Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
*Northern Arizona
'Cats Down NAU for Fourth-Straight Win
2/11/2011 5:40:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Weber State defeats Northern Arizona for fourth straight win
Feb. 10, 2011
Box Score (HTML) / (PDF) | Post-Game Press Conferences | Season Stats (HTML) / (PDF)
OGDEN, Utah -- It was a 'three for all' Thursday night inside Weber State's Dee Events Center. Weber State's Scott Bamforth connected on 7-10 from the arc, and the Wildcats made 12-21 as a team, to defeat Northern Arizona, 82-55, giving them a sweep of the Lumberjacks and sole possession of third place in the Big Sky Conference standings.
“Their game plan was to take away the inside by doubling and tripling and forcing us to take long twos and threes,” said WSU head coach, Randy Rahe. “They did a great job in the first half and forced us into a lot of turnovers. Obviously we got squared around in the second half. That was a phenomenal half of shooting.'
The Wildcats made 15-22 (.682) from the field in the second half,
including 7-8 from beyond the arc, and made 10-11 free throws. Bamforth scored
14 of his career high 27 points in the second half, going 4-4 from the
three-point arc. That included a four-point play with 4:50 left.
“Bamforth was a man out there tonight,” said Rahe. “He took what they gave him and made the best of it. Kyle Bullinger's line was just as impressive. To get 14 defensive rebounds means he was working hard every possession. He's really been a leader for us the last couple of weeks.”
The Wildcats jumped out to 28-7 lead the first 14 minutes of the game with Bamforth scoring 10 of those 28. Northern Arizona then put together a 16-7 scoring run to end the half, punctuated by a half court shot at the buzzer by Stallon Saldivar to make it 35-25 at half time.
The Lumberjacks came out in the second half, fighting back to within eight at 47-39 on a three-pointer from the Big Sky's leading scorer, Cameron Jones, with 14:27 remaining. But Weber State then went on a 22-7 scoring run over the next eight minutes, putting the game away.
Weber State's defensive held Jones, who scored 26 vs. the Wildcats in Flagstaff earlier this year, to just 13 points, six below his season average. NAU was led by guard Gabe Rogers who scored 21 points, hitting 5-8 from beyond the arc. The Wildcats had a huge 39-18 rebounding advantage.
The loss snaps a four-game win streak by Northern Arizona. The Lumberjacks are now 14-9 overall and 6-5 in Big Sky Conference play. They play at Idaho State on Saturday night.
Weber State now owns a four-game win streak, moving to 13-9 overall and 7-4 in Big Sky Conference action. After four straight home games over the course of the last two weeks, the Wildcats now hit the road for a first-meeting of the year with Eastern Washington. That game is this Saturday, February 12 in Cheney, Washington. Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m. (PST) and 8:05 p.m. (MST). EWU, coached by former Weber State assistant coach, Kirk Earlywine, is 8-15 overall and 5-6 in Big Sky Conference play and sitting in fifth place.
