OGDEN, Utah (December 31, 2016) – Career-highs and overtime thrillers highlighted Saturday’s Big Sky Conference men’s basketball action. North Dakota and Weber State each picked up overtime wins, Southern Utah and Northern Arizona saw new career-highs and Montana State snapped a seven-game skid.
SUU junior Randy Onwuasor, pictured here earlier this season, scored 37 points Saturday/ courtesy of SUU athletics
Southern Utah 93, Northern Arizona 80 – SUU’s Randy Onwuasor and James McGee posted career-highs as the Thunderbirds (3-11, 1-0 BSC) shot 55.2 percent from 3-point territory on their way to a conference-opening road win at rival Northern Arizona (3-11, 0-1 BSC). Onwuasor scored 37 points on 12-of-23 from the field and 7-of-11 from behind the arc. McGee added 32 points on 9-of-13 shooting with six treys. The T-birds shot an even 50 percent from the field as a team and set a new school record with 16 3-pointers.
Onwuasor finished the game 12-of-23 from the field and 7-of-12 from beyond the arc. McGee finished 9-of-13 from the field and 6-of-8 from deep.
Along with setting a handful of individual records, the Thunderbirds set a new program 3-point record with 16 threes.
“This was a great team win for us. Everyone contributed positively and did their jobs,” McGee said in an SUU press release. “We are finally starting to click, and we are starting to understand that the hard work we put in pays off for us.”
Onwuasor finished with a double-double, 37 points and 12 rebounds. Senior point guard John Marshall led the Thunderbirds in assists with six. As a team, the Thunderbirds out-rebounded the Lumberjacks, 41-30.
“Incredibly proud of our team’s effort. We wanted to win the rebounding battle and play with great tempo; We felt like we achieved both of those goals—especially with winning the rebounding battle,” Southern Utah head coach Todd Simon said. “We set a program 3-point record, which is a testament to running the floor and creating shots for each other.”
NAU’s Jordan Martyn posted a career-best 27 points on 9-of-17 from the field and 9-for-13 from the charity stripe. Martyn also led the Lumberjacks with eight rebounds. NAU shot 44.6 percent as a team in the loss.
UND senior Quinton Hooker/ by Brooks Nuanez
North Dakota 90, Sacramento State 82 (OT) – North Dakota (6-6, 1-1 BSC) picked up its first Big Sky Conference win with an overtime victory at Sacramento State (3-10, 0-2 BSC). Senior Quinton Hooker posted a season-high 31 points on 9-of-14 from the field and a perfect 10-for-10 at the free-throw line. Corey Baldwin, Geno Crandall and Cortez Seals each added 12 points for the Fighting Hawks.
“It was an up-and-down game. Obviously, we played extremely well in the first 20 minutes and did not play well in the second 20 minutes,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “I will say, in the final minute-and-a-half we showed a lot of composure to force overtime and we were very good offensively and defensively in the overtime.”
The Hornets trailed 52-31 at the half but came out hot and out-scored UND 44-23 in the second frame. The Fighting Hawks rallied in overtime with 15 points to take home the win. Sacramento State’s Eric Stuteville posted a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Justin Strings led the Hornets in scoring with a career-high 26 points.
“We had multiple guys step up and that is what it takes when you are trying to find ways to win,” Jones added. “We have had a tough scheduled leading up to now with a bunch of games on the road and wins are not going to be easy this, so I’m proud of our guys for showing that resiliency and togetherness and not allowing Thursday night’s poor performance (a 99-62 loss at Portland State) to carry over into a short turnaround.”
Northern Colorado 73, Portland State 59 – The Bears (6-7, 2-0 BSC) started the conference season 2-0 thanks to a 73-59 road win at Portland State (8-5, 1-1 BSC). Sophomore Jordan Davis led a balanced UNC attack with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting. DJ Miles picked up 17 points off the bench while Jonah Radebaugh scored 13.
“I just know this: I have a group of guys that have a collective toughness and a collective grit,” UNC first-year head coach Jeff Linder said. “To come on the road and play a really good Portland State team, a really dangerous Portland State team – a team that is one of the best offensive teams in the country with some very talented guards and to beat them in their gym with the short turn around that we had is a testament to the strides this program is making. They had enough in the tank and really did a great job of following the game plan.”
Senior De’Sean Parsons paced the Vikings with 16 points and seven rebounds. Traylin Farris was one board short of a double-double with 11 points and 9 rebounds.
EWU senior Felix Van Hofe, pictured here last year in Reno, scored 22 points in a win over Idaho/ by Brooks Nuanez
(FRIDAY) Eastern Washington 69, Idaho 62 — Felix Von Hofe scored 22 points and Jake Wiley had a career-high 23 to lead an inspired Eagle effort as EWU opened its Big Sky Conference men’s basketball season with a road victory over Idaho.
“The two seniors really game through,” said a relieved Eastern head coach Jim Hayford, whose team led by as many as 22 before winning by seven. “That’s what you have to do in conference play – rely on your seniors.”
The Eagles held Idaho to 31 percent shooting from the field – a season-best effort this season. Eastern also had 10 blocked shots to equal its season high. Von Hofe sank 6-of-11 3-pointers, after having entered the game making just 13-of-44 on the road this season for 30 percent. Wiley, who played the past two seasons at nearby Lewis-Clark State, made 9-of-13 shots from the field and had five blocked shots and nine rebounds.
Von Hofe’s performance moved him into second in school history in 3-pointers made with 213, moving past the 210 of Parker Kelly from 2012-15. Von Hofe is now 47 from the record set by his former teammate Tyler Harvey from 2013-15 with 260.
Eastern led by as many as 22 in the second half, but Idaho used a 13-0 run to cut the lead to single digits. A 3-pointer by Von Hofe with 57.4 seconds left helped clinch the victory. The Eagles finished with 21 turnovers – 16 of them in the second half – to equal their season high.
“The bottom line is that we stood up and got out of here with a win,” added Hayford. “It’s always hard to close out a win on the road.”
The Vandals returned to the Big Sky in the 2014-15 season, and Friday’s game was another thriller. Eastern has won five of the seven meetings since then, and six of those previous EWU-UI meetings have been decided by eight points or fewer. Eastern won the first four games by margins of three, three, eight and 14, and Idaho had won the previous two games by four points apiece. Two of the meetings have come at the Big Sky Tournament.
Press release by Jason Ashcraft, Big Sky Conference communications, and Skyline Sports. Click on scoreline for full box score.
