The Weber State University men’s basketball team had its final home stand against Montana State University and then the University of Montana.
Weber vs. Montana State
The first game of the home stand saw the Wildcats take on the Montana State Bobcats in a rematch of a Jan. 24 game where the Bobcats survived a late Wildcat comeback to win 91–88.
The game was a battle in the first half, with the teams trading leads throughout, leaving Montana State with a 29-28 halftime lead.
The second half was more of the same, and the Wildcats got a 62–58 lead with 4:22 remaining. However, the Bobcats didn’t go away, with star player Jed Miller hitting a 3-pointer followed by a layup to give the Bobcats a 63–62 lead with 3:33 remaining.
The teams went back-and-forth, with Miller hitting a jumper to make it 67–66 with 1:12 left. Later, Weber’s Trevor Hennig was fouled and went to the line for two free throws. He hit the first one to tie it up, but missed the second one.
The Bobcats drove down the court, but Miller’s 3-pointer was blocked by Wildcat Nigel Burris. The Bobcats got the rebound, but Burris stole the ball and called a timeout to give the Wildcats the opportunity to win the game. However, Hennig missed the game-winning shot, and the game went into overtime.
In overtime, the teams traded blows until Miller hit a 3-pointer to make it 74–71. After a layup and a 3-point play from Edwin Suarez Jr., Weber took a 76–74 lead and never looked back, winning 82–79.
Hennig led the team in points with 19, followed by Nigel Burris with 15.
“We’re not going to be a pretty team right now,” Head Coach Eric Duft said. “These aren’t going to be pretty games, but the toughest team is going to win most nights.”
Weber vs. Montana
Two nights after the game against the Bobcats, the Wildcats welcomed the Bobcats’ rivals, the Grizzlies, to Ogden. This was the Wildcats’ final home game of the season, making it senior night, though they had only one senior: Nigel Burris, who was honored before the game.
While the game against Montana State was a closely fought battle, the game against Montana was quite the opposite.
The Wildcats led 45–32 going into halftime, but turned it up another notch in the second half. At one point, the Wildcats led 86–57, but the Grizzlies made some garbage time baskets to make it 92–72 at the end of the game.
Wildcat junior forward Viljami Vartiainen had himself a game, scoring 25 points on seven 3-pointers, tying his career high in 3-pointers in a game.
“Honestly, today I felt like every shot felt good,” Vartiainen said. “They were guarding me really hard before I started making shots. So finding those windows where you get a shot off, and then obviously the coaching staff putting me in positions where I can get those shots off. So once I see one go in … it’s easier to get a couple more.”
The Wildcats now get Feb. 26 off, before heading up to Pocatello, Idaho, to take on rival Idaho State University on Feb. 28. Then they’ll head to Portland, Oregon, for the final regular season game of the season on March 2 against Portland State University.
Following those two games, the Wildcats will be in Boise for the Big Sky Conference Tournament, for a chance to make it to the NCAA Tournament.
