The Stott Center hosted a full crowd for Thursday night’s matchup between the Portland State Vikings and the Weber State Wildcats. Coming off a conference win against Montana State, the Vikings sought back-to-back victories against the Big Sky powerhouse. The Wildcats entered the game ranked first in the Big Sky conference and undefeated in conference play.
Both teams shored up solid defense in an intense first half. The Wildcats had the size advantage, but the Vikings kept up with their physicality. Weber State came out of the first half with momentum as guard McKay Cannon hit a 3-point shot at the buzzer to bring the score to 29-36 Wildcats.
Weber State started strong in the second half, playing with more intensity than PSU.
“The first three minutes of the second half we didn’t get any stops,” said Viking forward, Isaiah Pineiro.
The Wildcats extended their lead over PSU by a margin of 20 points during the second half. PSU continued to show resolve, but couldn’t catch the Wildcats, falling by a final score of 58-73.
Weber State forward Joel Bolomboy led all scorers with 22 points (10-22 FG), 13 rebounds and one assist. Guard Jeremy Senglin also had a big game with 21 points including five three-pointers (8-14 FG), five rebounds and two assists.
For the Vikings, forward Cameron Forte led the team in scoring with 18 points (9-13 FG), seven rebounds and three assists. Pineiro finished with 11 points (4-10 FG) and seven rebounds.
Weber State jumped to a 12-5 record heading into a matchup against Big Sky foe Sacramento State. PSU fell to 6-9 on the season before another home game on Saturday, Jan. 16 against Idaho State.
