OGDEN, Utah (February 9, 2017) – The Big Sky Conference men’s basketball race just got more intense thanks to Sacramento State’s defeat of Weber State and North Dakota’s home win over Eastern Washington on Thursday.
Weber State now holds just a one-game lead over the Fighting Hawks, who took over second place in the conference table. Idaho also picked up a big road win to move into a tie for third with EWU.
North Dakota 95, Eastern Washington 86 – The Fighting Hawks (14-8, 9-3 BSC) took sole possession of second place in the conference standings with a home win over Eastern Washington (16-9, 8-4 BSC). Senior Quinton Hooker led UND with a season-high 35 points on 10-of-18 from the field including 4-of-6 from behind the arc. Cortez Seals came off the bench for a season-high 21 points with five rebounds and three assists.
Jacob Wiley posted another 30-point performance with 33 points on 11-of-17 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds. Bogdan Bliznyuk added 18 points with five rebounds and two assists.
Portland State 74, Idaho State 69 – The Vikings (12-10, 5-6 BSC) picked up a crucial home win over Idaho State (6-18, 3-8 BSC). Four PSU players reached double-digits with Zach Gengler and Deontae North leading the way with 14 points each. De’Sean Parsons and Bryce Canda paced each other with 12 points each.
Geno Luzcando led the Bengals with 18 points on 7-of-13 from the field. ISU had three other players reach double-figures with Ethan Telfair adding 15 points and Robert Jones and Novak Topalovic each posting 12 points.
Idaho 88, Northern Colorado 76 – The Vandals (13-10, 8-4 BSC) moved into a tie for third place in the conference standings with a win at Northern Colorado (8-15, 4-8 BSC). Brayon Blake was strong off the bench, going 7-of-10 from the field and finish with 16 points for Idaho. Victor Sanders led the Vandals with 25 points 8-of-15 shooting and a perfect 6-of-6 at the free-throw line.
DJ Miles crossed the 30-point threshold for the second time this season to lead the Bears. Jordan Davis ended the night with 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Sacramento State 77, Weber State 74 – The Hornets (8-14, 5-6 BSC) handed Weber State (14-8, 9-2 BSC) its second conference loss of the yearThursday night in the California capital city. Eric Stuteville led Sac State with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting and 10 rebounds. Justin Strings shot 50 percent from the field to finish the game with 20 points.
Ryan Richardson was the leading scorer for the Wildcats with 16 points. Senior Jeremy Senglin was looking to become the Big Sky’s all-time 3-point leader but was held to just one trey on the night.
