Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Northern Colorado
Wildcats maintain first place with 79-65 win
2/9/2014 5:05:00 AM | Men's Basketball
OGDEN – Weber State knocked down 12 three-pointers as the Wildcats maintained a hold on first place in the Big Sky with a 79-65 win over Northern Colorado Saturday night at the Dee Events Center.
The win gives Weber State a three-game lead in the Big Sky standings. The Wildcats are 13-7 overall and 10-2 in Big Sky play. Montana, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado and North Dakota are all tied for second at 7-5.
The Wildcats also won their 26th straight Big Sky regular season home game, tying Montana for the conference record. The 'Cats have won 48 of their last 49 Big Sky regular season home games.
Weber State jumped out to a quick 14-2 lead on the Bears but UNC rallied back with a 17-6 run over the next seven minutes and the Bears eventually took a one point lead with under 6:00 in the first half. Weber State closed the half on a 13-6 run and took a 39-32 lead at halftime. The lead was never less than seven points the rest of the half as the Wildcats improved to 8-0 against Northern Colorado in Ogden.
The 'Cats tied their season-high with 12 three-pointers, finishing the night 12-20 from beyond the arc. WSU shot 53 percent from the field and held the Bears to 38 percent shooting. UNC entered the game ranked 11th in the nation in field goal shooting.
The Bears outrebounded the Wildcats 34-31 but WSU had 19 assists and six blocked shots, while also shooting 79 percent from the free throw line.
“I'm really proud of our guys,” said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. “They were really ready to play tonight and I thought our second half defense was the key to the game. We defended really well in the second half and played with lots of energy. Northern Colorado is a really good basketball team so it was a good win for us tonight.”
Once again Davion Berry led the way for Weber State, finishing with 15 points and a game-high six assists. Freshman Jeremy Senglin also had 15 points, all coming from the three-point line as he was 5-7 from beyond the arc. Jordan Richardson added 14 points and seven rebounds with four three-pointers.
Sophomore Joel Bolomboy reached a double-double for the second-straight game, finishing with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. He now has seven double-doubles on the year and has reached double figures in rebounding in seven straight and 12 of the last 13 games.
The Wildcats have now reached 10 Big Sky wins for the eighth straight season under coach Rahe, a Big Sky record. Saturday's win was the 102nd Big Sky win for coach Rahe, tying him for second all-time in conference wins.
The Wildcats now hit the road for six of the last eight Big Sky games beginning Thursday at Southern Utah.
