Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Northern Colorado
'Cats first in Big Sky after 64-54 win over Bears
2/5/2016 5:21:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GREELEY, Colo. - Weber State closed out the first half of Big Sky Conference play with a 64-54 win at Northern Colorado Thursday night at Bank of Colorado Arena. The win, coupled with Montana's loss at Sacramento State, puts Weber State in first place in the Big Sky standings at 8-1 in conference play.
The Wildcats started the game on a 10-0 run over the first six minutes of the game but then went cold as the Bears responded with an 18-7 run over the next nine minutes to take an 18-17 lead. But the Wildcats closed the half on a 7-3 run and led by three at the break.
WSU extended its lead to 10 points early in the second half but UNC cut it back to four with 11:37 to play. But that was the closest the Bears would get. The lead was seven points with 4:15 to play when Weber State sealed the win with a 7-0 run.
Weber State shot 43 percent from the field compared to 39 percent for Northern Colorado. The 'Cats knocked down nine 3-pointers and outrebounded UNC 38-28. The Wildcats did commit 18 turnovers.
Junior Jeremy Senglin led the Wildcats with 22 points and seven rebounds. He also knocked down four 3-pointers. Senior Joel Bolomboy had his 20th double-double in 22 games, finishing with 13 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. He remains in first in the nation in double-doubles and ranks second in the country in rebounding.
Ryan Richardson added nine points and Dusty Baker had six off the bench.
“It was a nice road win for us and we found a way to pull it out,” said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. “We did some careless things and were lucky to survive with that many turnovers on the road but our defense really helped us out tonight. Jeremy was outstanding and really played well tonight with a lot of energy.”
Weber State improves to 16-6 overall and 8-1 in Big Sky play, now atop the league standings. The Wildcats will start the second half of conference play staying on the road for a game at North Dakota Saturday afternoon in Grand Forks. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. MST.
