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LOS ANGELES — Junior forward Tiegbe Bamba scored 19 points on 8-11 shooting from the floor and the Portland State Vikings had five players score in doubles figures as they upset the USC Trojans 76-68 at the Galen Center in their season opener Saturday night.
 
The Vikings (1-0) forced the Trojans (0-1) into 23 turnovers in the game, while only committing four turnovers themselves. The Vikings turned the Trojans' 23 turnovers into 31 points on the other end, helping the Vikings overcome a shooting disadvantage in the game, as the Trojans outshot the Vikings .532 to .391.
 
The win over the Trojans marks the Vikings' first win over a Pac-12 school since the 2006-07 season, when they beat Arizona State 71-67 on the road. The Vikings had been just 4-48 against Pac-12 schools before Saturday's game, and lost their only previous match against the Trojans 87-78 during the 1977-78 season.
 
Portland State led most of the way Saturday, but took control of the game with a 10-0 run late that gave them a 70-58 lead with 2:09 to go. USC had pulled within two points at 60-58 on a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Julian Jacobs with 5:06 remaining, but senior guards DaShaun Wiggins and Tim Douglas scored on back-to-back possessions to put the Vikings back up by six at 64-58.
 
Wiggins then scored a breakaway layup after a steal to put the Vikings up eight, while sophomore forward Braxton Tucker followed with a pair of buckets on back-to-back assists from Bamba to give the Vikings their largest lead of the second half at 70-58 as the clock ticked below two minutes.
 
The Trojans did not get any close than seven points the rest of the way, and the Vikings closed out the 76-68 win from the free throw line.
 
Individually, Bamba added six rebounds, four steals and two assists to his game-high 19 points for the Vikings. Tucker, meanwhile, added 16 points on 5-11 shooting from the floor, and grabbed five rebounds, three of which came on the offensive end.
 
Douglas and sophomore guard Bryce White also added 14 points each in the game, while Wiggins scored 10 points for the Vikings to go along with four rebounds and two assists.
 
Senior guard Gary Winston also tied USC's Jordan McLaughlin with a game-high six assists in the game for the Vikings.
 
Portland State took the upper hand early in the game, hitting eight of their first 12 shots, and went up 19-12 on Wiggins' layup with 12:40 remaining in the first half.
 
USC charged back with an 11-3 run to take the lead at 23-22, but the Vikings responded immediately, scoring the next 13 points to take their largest lead of the game to that point at 35-23. Douglas sank a pair of three-pointers during the run, while Bamba punctuated it with a breakaway dunk following a steal with 4:09 remaining in the first half.
 
The Vikings took a 39-32 lead into the break, but then had to overcome a slow start to the second half as they went 2-18 from the field to start the period.
 
USC took advantage of the Vikings' cold shooting to start the second and went up 48-47 on a layup from sophomore forward Darion Clark with 11:45 remaining. Bamba answered the call again for the Vikings, though, as he sank a three to put the Vikings back on top for good at 50-48, and followed it with a steal and breakaway layup to give the Vikings a 52-48 lead with 10:53 remaining.
 
USC got back within one at 56-55 with 7:20 left, but the Vikings's late run put the game away from there.
 
The Vikings will now look to carry their momentum into their home opener Tuesday, Nov. 18, when they'll host the Willamette Bearcats at 7:05 p.m. (PT) at the Stott Center.
 
Game Notes: The Vikings level their all-time series with USC at 1-1 with Saturday's win…The Vikings' four previous wins against Pac-12 schools before Saturday had only come against Oregon (two wins) and Arizona State (two wins)…Bamba, Tucker, Douglas, White and Wiggins accounted for 73 of the team's 76 points Saturday…The Vikings got 49 points combined from Bamba, Tucker and White, all of whom were playing in their first game for the Vikings.