Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Eastern Washington
Wildcats win Big Sky regular season title
3/6/2016 1:06:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CHENEY, Wash. - Five players scored in double figures as Weber State captured the Big Sky Conference title with a 79-77 win at Eastern Washington Saturday afternoon at Reese Court.
The win is Weber State's 22nd Big Sky Conference title and the fifth title in the 10 seasons for WSU head coach Randy Rahe. The Wildcats will next play in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament next Thursday at 12 p.m. Pacific time (1 p.m. MT) in Reno, Nev. Weber State will play the winner of Tuesday's game between the No. 8 seed Portland State and the No. 9 seed Northern Colorado.
In Saturday's game with the Eagles, senior Joel Bolomboy was the star for the Wildcats, finishing with 26 points and 11 rebounds for his 24th double-double of the year.
Bolomboy broke a 76-76 tie with a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left that sealed the win for Weber State.
The Wildcats jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead thanks to two 3-pointers from Ryan Richardson. From there, Eastern Washington went on a 28-11 run and took a 30-21 lead with 5:43 left in the first half. EWU led 39-34 at halftime.
The Eagles led by 11 with 13:48 left when the Wildcats went on a 16-5 run to tie the game at 59 with 10:15 to play. The 'Cats took the lead for the first time in the second half at 66-65 with 7:48 to play after a Jeremy Senglin 3-pointer.
The game was tied four times in the final four minutes before Bolomboy's 3-pointer kept the Wildcats on top for good.
“That was a hard fought game today for us,” said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. “It took some toughness for us to win that game here but we showed a lot of courage to pull it out. Eastern Washington is a terrific team but I was so proud of our effort and toughness today. I'm so proud of our team all season long. They have worked so hard all year to get to this point and they have earned it.”
Weber State shot 54 percent from the field, compared to 47 percent for Eastern Washington. The Wildcats also outrebounded the Eagles 33-24 and shot 74 percent from the free throw line. WSU did have 19 turnovers in the game.
Bolomboy finished the game 6 of 9 from the field and was 12 of 15 from the free throw line. His 24 double-doubles is tied with Willie Sojourner in 1968-69 for the most in a season in Weber State history.
Jeremy Senglin added 14 points and five rebounds in the game and Ryan Richardson had 11 points with three 3-pointers. Kyndahl Hill added 11 points and Dusty Baker had 10 off the bench.
WSU ends the regular season with a 23-8 overall record and finishes Big Sky play with a 15-3 record.
For the first time ever, the Big Sky Tournament will be held on a neutral court with all 12 teams advancing to the tournament. Action on the men's side will start Tuesday. For tournament information visit RoadtoReno.com.
