MEN’S BASKETBALL’S POSTSEASON HOPES DASHED IN 73-70 LOSS TO WEBER STATE

2/26/2011

Senior Duro Bjegovic scored a career-high 21 points with five three-pointers on Senior Night

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Weber State’s Kyle Bullinger had 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists, and the Wildcats withstood a late second-half rally by Sacramento State on the way to a 73-70 victory over the Hornets in a Big Sky Conference men’s basketball game Saturday evening at the Nest.

The Hornets (7-20, 4-11) stormed back from a 15-point second-half deficit to slice the lead all the way to down to three points with 1:07 remaining, but neither team scored the rest of the way. Sacramento State had two possessions to inch closer, but missed on both attempts including a three-point look by senior Duro Bjegovic with three seconds remaining.

Sacramento State’s loss coupled with Eastern Washington’s overtime victory over Montana eliminated the Hornets from Big Sky Tournament contention. The Eagles, who sit in sixth place in the league standings, improved to 6-9 in conference while the Hornets dropped to 4-11 with just one league game remaining.

Tonight also marked the Hornets’ last home game of the season as the team wraps up play Wednesday at Northern Colorado. Sacramento State won three of its final five home games and finished the year with a 6-7 mark inside the friendly confines.

After entering halftime with a 36-31 lead, Weber State scored on six of its first seven possessions of the second half (three of those possessions resulted in three-pointers) to take a game-high 15-point lead with 16:37 to play. The Hornets, however, refused to go away behind a second half that saw the team bury six of its 11 three-point attempts. One of those three-pointers came from freshman Jackson Carbajal and capped an 18-10 run to get the Hornets within, 58-51, with 11:39 remaining. The Wildcats had a single digit lead the rest of the way.

Both teams exchanged baskets for nearly 10 minutes of game clock before Bullinger’s layup with 1:43 remaining gave the Wildcats a 73-66 lead. Just when the Bullinger layup looked to be the final dagger, Weber State failed to scored the rest of the way while the Hornets scored on their next two possessions to cut the lead to 73-30 with 1:07 to play. Junior Walter Jackson then forced a Lindsey Hughey turnover, and Hornet senior Sultan Toles-Bey raced to the basket for what looked like would be a layup, but the ball hung on the rim and fell out while Bullinger grabbed the rebound.

On their next possession, the Wildcats dribbled the clock down before Bullinger was forced into a travel right as the shot clock expired. That set up Sacramento State’s last possession as the team took the ball out of bounds with 20 seconds left. Weber State’s defense forced the Hornets into a timeout with seven seconds remaining, and Sacramento State set up a play for Bjegovic who split two defenders and pulled up for an off-balance three-point attempt that hit iron and missed. Toles-Bey grabbed the rebound, but he could not race back to the three-point line quick enough to get an attempt off as the final horn sounded.

Weber State, which finished the game shooting 48.2 percent (27-56) from the field and 50.0 percent (10-20) from the three-point line, improved to 17-10 overall and 11-4 in the Big Sky. The third-place Wildcats remain the hottest team in the league, and have now won eight consecutive conference games.

The Hornets outscored the Wildcats, 39-37, in the second half despite Weber State shooting 60.9 percent (14-23) during the final 20 minutes.

Sacramento State shot 43.9 percent (25-57) from the field overall, including 50.0 percent (11-22) from the three-point line. The Hornets had a season-best 20 assists on their 25 made buckets, and the 11 three-pointers tied a season high. A career-high five of those three-pointers came from Bjegovic as the Croatian went 5-of-10 from beyond the arc.

Bjegovic finished with a career-high 21 points, including six rebounds, two assists and a steal in 36 minutes of play. Fellow senior Toles-Bey had 17 points (6-of-11 shooting, 3-of-5 from distance) and a career-high 10 assists while playing all but one minute. Jackson (4-of-7 shooting from the field) rounded out the Hornet trio in double figures as the swingman finished with 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Sophomore John Dickson added nine points and five rebounds, Carbajal had eight points and junior Alpha N’Diaye had a team-best seven rebounds.

Bullinger led four Weber State players in double figures, including Scott Bamforth (17 points, 5-of-8 from distance), Hughey (15 points, eight rebounds) and Byron Fulton (14 points, five rebounds). Five different Wildcats connected on at least one three-pointer.

Both teams played just eight players during the game, and both squads finished with 33 rebounds.

Hornet seniors Bjegovic and Toles-Bey were playing in their final home game, and were honored prior to the game for their contributions to the program.