Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Championship - at #1 Montana
'Cats fall 85-66 to Montana in Big Sky title game
3/8/2012 5:13:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MISSOULA, Mont. - Weber State lost to Montana in the conference tournament for the third straight year, this time falling 85-66 to the Grizzlies in the title game of the Big Sky Tournament Wednesday night. The win is Montana's 14th straight and the Grizzlies advance to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the past three years.
The Wildcats held a 36-31 lead at halftime but the Grizzlies came to life in second half. Montana was 8-12 from the three-point land in the second half and shot 59 percent in route to the win. The Grizzlies outscored the Wildcats 54-30 in the second half.
Weber State never trailed in the first half but Montana took its first lead at 42-40 with 16:23 to play. The Wildcats led 43-42 with 16:07 to play when the Grizzlies went on a 16-4 run over the next eight minutes. The game was never closer than six points the rest of the way. Montana outscored the Wildcats 43-22 in the final 16 minutes.
"Montana played terrific basketball and was absolutely unbelievable in the second half," said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. "They made some incredible shots and I give them all the credit. I am extremely proud of my team and how they have fought all season long."
For the game Montana shot 55 percent from the field, compared to 48 for Weber State. The Grizzlies als outrebounded the Wildcats 33-26 and finished 12-22 from three-point land.
Damian Lillard led the Wildcats once again with a terrific game, finishing with a game-high 29 points along with 10 rebounds and seven assists. Lillard was 11-23 from the field and 5-6 from the free throw line. For his performance he was named to the Big Sky All-Tournament Team.
In the process Lillard reached two milestones as he passed Harold Arceneuax and became the all-time WSU single-season leader in scoring, now with 736 points this season, which is also the fourth most in Big Sky single-season history.
Lillard also passed John Hamilton and became Weber State's career leader in three-pointers, now with 243 for his career, also the fifth most in Big Sky history.
Kyle Tresnak added 12 points for Weber State and Byron Fulton had 10 off the bench. He was the only player from either team to score off the bench.
Kareem Jamar was named Tournament MVP as he finished with 23 points and seven assists. Mathis Ward also added 23 points for the Grizzlies who finished with all five starters in double figures.
Weber State now sits at 24-6 on the season and will wait to see if they are invited to a national postseason tournament.
