WSU loses heartbreaker to Montana

While the Weber State University Men’s Basketball Team seemed to have the Big Sky Conference Championship in hand, the University of Montana had other plans. After only scoring eight points in the first half, senior Anthony Johnson scored 36 points in the second half to fuel his team to erase a 20-point halftime lead to defeat the Wildcats 66-65.

With just over 50 seconds left in the second half, the Grizzlies took their first lead of the game. The lead that was short-lived, though, as sophomore Damian Lillard was fouled and made both free throws to give WSU a 65-64. The Wildcats came up with the steal on the next possession, and junior Franklin Session was fouled. With an opportunity to give WSU a three-point lead, Session missed both free throws and UM grabbed the rebound. On the other end of the floor, Johnson shot a contested jumper that hit nothing but net, putting UM up 66-65.The Big Sky Conference Championship and a chance to dance were on the line for the Wildcats with only 10.4 seconds left to score. Head Coach Randy Rahe took one timeout, and then another, as WSU was unable to inbound the ball. When the ball was finally inbounded, Lillard managed to get to half-court, but lost the ball and a jump ball was called with the possession arrow pointing in favor of the Grizzlies.

WSU was forced to foul as soon as UM got the ball inbounds. The Grizzlies missed their two free throws, but with only 2.1 seconds to score, the best shot WSU could get was a three-quarter court shot by forward Kyle Bullinger that didn’t make it near the backboard.

With the win, UM earned a spot in the NCAA Division I tournament. WSU, the regular season champions, will receive a berth in the NIT tournament.

Be sure to check Friday’s issue of The Signpost for post-game analysis, as well as player and coach reactions.