Weber State University Athletics
Saturday, February 26
Sacramento, CA
8:00 p.m.
Weber State University
73
at
70
at Sacramento State
Wildcats Hold On To Defeat Sacramento State, 73-70, Saturday Night In Sacramento
2/27/2011 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Weber State built up a 15-point lead early in the second half, but had to fight off a furious rally in the final ten minutes to defeat Sacramento State, 73-70, Saturday night at The Nest in Sacramento, California.
The Wildcats were down 26-22, with 6:02 left in the first half, but ended the half with a 14-5 scoring run, punctuated with a three-pointer by Jordan Richardson with four seconds left, to take a 36-31 lead at half time. WSU made just 13-33 (.394) shots from the field. SCOTT BAMFORTH led the Wildcats with eight points. Sac State's DURO BJEGOVIC scored 14 of his game-high 21 points in that first half, hitting 4-7 from the three-point arc.
A three-pointer by BAMFORTH at the 16:37 mark of the second half, gave the Wildcats their biggest lead of the game at 51-36. The Hornets then went on a 12-4 scoring run, pulling to within seven at 55-48 with 12:43 left.
KYLE BULLINGER put a stop to the rally, nailing a three-pointer at the 12:12 mark, but it was answered by HEATH HOFFMAN seconds later. The Hornets then closed the gap at 65-50 with 5:22 left when WALTER JACKSON made one of two free throws.
Two free throws from TREVOR MORRIS, and jumper by BYRON FULTON with 3:48 remaining, gave the Wildcats an eight-point cushion, 69-61, Sac State ended the game with a 9-4 scoring run. WSU's only two hoops came from LINDSEY HUGHEY (lay up at 2:55) and a lay up by BULLINGER WITH 1:43 left which gave the Wildcats a 73-66 lead.
The Hornets made it a 73-70 game with 1:07 left on a driving lay up from JACKSON CARBAJAL. On the following possession, WALTER JACKSON stole the ball and threw it ahead to SULTAN TOLES-BEY who missed the lay up and KYLE BULLINGER rebounded the miss.
The Wildcats then called time with 52 seconds left, hoping the Hornets would foul, but Sac State elected to play it out and it paid off when they forced a turnover from KYLE BULLINGER with 20 seconds left.
Sac State then called time to set up play. The Hornets worked the clock down to seven seconds and called time again. The Hornets got the ball to DURO BJEGOVIC with three seconds left, but his game-tying three-pointer bounced off the rim, TOLES-BEY got the offensive rebound but couldn't get it back out in time for another attempt.
“This has always been a tough place for us to play,” said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. “All you want to do here is get out alive. They played with a great deal of emotion and passion, especially in the second half, and we knew at some point we would have to dig in and survive, which we did.”
Weber State (17-10 / 11-4 Big Sky) won its ninth straight in Big Sky play. SCOTT BAMFORTH led the 'Cats with 17. The NCAA Division I Three-Point Field Goal percentage leader at 53.4 percent, helped himself stay atop that category, hitting 5-8 from beyond the arc. LINDSEY HUGHEY scored 15 points and had eight rebounds. BYRON FULTON came off the bench to score 14, and KYLE BULLINGER added 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds. The win keeps WSU's tournament-hosting hopes alive and the loss eliminated Sac State from a tournament berth.
The Hornets (7-20 / 4-11 Big Sky) were led by DURO BJEGOVIC's 21 points. SULTAN TOLES-BEY had 17 and WALTER JACKSON added 10. Sac State ends its season next Wednesday, March 2 on the road vs. Northern Colorado.
Weber State hosts Eastern Washington on March 2. If the Wildcats win, and Northern Colorado wins both of its games @Idaho State and home vs. Sac State, they would finish second and have a bye into the Tuesday, March 8 semifinal game. If Weber State wins next Wednesday, and Northern Colorado was to lose either of those games, the Wildcats WOULD HOST the semifinals and finals on March 8-9. If the Wildcats LOSE to Eastern Washington, they would finish third and host the #6th seed on Saturday, March 5 at the Dee Events Center. Montana's only hope of hosting the tournament is if Northern Colorado (2) and Weber State (1) lose their remaining games.
The Wildcats were down 26-22, with 6:02 left in the first half, but ended the half with a 14-5 scoring run, punctuated with a three-pointer by Jordan Richardson with four seconds left, to take a 36-31 lead at half time. WSU made just 13-33 (.394) shots from the field. SCOTT BAMFORTH led the Wildcats with eight points. Sac State's DURO BJEGOVIC scored 14 of his game-high 21 points in that first half, hitting 4-7 from the three-point arc.
A three-pointer by BAMFORTH at the 16:37 mark of the second half, gave the Wildcats their biggest lead of the game at 51-36. The Hornets then went on a 12-4 scoring run, pulling to within seven at 55-48 with 12:43 left.
KYLE BULLINGER put a stop to the rally, nailing a three-pointer at the 12:12 mark, but it was answered by HEATH HOFFMAN seconds later. The Hornets then closed the gap at 65-50 with 5:22 left when WALTER JACKSON made one of two free throws.
Two free throws from TREVOR MORRIS, and jumper by BYRON FULTON with 3:48 remaining, gave the Wildcats an eight-point cushion, 69-61, Sac State ended the game with a 9-4 scoring run. WSU's only two hoops came from LINDSEY HUGHEY (lay up at 2:55) and a lay up by BULLINGER WITH 1:43 left which gave the Wildcats a 73-66 lead.
The Hornets made it a 73-70 game with 1:07 left on a driving lay up from JACKSON CARBAJAL. On the following possession, WALTER JACKSON stole the ball and threw it ahead to SULTAN TOLES-BEY who missed the lay up and KYLE BULLINGER rebounded the miss.
The Wildcats then called time with 52 seconds left, hoping the Hornets would foul, but Sac State elected to play it out and it paid off when they forced a turnover from KYLE BULLINGER with 20 seconds left.
Sac State then called time to set up play. The Hornets worked the clock down to seven seconds and called time again. The Hornets got the ball to DURO BJEGOVIC with three seconds left, but his game-tying three-pointer bounced off the rim, TOLES-BEY got the offensive rebound but couldn't get it back out in time for another attempt.
“This has always been a tough place for us to play,” said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. “All you want to do here is get out alive. They played with a great deal of emotion and passion, especially in the second half, and we knew at some point we would have to dig in and survive, which we did.”
Weber State (17-10 / 11-4 Big Sky) won its ninth straight in Big Sky play. SCOTT BAMFORTH led the 'Cats with 17. The NCAA Division I Three-Point Field Goal percentage leader at 53.4 percent, helped himself stay atop that category, hitting 5-8 from beyond the arc. LINDSEY HUGHEY scored 15 points and had eight rebounds. BYRON FULTON came off the bench to score 14, and KYLE BULLINGER added 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds. The win keeps WSU's tournament-hosting hopes alive and the loss eliminated Sac State from a tournament berth.
The Hornets (7-20 / 4-11 Big Sky) were led by DURO BJEGOVIC's 21 points. SULTAN TOLES-BEY had 17 and WALTER JACKSON added 10. Sac State ends its season next Wednesday, March 2 on the road vs. Northern Colorado.
Weber State hosts Eastern Washington on March 2. If the Wildcats win, and Northern Colorado wins both of its games @Idaho State and home vs. Sac State, they would finish second and have a bye into the Tuesday, March 8 semifinal game. If Weber State wins next Wednesday, and Northern Colorado was to lose either of those games, the Wildcats WOULD HOST the semifinals and finals on March 8-9. If the Wildcats LOSE to Eastern Washington, they would finish third and host the #6th seed on Saturday, March 5 at the Dee Events Center. Montana's only hope of hosting the tournament is if Northern Colorado (2) and Weber State (1) lose their remaining games.
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