Weber State University Athletics
Monday, March 9
Boise, ID
8:00 p.m.
Weber State University
16-16,10-8Big Sky
79
vs
84
#3 Eastern Washington
14-18,11-7Big Sky
1
2
F
Weber St.
32
47
79
Eastern Wash.
46
38
84
Tijan Saine Jr. led the Wildcats with 27 points.
Photo by: Keith Webber
‘Cats fall to Eagles in Big Sky Tournament
3/9/2026 11:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Weber State rallies in second half but comes up short 84-79 in Boise.
BOISE, Idaho - Weber State made a big second half rally, but it wasn't enough as the Wildcats fell 84-79 to Eastern Washington in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament Monday night in Boise.
The Wildcats led early and rallied late, but could not overcome a strong first half from the Eagles, and saw their season come to an end.
Weber State jumped out to a nine-point lead just five minutes into the game, but Eastern Washington took over late in the first half. The Eagles closed the first half on a 19-1 run over the final six minutes, with four 3-pointers in that stretch.
EWU led 46-32 at halftime after shooting 55 percent from the field.
Weber State started the second half on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to five points. A 10-0 WSU run later in the half cut the EWU lead to two points at 68-66 with 5:25 to play.
The 'Cats cut the lead to two points on two other occasions late in the game, but could not take the lead, and the Eagles hung on for the win.
The Wildcats shot 58 percent from the field in the second half and outscored the Eagles 47-38.
Eastern Washington finished the game at 52 percent shooting, compared to 48 percent for Weber State. The Eagles also outrebounded the Wildcats 32-28 and made nine 3-pointers, while WSU was 5 of 19 from 3-point range.
As he has all season long, Tijan Saine Jr. led the Wildcats in scoring as he finished with 27 points. He was 7 of 12 from the field and 11 of 12 from the free throw line, to go along with three steals and two assists.
Saine led the Big Sky in scoring in conference games and scored 20 or more points 15 times this season.
Nigel Burrs, the lone senior on this year's Wildcat team, added 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting and Viljami Vartiainen scored 13 points with three 3-pointers.
WSU's season comes to an end with a 16-16 overall record.
The Wildcats led early and rallied late, but could not overcome a strong first half from the Eagles, and saw their season come to an end.
Weber State jumped out to a nine-point lead just five minutes into the game, but Eastern Washington took over late in the first half. The Eagles closed the first half on a 19-1 run over the final six minutes, with four 3-pointers in that stretch.
EWU led 46-32 at halftime after shooting 55 percent from the field.
Weber State started the second half on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to five points. A 10-0 WSU run later in the half cut the EWU lead to two points at 68-66 with 5:25 to play.
The 'Cats cut the lead to two points on two other occasions late in the game, but could not take the lead, and the Eagles hung on for the win.
The Wildcats shot 58 percent from the field in the second half and outscored the Eagles 47-38.
Eastern Washington finished the game at 52 percent shooting, compared to 48 percent for Weber State. The Eagles also outrebounded the Wildcats 32-28 and made nine 3-pointers, while WSU was 5 of 19 from 3-point range.
As he has all season long, Tijan Saine Jr. led the Wildcats in scoring as he finished with 27 points. He was 7 of 12 from the field and 11 of 12 from the free throw line, to go along with three steals and two assists.
Saine led the Big Sky in scoring in conference games and scored 20 or more points 15 times this season.
Nigel Burrs, the lone senior on this year's Wildcat team, added 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting and Viljami Vartiainen scored 13 points with three 3-pointers.
WSU's season comes to an end with a 16-16 overall record.
Team Stats
Weber
EWU
FG%
.482
.519
3FG%
.263
.409
FT%
.833
.679
RB
28
32
TO
9
12
STL
6
1
Game Leaders
Pts
27
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
11
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
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