A night after the top three teams on the women’s side of the Big Sky Conference all lost with the league tournament on the horizon, Weber State took care of business to secure the outright men’s regular-season championship.
Earlier Saturday, Montana fell victim to an upset at the hands of Northern Colorado. The Bears moved to 7-11 in Big Sky play and secured the No. 9 seed by making 20-of-22 second-half free throws and 29-of-32 overall at the stripe in a 78-72 win in Missoula. The defeat dropped Montana, the defending regular-season champions, to 14-4 in league play, giving Weber the title.
But the Wildcats still went out with a win, securing the fifth regular-season championship in Randy Rahe’s 10 years at the helm. Senior center Joel Bolomboy, a front-runner for Big Sky MVP, turned in another star performance, scoring 26 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and hitting two 3-pointers, including the go-ahead 3 with 19 seconds to play to seal the victory.
Montana will take the second seed into the tournament. The Griz (14-4, 19-10) will play the winner of Montana State and Sacramento State at 5:35 p.m. on Thursday. Montana State posted an 89-82 win over North Dakota to secure the seventh seed. Sacramento State won 64-51 over Northern Arizona at home to lock in the No. 10 spot.
Idaho secured its first 20-win season since 1993 with an 82-68 win over Idaho State. The Vandals finished 12-6 in league and will take the third seed into the tournament. ISU, a team that won just four league games a season ago, will take the No. 4 seed into the tournament despite the loss. The Bengals finished 11-7 in league play this season behind top newcomer Ethan Telfair’s standout play.
The Weber victory secures the top seed in the Big Sky Tournament in Reno next week for the Wildcats, who also earn at least an automatic berth to the Men’s National Invitational Tournament. The winner of the BSC Tourney earns the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
WSU will play the winner of UNC and Portland State, an 88-86 winner over Southern Utah on Saturday. PSU senior Cameron Forte scored 25 points as the Vikings wrapped up the No. 8 seed. The loss drops Southern Utah to 3-15 in league; the Thunderbirds will take the No. 12 seed into the tournament.
UNC and PSU open up the men’s tournament with a 12:05 p.m. tip on Tuesday afternoon. Fifth-seeded UND takes on No. 12 SUU at 2:35 p.m. in the second game of the first men’s session.
The loss to Weber drops Eastern Washington to 10-8 in league. The defending tournament champions are on a four-game losing streak, including dropping two at home after 10 straight home wins. EWU takes the No. 6 seed into the tournament. The Eagles play No. 11 NAU at 8:05 p.m. on Tuesday.
ISU will play the winner of North Dakota and Southern Utah at 2:35 p.m. on Thursday. Idaho will play the winner of Eastern and NAU in the nightcap at 8:05 p.m. on Thursday.
The tournament will take place at the Reno Events Center, a 7,000-seat multi-purpose arena located downtown and constructed in 2005.
Big Sky men’s basketball schedule
Tuesday March 8
Game 1 — No. 8 Portland State vs. No. 9 Northern Colorado, 12:05 p.m.
Game 2 — No. 5 North Dakota vs. No. 12 Southern Utah, 2:35 p.m.
Game 3 — No. 7 Montana State vs. No. 10 Sacramento State, 5:35 p.m.
Game 4 — No. 6 Eastern Washington vs. No. 11 Northern Arizona, 8:05
Thursday March 10
Game 5 — No. 1 Weber State vs. winner of PSU-UNC, 12:05 p.m.
Game 6 —No. 4 Idaho State vs. winner of UND-SUU, 2:35 p.m.
Game 7 — No. 2 Montana vs. winner of MSU-Sacramento State, 5:35 p.m.
Game 8 — No. 3 Idaho vs. winner of EWU-NAU, 8:05 p.m.
Final Men’s basketball standings
Weber State 15-3 23-8
Montana 14-4 19-10
Idaho 12-6 20-11
Idaho State 11-7 16-14
Eastern Washington 10-8 16-14
North Dakota 10-8 15-14
Montana State 9-9 14-16
Portland State 8-10 12-17
Northern Colorado 7-11 10-20
Sacramento State 6-12 13-16
Northern Arizona 3-15 5-24
Southern Utah 3-15 5-23
