Big Sky roundup: Weber State wins battle of big men to down Montana

OGDEN -- Big man Martin Breunig showed why he was expected to be an impact player in the Big Sky, netting 31 points on 14-of-18 shooting. But the performance wasn't enough, as his Montana Grizzlies fell to the Weber State Wildcats, 68-60, Thursday night at the Dee Events Center.

The rest of the Griz shot a paltry 10-of-37 from the floor.

"He's one of the best big guys in the league," Weber State coach Randy Rahe said of the transfer from Washington. "What they've got going is a litle bit of a two-headed snake, Jordan Gregory and Breunig. We talked about we have to cut the head off the snake to have a chance. It's hard to.

"Breunig is a hard guard. He's inside, he's outside, he rebounds the ball well. He's just a really hard guard."

The other part of the snake for Montana (5-8, 2-1 Big Sky), the senior guard Gregory, scored 13 points on just 4-of-18 shooting.

"I thought we did a really good job on Jordan Gregory, who's a tough, hard-nosed competitive kid, good player."

In the first half for Weber State (6-8, 1-2 Big Sky), Joel Bolomboy went tit-for-tat with Breunig, scoring 14 points and nabbing seven rebounds to help Weber to a 30-23 lead.

Weber extended the lead to 51-32 with 9:29 remaining on a three-pointer from Kyndahl Hill, but Montana would chip away with the help of a full-court press that sent the Wildcats scrambling.

Compounding matters was that Bolomboy, Richaud Gittens, and Ryan Richardson each carried four fouls at about the same point in the game.

A backcourt steal from Mario Dunn led to a layup, foul, and made free throw which brought the Grizzlies within seven at 56-49 with 5:40 left.

With Montana still scrapping, Rahe ran a set for Jeremy Senglin, who ran through a baseline screen and to the top of the key, where he buried a three-pointer to ice the game and give Weber a 63-52 lead with 1:54 left.

Senglin and Bolomboy each netted 16 points for Weber, with Richardson adding 10 off the bench in just 14 minutes.

Montana goes north to visit Idaho State (4-11, 1-2) Saturday, while Weber hosts Montana State (3-12, 0-3).

SACRAMENTO STATE 63, NORTH DAKOTA 61

The Hornets of Sac State stayed unbeaten in Big Sky play (9-5, 3-0) as Mikh McKinney hit the game-winner with three seconds left to earn a road win at North Dakota (5-9, 1-2). McKinney finished with 13, but the Hornets were led by Zach Mills' 17 on 7-of-9 shooting.

NORTHERN COLORADO 90, PORTLAND STATE 85

Northern Colorado improved to 7-7 overall and 2-1 in the Big Sky thanks to 22 points from Cameron Michael. Portland State (7-6, 1-2) got 19 apiece from DaShaun Wiggins and Gary Winston.

IDAHO STATE 70, MONTANA STATE 61

Idaho State (4-11, 1-2) rallied on its home floor after Chris Hansen scored 12 of the Bengals' final 16 points, overcoming a 19-point deficit. Hansen led all scorers with 26. Montana State (3-12, 0-3) got 17 from Michael Dison.