baskets and some wide open three-point field goals. PSU got the advantage to 22-15 on a three-pointer by Tyrell Mara, then 24-18 on a three-point play by Deonte Huff at the 9:17 mark.

The number-one seed responded to the upstart Vikings, scoring the next 12 points in the game, then continued to stretch their lead into halftime at 49-26.

Kansas played a masterful first half on offense, shooting .643 from the field, including 8-13 from three-point range and committing just three turnovers. The Jayhawks’ transition game was strong as well, converting 10 Viking turnovers into 17 points.

Brandon Rush had 15 points and five rebounds at halftime for the Jayhawks. Mara’s five points led the Vikings.

Kansas lead grew to 25 on a three-pointer by Russell Robinson three-and-a-half minutes into the second half.

Deonte Huff made a pair of steals and breakaway layins to stop the Kansas momentum and draw the Vikings within 19 at 55-36 with 13:32 left.

Kansas put this one away with a 16-6 run over the next seven minutes. The Jayhawks hit 12-25 three-pointers in the game and shot .541 from the field overall.

The Vikings managed only .382 shooting for the game, and lost the battle on the glass against a much bigger KU team, 38-31.

Jeremiah Dominguez led the Vikings with 13 points in the game. He also had four assists. Alex Tiefenthaler came off the bench to score 10 points for Portland State.

Rush finished with 18 points and six rebounds. He led four Jayhawks in double figures.

"I don't think its any secret Kansas is a great basketball club. They showed it today, how strong they are in a lot of different areas, and we tried to stop them a few different ways, but we struggled in almost every one of those areas," said Viking Coach Ken Bone.

"We tried to stop the inside the first half and give up the three, see if they could miss some threes, but they shot 8 for 13 and yet they got the ball inside and were effective there.

"On the other hand, I am proud of our kids. I thought they played as hard as they could and did the best they could. In that sense, I'm extremely proud of Portland State."

Portland State completed its season at 23-10, while the Jayhawks, 32-3, advance to play the winner of the UNLV/Kent State on Saturday.

GAME NOTES: The Vikings and Jayhawks were playing in the first game of the day at the Midwest Regional and the first time ever against each other... Kyle Coston scored the first points ever by a Viking in the NCAA Tournament when he hit a three-pointer at the 18:20 mark of the first half... Kansas was playing its 113th game in NCAA Tournament history (77-36)... the Jayhawks had beaten Northern Arizona by 41 points and Eastern Washington by 38 points earlier in the year... PSU’s five-game winning streak came to an end while Big 12 Champion Kansas won its eighth in a row.