Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Northern Arizona - Semifinals
Wildcats Fall to NAU in Big Sky Semis
3/12/2008 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -Kyle Landry scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Northern Arizona to a 75-70 over Weber State on Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference tournament.
Nate Geiser and Nick Larson each added nine points for the Lumberjacks (21-10). Josh Wilson chipped in eight points.
Daviin Davis led Weber State (16-14) with 19 points. Dezmon Harris scored 15 points for the Wildcats and Arturas Valeika had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
NAU's Larson hit a 3-pointer with 2:56 left in the game that broke a 66-66 tie and gave the Lumberjacks a 69-66 lead. Two key inside buckets by Landry extended Northern Arizona's lead to 73-68 with 1:12 remaining to play. Weber State failed to convert on its last three possessions and Wilson sealed the win for NAU with two free throws with eight seconds left to play.
Northern Arizona shot 58 percent from the floor and held Weber State to just 44 percent shooting on the night.
The Lumberjacks advance to the Big Sky Conference tournament championship game on Wednesday night.
Leading 36-34 at halftime, Northern Arizona extended its lead with a 10-4 run to open the second half. Zach Filzen's 3-pointer with 15:38 left to play put the Lumberjacks up 46-38.
NAU's offense then went dry and did not score a field goal for the next five minutes. Meanwhile, a 10-3 Weber State run closed the gap to 49-48 with 12:14 remaining in the game. The Wildcats eventually tied the game on a 3-pointer by Juan Pablo Silveira at the 11:02 mark and grabbed their first lead of the second half when two free throws by Steve Panos put them ahead 58-56.
The two teams exchanged leads over the next eight minutes before Larson's 3-pointer put the Lumberjacks ahead for good.
Northern Arizona fell behind 13-7 in the opening six minutes of the game before its offense finally kicked in. The Lumberjacks rattled off a 14-0 run over the next six minutes and led 21-13 when Jermaine Bishop hit a lay-in with 8:25 left before halftime.
Weber State immediately answered with a 9-0 run of its own and reclaimed the lead at 22-21 after Davis connected on an off-balance jumper with 5:58 left in the half.
The lead went back and forth in the final minutes of the first half before NAU's Matt Johnson drilled two 3-pointers in the last two minutes to give the Lumberjacks a 36-34 advantage at the break.
WEBER ST. (16-14)
Valeika 4-11 2-2 12, Davis 7-14 4-6 19, Panos 1-2 2-2 4, Harris 5-11 4-4 15, Van Brocklin 3-8 0-0 8, McCoy 0-3 1-2 1, Billings 0-0 0-0 0, Silveira 2-3 0-0 5, Morris 2-2 2-2 6. Totals 24-54 15-18 70.
N. ARIZONA (21-10)
Larson 3-5 0-0 9, Landry 6-10 9-13 21, Johnson 2-4 0-0 6, Geiser 3-4 0-0 9, Wilson 2-7 4-5 8, Jones 1-1 0-0 3, Bishop 2-2 0-0 5, McCurdy 3-4 1-2 7, Filzen 2-5 0-0 5, Comagic 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 25-43 14-20 75.
Halftime-N. Arizona 36-34. 3-Point Goals-Weber St. 7-19 (Valeika 2-4, Van Brocklin 2-6, Silveira 1-2, Harris 1-2, Davis 1-4, McCoy 0-1), N. Arizona 11-15 (Larson 3-3, Geiser 3-4, Johnson 2-2, Jones 1-1, Bishop 1-1, Filzen 1-3, Wilson 0-1). Fouled Out-Larson, Morris, Panos. Rebounds-Weber St. 24 (Valeika 13), N. Arizona 27 (Landry 7). Assists-Weber St. 10 (Harris 4), N. Arizona 16 (Wilson 5). Total Fouls-Weber St. 18, N. Arizona 19. A-NA.
