Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
*Portland State
Wildcats Win Sixth Straight With An 80-58 Win Over Portland State
2/17/2011 5:01:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Weber State knocks off Vikings for sixth straight win
Feb. 16, 2011
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OGDEN, Utah - Weber State's men's basketball team extended its winning streak to six in Big Sky Conference play with an 80-58 win over Portland State on Wednesday night at the Dee Events Center in Ogden. Kyle Bullinger led the Wildcats with 22 points, tying his career scoring high and was one of four players in double figure scoring for Coach Randy Rahe. The win avenged a 71-69 loss to the Vikings in Portland back on January 20. “I thought we were bit sluggish the first ten or twelve minutes of the game, especially on the defensive end,” said Rahe. “Kyle (Bullinger), Lindsey (Hughey) |
and Scottie (Bamforth) really gave us spark and everyone else fed off of them. Our second half defense was really good and we made them start taking shots they didn't want to take. It was another good team effort on the floor and on the bench.”
The Vikings took an early 7-6 lead on a three-pointer by forward Phil Nelson. That was followed by a 7-0 scoring by the Wildcats with Scott Bamforth scoring five of those points. The two teams jockeyed for position over the next eight minutes. PSU guard Charles Odum's driving lay up with 6:58 left in the first half, tied the game at 25-25.
Two free throws and a dunk by Lindsey Hughey ignited a 12-0 scoring run for the Wildcats. Hughey's jumper with 2:06 remaining ended the run and the 'Cats went into the locker room up 43-28 at the break. Bullinger scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the first half, hitting 6-6 from the field.
Weber State led 47-31 at the 17:30 mark on a three by guard Melvin Jones. That would be as close as the Vikings would get as the Wildcats went on to build up its largest lead of the game, 66-41, on a bucket underneath by freshman center Kyle Tresnak.
Scott Bamforth, the NCAA Division I leader in Three-Point Field Goal shooting percentage (58-107 .542) made 3-5 from the arc a.nd scored 19 points. Trevor Morris and Lindsey Hughey each had 12. Melvin Jones led PSU with 13 points. Dane Johnson came off the bench to score 11. Portland State is now 11-4 overall and 4-9 in Big Sky Conference play.
The win guarantees the Wildcats (15-9 overall / 9-4 Big Sky) a spot in the 2011 Big Sky Conference Post-Season Tournament, and also guarantees the Wildcats can finish no worse than fourth. The 'Cats now have a quick turn around, traveling to San Jose, California on Thursday for a Friday, February 18 game against San Jose State in a Sears/ESPN Bracketbuster game. Tipoff vs. the Spartans is set for 7:05 p.m. (PST), 8:05 p.m. (MST).
