Weber State basketball: Wildcat men can’t erase early deficit in loss to North Dakota State
WSU women also see big rally fall short at North Dakota
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- Weber State guard Blaise Threatt (0) drives between North Dakota State’s Noah Feddersen (34) and Luke Kasubke on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State center Vasilije Vucinic, right, shoots against North Dakota State on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State center Alex Tew (20) shoots against North Dakota State’s Noah Feddersen on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State forward Nigel Burris, front, drives past North Dakota State’s Noah Feddersen on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State guard Blaise Threatt (0) explores the paint against North Dakota State on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State players Viljami Vartiainen (8), Nigel Burris (5), Saadiq Moore (11) and Trevor Hennig (6) huddle during a game against North Dakota State on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
OGDEN — Nobody takes more 3s than North Dakota State in Division I men’s basketball and, at a good clip, the Bison are tough to slow down.
Weber State knew, but it didn’t matter. The Wildcats won the final 33 minutes of Wednesday’s contest 69-53, but the first seven minutes were fatal.
North Dakota State shot 6 of 9 from distance to open the game, good for a 24-4 lead, and held off a Weber State charge for a 77-73 win in the Dee Events Center on Day 1 of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge.
“We put ourselves in a hole straight away and, I think tonight, I take responsibility for that. I wasn’t ready to play in the first couple of minutes,” said senior Alex Tew, typically a plus defender at the center spot. “I switched a couple times and my guy located to the corner, made a couple. I’ll take responsibility for it tonight.
“Each player (can) take responsibility for our own mistakes … and put in a better performance because those first minutes just set the tone for everything.”
Skilled forward Jacksen Moni (22 points) and veteran guard Jacari White (20) were as advertised for the Bison. The duo, with Tajavis Miller (13 points) helped NDSU shoot 10 of 19 from the 3-point line in the first half — though Weber State, who committed just three turnovers all night, cut it to 42-34 at the break.
But the Bison (6-4) hit three 3s in the first three minutes of the second half to hold off WSU’s effort to keep closing the gap.
“They move off the ball really well, and that kind of messed us up — not only on one, but a couple occasions,” sophomore guard Viljami Vartianen said.
Still, Vartiainen (plus nine in plus-minus margin) joined with freshmen Saadiq Moore (plus five) and Trevor Hennig (plus three) in a bench unit that played tough defense and was key in clawing back.
Weber State (4-5) held the margin around 10 points until Tew scored consecutive baskets in the post and Vartiainen drained his third 3 to make it 65-62, then his fourth triple for a 69-66 margin with 3:15 left.
“We have a group that’s very together,” Tew said. “There’s not been one time our team separated … it’s all about our effort and energy and eventually we’ll come back into it.”
Weber couldn’t find enough buckets, however, and NDSU shot 8 of 10 at the free-throw line from there. That, and a play where Dyson Koehler forced an NDSU dribble out of bounds with 1:50 left but it was miscalled (video showed Koehler did not touch it last, and the reviewable play was not reviewed), combined to keep WSU from completing the comeback.
Vartiainen led Weber with 18 points. Tew totaled 12 points and grabbed four offensive rebounds, while Blaise Threatt, on 4-of-15 shooting, totaled 10 points, five rebounds and six assists. Nigel Burris added nine points and six rebounds.
Weber State travels to North Dakota on Saturday for the final leg of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge. The Summit League leads the challenge 6-5 in a point system that awards 1.5 points for road wins and one for a home win.
NORTH DAKOTA 73, WEBER STATE 69
In a similar scenario as the men’s team, Weber State women’s basketball was on the wrong end of 11 first-half 3-pointers at North Dakota and the Wildcats’ second-half comeback fell short, helping the Fighting Hawks end a five-game losing streak.
North Dakota (3-5) led 46-31 at halftime before Weber State (2-5), who hadn’t played a game in 10 days, roared back with Antoniette Emma-Nnopu scoring in the post. Emma-Nnopu scored 13 of her 20 points in the second half, and totaled 10 rebounds, to lead WSU.
Dakota Nap made a 3 and Taylor Smith scored in the paint to make it 70-67 with 1:38 left. But the Wildcats missed all five of their field goal attempts in the final minute. Both teams made 25 field goals but North Dakota outshot WSU 14-6 from behind the arc.
Smith totaled 12 points, Kendra Parra had 11 and Rose Bubakar pitched in four points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Since WSU only drew one Big Sky-Summit Challenge game, the Wildcats have another nine days off before a game at Seattle on Dec. 14.
