WSU's rally falls short in loss to Bison

OGDEN - Weber State rallied back from a 20-point first half deficit but it wasn't enough as the Wildcats fell 77-73 to North Dakota State Wednesday night at the Dee Events Center.

The game was part of the second annual Big Sky-Summit League Challenge. The Wildcats will conclude the challenge at North Dakota this Saturday in Grand Forks.

The Bison jumped to a 10-0 lead and led 24-4 with 13:08 to play in the first half. The Bison made six 3-pointers in the first seven minutes of the game. The Wildcats responded with a 10-0 run to get back into the game. Weber State trailed 42-34 at halftime after 10 3-pointers by the Bison in the first half.

NDSU built the lead back up to 16 points early in the second half and led by 12 points with seven minutes to play, when Weber State went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to three.

WSU trailed by three with 3:17 to play but a 4-0 run by the Bison put NDSU back up by seven points.

North Dakota State made 15 3-pointers on 34 3-point attempts. The 15 3's are the most allowed by the Wildcats in three seasons. Weber State was 9 of 25 from 3-point range. NDSU outrebounded the Wildcats 37-35. WSU had a season-low three turnovers and dished out 12 assists.

"It was obviously a disappointing start to us," said WSU head coach Eric Duft. "This was a good team we played and we didn't respond to their start. We fought back and had a chance at the end but ultimately, we have to be better for the full game."

Viljami Vartiainen led the Wildcats with a career-high 18 points. He was 5 of 8 from the field and 4 of 7 from 3-point range. He had 13 points with three 3-pointers in the second half.

Senior Alex Tew had a season-high 12 points, also on 5 of 8 shooting, and grabbed five rebounds.

Blaise Threatt added 10 points with six assists and five rebounds.

The loss snapped Weber State's three-game winning streak and dropped the 'Cats to 4-5 on the season.

The 'Cats will take on former Big Sky rival North Dakota on Saturday at 6 p.m. Mountain time in Grand Forks. The game will be televised on the Summit League Network. A subscription is required.

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Team Stats

Viljami Vartiainen

Alex Tew

Blaise Threatt

Nigel Burris

Players Mentioned

Alex Tew

Blaise Threatt

Viljami Vartiainen

Weber State University Athletics