The Weber State University men’s basketball team traveled to Montana for its second Big Sky Conference road trip of the season to take on the University of Montana and Montana State University.
After falling to the University of Idaho on Jan. 17, the Wildcats looked to get back into the win column against the tough Montana teams.
Weber vs. Montana:
For the first game in the road trip, the Wildcats traveled west of the continental divide to Missoula to take on the defending Big Sky champions, Montana Grizzlies.
Weber was without starting shooting guard Jace Whiting, who will be out for the next month with a foot injury.
True freshman Duce Paschal got the start over the injured Whiting and started the game hot, scoring a 3-pointer early, followed by a steal and another made jump shot to give him five early points.
The Wildcats played well in the first half, taking an 11-point lead with six minutes left, but the Grizzlies clawed back and tied the game with 3:47 left. The Wildcats got hot to end the half, with two 3-pointers from Viljami Vartiainen and Trevor Hennig to make it 43–36 going into the locker room.
Despite going into the half with momentum, the Wildcats struggled to keep up. On the other side, the Grizzlies got going.
Griz guard Tyler Thompson hit four straight 3-pointers to give Montana an 8-point lead, and the Grizzlies didn’t look back, forcing Wildcat turnovers and keeping the game out of reach, leading to an 81–65 win for the Griz.
“You just can’t have a night where Thompson goes 7 for 9,” said Head Coach Eric Duft.
Despite holding Big Sky preseason Player of the Year Montana’s Money Williams to just seven points, Thompson’s 21, along with 13 points from Te’Jon Sawyer and Brooklyn Hicks, carried the Grizzlies to the win.
Tijan Saine Jr. led the Wildcats in scoring with 15, followed by Malek Gomma with 11.
Weber vs. Montana State:
After the loss in Missoula, the Wildcats traveled to the east side of the continental divide to take on the red-hot Montana State Bobcats in Bozeman.
The Wildcats were on fire on the offensive end in the first half, hitting 8 out of 11 3-pointers. However, basketball is not only about offense, and the Wildcats struggled on defense, trailing by three at halftime.
With 12:44 left in the game, the Bobcats led by one, but then went on a 17–5 run to take a 71–58 lead with 8:54 remaining.
However, the Wildcats would not be put away, despite losing 78–67. Weber went on a 15–2 run to take an 82–80 lead with 2:24 left in the game.
The Bobcats responded with an and-one layup from Patrick McMahon, who hit his free throw to give the Bobcats an 83–82 lead with 1:17 remaining.
Weber’s Saine hit his own layup to make it 84–83, but MSU’s Christian King followed it up with a layup of his own to give the Bobcats the lead with 37 seconds remaining.
On the Wildcats’ next possession, true freshman point guard ArDarius Grayson was called out of bounds, and the Wildcats had to foul MSU’s Seth Amunrud, who hit both of his free throws.
Weber’s Hennig had his layup blocked, but Nigel Burris got a steal and a layup on the other end to bring the game within one point.
The Wildcats fouled Jed Miller, who hit both of his free throws, and the Bobcats decided to foul Saine to make sure the Wildcats did not hit a game-tying 3-pointer.
Saine hit both free throws to bring the Wildcats back within one, and then fouled Miller again.
Miller had a one-and-one, so a missed free throw would give the Wildcats a shot to win it.
The Bobcats had all their players on the other end of the court to stop the Wildcats’ subsequent play, with Miller surrounded by four Wildcats. He missed the first free throw but got his own rebound and was fouled again.
After he hit both free throws, Weber’s Brady Smith was brought in to throw a Hail Mary pass, but it was intercepted by Miller, and the Bobcats survived the comeback attempt.
Saine finished with 24 points along with going 4–7 from the 3-point line, followed by Vartiainen with 15 points and 4–8 from beyond the arc.
The Wildcats return home to take on their rivals, Idaho State University, on Jan. 31.
