Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
16-8, 11-2BSC
Northern Colorado
8-17, 4-10BSC
Wildcats rally to beat Northern Colorado 69-63
2/17/2017 5:29:00 AM | Men's Basketball
OGDEN - Three players scored in double figures as Weber State rallied for a 69-63 win over Northern Colorado Thursday night at the Dee Events Center. The win moves Weber State to 11-2 in Big Sky play and sets up a first-place showdown with North Dakota Saturday night.
Northern Colorado led 32-28 at halftime and the Bears started the second half on an 8-2 run to take an eight point lead at 40-32 with 16:00 to play.
The Bears led 52-46 with 9:12 to play when Weber State went on a 12-0 run to take a six-point lead at 58-52. All 12 of those points in that run came from senior Kyndahl Hill and freshman Jerrick Harding. The Bears came back to tie the game at 63-63 with 1:30 remaining but Hill was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 90 seconds to seal the win.
"We knew this was going to be a real tough game and that's what it was," said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. "Northern Colorado played really hard and I thought that first half they were tougher than us. We got back in the fight in the second half and played more physical and found a way to win."
The Wildcats shot 49 percent from the field, compared to 43 percent for Northern Colorado. WSU also outrebounded the Bears 32-30 but finished just 5-of-18 from 3-point land. WSU was 16-of-19 from the free throw line.
Hill led Weber State with 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He was 5-of-6 from the field and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line.
Wildcats win!! Weber State beats Northern Colorado 69-63 to move to 11-2 in #BigSkMBB play. 1st place showdown with UND Sat. #WeAreWeber ???? pic.twitter.com/Ix4wyUWmt1
— WeberStateMBB (@WeberStateMBB) February 17, 2017
Zach Braxton added 16 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, while shooting 7-of-10 from the field. Harding came off the bench for 13 points with 10 coming in the second half. He was 4-of-5 from the field and made two 3-pointers on the night.
Jeremy Senglin tied his season-low with six points on two first half 3-pointers.
Weber State improves to 16-8 overall and 11-2 in conference play with five games remaining. The 'Cats will host the conference's hottest team Saturday as North Dakota comes in having won four-straight and seven of its last eight. The Fighting Hawks are 16-8 overall and just a half game behind Weber State in the Big Sky standings at 11-3.
Saturday's game tips off at 7 p.m. at the Dee Events Center.
???? Highlights of tonight's win! #WeAreWeber #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/GbnS1SDaZm
— WeberStateMBB (@WeberStateMBB) February 17, 2017
