Ibu Yamazaki hit one of his five 3-pointers to put Northern Colorado up 27-15 with 8:20 left in the first half and the Bears led by double digits for the rest of the night, minus the 42-33 halftime margin that lasted for about 1 minute of game time.

Otherwise, anytime the Wildcats would seem to start any kind of run, trailing by as many as 19 but getting the margin to 10 four different times in the second half, Northern Colorado would either get big guard Quinn Denker posting up or move the ball to get an open 3.

Yamazaki went 5 of 6 from behind the arc and the Bears, who managed only a 1-of-14 performance one month ago in a home loss to Weber State, were 11 of 24 from deep on Thursday.

Weber State played its fifth game without junior guard Jace Whiting and its third straight without sophomore guard Trevor Hennig, the latter flattened the most by whatever virus is making its way through basketball teams, school classes and more right now.

Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics

WSU has lost five of its last six games.

“We’re going through it a little bit. We’ve got guys who are sick and we’re fighting fatigue, and we looked like a fatigued team tonight,” WSU head coach Eric Duft said. “I thought they gave us everything they had. Physically, we’ve got to find a way to get our bodies back and be ready to play.”

Whiting’s above-average abilities in on-ball and team defense are missed; in his five-game absence, WSU opponents average 11 3-pointers per game and are 55 of 115 (47.8%). For contrast, in 17 games with Whiting, WSU allowed 6.6 3-pointers per game on a 29.3% clip.

“Even though we’re missing some guys, I would say we have to be better at just putting that to the side, still finding a way to get it done regardless of who’s out,” WSU senior forward Nigel Burris said.

Tijan Saine Jr. scored 24 points in the loss for Weber State (11-13, 5-6 Big Sky); he leads the league at 21.5 points per game in conference contests. Burris and Vartiainen each added 16 points, with Vartiainen hitting the team’s only two 3-pointers and Burris shooting 6 of 8 from the field, including an emphatic transition poster dunk.

Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics

But a slow offensive start doomed WSU because it couldn’t stop Denker and Northern Colorado (14-10, 4-7) really at any juncture. Denker finished with 31 points and Yamazaki, a Radford transfer, had a career-high 23 points with his career-high five 3s. Denker added nine assists and the Bears shot 35 of 59 from the field with 46 points in the paint.

“No matter the stats I have, it’s just about finding a way to get it done and we didn’t get it done tonight,” Burris said. “There’s other things I could’ve done better. I only had one rebound. It’s looking myself in the mirror and seeing what else I can do to help my team win. That’s what I’m frustrated about, because I know we’re better than this.”

SICK, TIRED, HURT

It’s no secret that Whiting is important to the team.

“We have struggled without him,” Duft said. “He does a lot of things that don’t show up on the stat sheet. But the reality is, he’s not here. There’s certain matchups that are hard for us and I think Northern Colorado is one because they can post those guards and you’ve got to decide if you go double them or not … our young guys were having trouble guarding them.

“We’re missing him but he’s not here, we’ve got to figure it out. And we’ve got to get Trevor back. One more body helps. We’re having to play Tijan (Saine) the whole game … where we were tonight, it was basically seven guys.”

Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics

Duft said the staff hadn’t discussed playing true freshman guard Anthony Moore, as Moore is battling physical ailments himself, and is unsure if Hennig will be ready to play Saturday.

“(Hennig) didn’t look good today; whatever he’s got has been lingering and really, kind of kicking his butt a little bit. So we’ll have to see, and hopefully he wakes up tomorrow and feels better.

“We got some guys some IVs today hoping that would help a little bit. … Kind of a tough time for this virus to hit, not having Jace at the same time and four games in eight days. But it is what it is, we have to work through it. And these guys will; they’re giving us everything they’ve got.”

Six players were told to take mandatory cold baths Thursday night, Duft said.

JONES IN THE HOUSE

For the second straight home game, an NBA alum sat front and center in courtside seats. This time it was second-year pro Dillon Jones, following three recent appearances with the New York Knicks and a pregame workout at the Dee Events Center.

Duft said Jones spoke with the team and also tried to build up Duce Paschal by relating his own struggles as a freshman.

“He said, ‘I love your guys’ process. I thought you stayed together, you stayed committed to each other, I think your process is really good,'” Duft said. “‘Just keep fighting, let’s get your bodies right and be ready to go.’

“I think that’s where it’s at. I don’t think it’s any more than that. We’re just a little slow, and we need to find some energy and some bounce in our step on Saturday.”