Box Score (LINK)
RENO, Nev. (March 10, 2016) – In the first game of the 2016 Big Sky Conference men’s basketball quarterfinals, No. 1 Weber State held on to defeat No. 8 Portland State 78-74. Weber State will move on to Friday’s semifinals where the Wildcats will face the winner of No. 4 Idaho State and No. 5 North Dakota. Tip-off is set for 5:35 p.m. Pacific.
Ryan Richardson led the Wildcats with 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting including 5-of-7 from behind the arc. In all, five Wildcats starters reached double figures.
Portland State had four players in double-digits with Cameron Forte leading the way with 25 points and seven rebounds. De’Sean Parsons came off the bench to score 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
Portland State mounted a furious comeback in the second half and took its first lead of the game with just over eight minutes left in regulation. However, Weber State managed to regain the lead for good on a Jeremy Senglin 3-pointer with 2:58 left in the game.
Weber State led the entire first period and went into the locker room with a 46-37 halftime lead. McKay Cannon was hot from behind the arc for the Wildcats, burying 3-of-4 from long range. He finished the first period with 11 points.
Forte posted 15 first-half points on 7-of-12 from the field. Rebounding was pretty even between the two teams in the first half with WSU holding a 17-14 edge on the boards in the first frame.