Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
13-18
Portland State
24-8
'Cats survive and advance with 78-74 win over PSU
3/11/2016 12:01:00 AM | Men's Basketball
RENO, Nev. - Survive and advance. That's what Weber State did Thursday, holding off Portland State 78-74 in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament at the Reno Events Center. The Wildcats advance to take on North Dakota Friday at 6:30 p.m. MT in the semifinals.
“In March, you just try to survive and advance and that's what we were able to do today,” said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. “We played really well, we just had a period where we didn't take care of the ball and let them back in it. Good teams are able to find a way to make plays when things aren't going your way and we made enough plays at the end to win the game. It wasn't pretty but it was a win and we get to play tomorrow.”
Weber State never trailed in the first half and jumped out to a 46-37 lead at halftime. The Wildcats led by eight at 60-52 with 11:21 left when Portland State went on an 11-0 run to take its first lead at 63-60 with 7:56 left. WSU took a two-point lead with 2:58 left after a Jeremy Senglin 3-pointer but PSU came right back with four-straight points and led 74-72 with 2:04 to play.
The Wildcats scored the last six points of the game, including three free throws in the finals 10 seconds to seal the win.
Weber State shot 57 percent from the field, compared to 50 percent for Portland State. The Wildcats also outrebounded the Vikings 32-27 and knocked down 11 3-pointers. WSU did commit 20 turnovers in the game and had just six points off the bench, compared to 31 bench points for the Vikings.
Ryan Richardson led the way with a season-high 21 points on 7 of 9 shooting. He was also 5 of 7 from 3-point range and added five rebounds and four assists.
Four other Wildcats also scored in double figures. Senglin had 16 points with five rebounds and four assists. Big Sky MVP Joel Bolomboy had 12 points and six rebounds while Zach Braxton had 12 points and five rebounds. McKay Cannon knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points, five assists and three steals.
The win was the 206th career victory for Weber State head coach Randy Rahe who is now the Weber State career leader in victories.
Weber State advances to take on North Dakota in the semifinals of the tournament Friday night at 6:30 p.m. MT in Reno. The Big Sky Championship is set for Saturday at 6:45 p.m. Mountain time.
