Wildcats fall on the road at Montana

MISSOULA, Mont. - It was a tale of two halves on Thursday night as Montana had a big second half to pick up an 81-65 win over Weber State.

The Wildcats led 43-36 at halftime but were outscored 45-22 in the second half. WSU shot 63 percent from the field in the first half but just 24 percent in the second half.

Weber State had a blazing start as they began making 14 of their first 20 shots for 70 percent shooting. The 'Cats had a 14-2 run and took their biggest lead at 33-22 with 6:12 to play.

From there, the Grizzlies went on an 11-0 run and tied the game with 3:47 to play in the half, but Weber State closed the half on a 10-3 run with three 3-pointers, including Trevor Hennig's 3-pointer at the buzzer to give WSU a 43-36 halftime lead. WSU also forced 11 Montana turnovers in the half.

But the second half was a different story. Weber State led by nine points early in the half, but the Grizzlies went on a 22-4 run over the next six minutes, and took a nine-point lead. WSU cut the lead to eight with 6:03 to play before another 7-0 Montana run sealed the win for the Grizzlies.

Montana shot 63 percent from the field in the second half with six 3-pointers. The Wildcats were just 5 of 21 from the field in the second half.

For the game, Montana shot 62 percent from the field, the best shooting percentage against the Wildcats this season. Weber State shot 47 percent for the game.

The Grizzlies knocked down 11 3-pointers and held WSU to just 5 of 17 from 3-point range. The Grizzlies also won the rebounding battle 27-22 and had 22 assists.

Tijan Saine Jr. led the Wildcats with 15 points, including 6 of 6 from the free throw line. He also surpassed 1,000 points for his college career.

Malek Gomma scored 11 points and grabbed four rebounds. Viljami Vartiainen had nine points with two 3-pointers, and Trevor Hennig also had nine points off the bench.

The Wildcats were without Jace Whiting, who missed the game with a foot injury and is expected to miss several weeks.

WSU is now 10-10 overall and 4-3 in Big Sky play. The 'Cats continue their road trip at Montana State on Saturday. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. in Bozeman.

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Team Stats

Tijan Saine Jr.

Malek Gomma

Trevor Hennig

Viljami Vartiainen

Players Mentioned

Malek Gomma

Trevor Hennig

Tijan Saine Jr.

Viljami Vartiainen

Jace Whiting

Players Mentioned

Malek Gomma

Trevor Hennig

Tijan Saine Jr.

Viljami Vartiainen

Jace Whiting

Weber State University Athletics