Weber State University Athletics
Saturday, January 26
Missoula, MT
7:00 p.m.
Weber State University
13-7, 7-2BSC
68
at
75
Montana
14-6, 7-2BSC
1
2
F
Weber State
26
42
68
Montana
40
35
75
Second half rally falls short in loss at Montana
1/26/2019 9:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Weber State made a second half rally but it wasn't enough to overcome a big first half by Montana as the Grizzlies defeated the Wildcats 75-68 Saturday night in Missoula.
The loss snaps Weber State's four-game winning streak and drops the Wildcats to 13-7 overall and 6-2 in Big Sky play.
Montana started the game on an 11-2 run and later went on an 20-0 run to take a 22-point lead with under five minutes to play in the first half as the Wildcats went more than eight minutes without scoring. The Grizzlies held a 40-26 lead at halftime.
The Wildcats made a big rally in the second half and outscored the Grizzlies by seven points. Weber State started the second half on a 15-5 run to cut the lead to five points with 13:48 to play.
The Grizzlies got the lead back to 15 points before an 11-0 run by the Wildcats cut the Montana lead to four points with 3:58 to play but were able to hold off the Wildcats and secure the win.
"They pressured us really hard and got up on us early and it took us out of our rhythm," said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. "Once we got adjusted, we outplayed them in the second half and gave ourselves a chance. I was really proud of our effort for fighting back and giving ourselves a chance. We showed a lot of toughness and grit but just came up short at the end."
Weber State finished with 49.1 percent shooting, compared to 45.8 percent for Montana and the Wildcats outrebounded the Grizzlies 35-33. WSU did have 14 turnovers, which Montana turned into 25 points, and the Grizzlies had just six turnovers.
Jerrick Harding led the Wildcats with 22 points on 9 of 17 shooting. Cody John added 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting.
Brekkott Chapman tied his career-high with 16 rebounds and added six points. Caleb Nero had nine points off the bench for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats return home to host Portland State Thursday night at the Dee Events Center. Â
Northern Colorado is on top of the Big Sky standings at 8-2 with the Wildcats and Montana tied at 7-2.
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The loss snaps Weber State's four-game winning streak and drops the Wildcats to 13-7 overall and 6-2 in Big Sky play.
Montana started the game on an 11-2 run and later went on an 20-0 run to take a 22-point lead with under five minutes to play in the first half as the Wildcats went more than eight minutes without scoring. The Grizzlies held a 40-26 lead at halftime.
The Wildcats made a big rally in the second half and outscored the Grizzlies by seven points. Weber State started the second half on a 15-5 run to cut the lead to five points with 13:48 to play.
The Grizzlies got the lead back to 15 points before an 11-0 run by the Wildcats cut the Montana lead to four points with 3:58 to play but were able to hold off the Wildcats and secure the win.
"They pressured us really hard and got up on us early and it took us out of our rhythm," said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. "Once we got adjusted, we outplayed them in the second half and gave ourselves a chance. I was really proud of our effort for fighting back and giving ourselves a chance. We showed a lot of toughness and grit but just came up short at the end."
Weber State finished with 49.1 percent shooting, compared to 45.8 percent for Montana and the Wildcats outrebounded the Grizzlies 35-33. WSU did have 14 turnovers, which Montana turned into 25 points, and the Grizzlies had just six turnovers.
Jerrick Harding led the Wildcats with 22 points on 9 of 17 shooting. Cody John added 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting.
Brekkott Chapman tied his career-high with 16 rebounds and added six points. Caleb Nero had nine points off the bench for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats return home to host Portland State Thursday night at the Dee Events Center. Â
Northern Colorado is on top of the Big Sky standings at 8-2 with the Wildcats and Montana tied at 7-2.
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Team Stats
WSU
UM
FG%
.491
.458
3FG%
.333
.294
FT%
.688
.667
RB
35
33
TO
14
6
STL
0
7
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballWeber State wins fourth straight with 91-80 win over Eastern Washington
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Saturday, January 10