Lights Out Shooting Leads Weber State To First-Round Win Over Sacramento State
Mar 8, 2025, 7:35 PM | Updated: 7:36 pm
(Photo courtesy of Weber State Athletics)
(Photo courtesy of Weber State Athletics)
BOISE, Idaho – Weber State Basketball held off multiple Sacramento State advances as the Wildcats defeated the Hornets, 83-70, to advance to the second round of the Big Sky Championship.
Viljami Vartiainen and Blaise Threatt led the way for Weber State with 30 and 24 points respectively. As a team, the ‘Cats shot 56.6 percent from the field and 50 percent from three.
With the win, Weber State will take on the No. 1 Northern Colorado Bears on Sunday, March 9, at 5:30 p.m. (MT). The Wildcats and Bears last faced off on March 3. Northern Colorado escaped with a five-point win on the road.
First Half
We’ve reached the part of the college basketball calendar where for some teams, their season is on the line with every game played.
The Wildcats clearly knew this. They came out of the gates with energy and looked like they could blow the game open from very early on.
Led by an early 12 points from Vartiainen, Weber State jumped out to a 16-6 lead.
Viljami is 🔥🔥🔥
It’s a 12-0 Wildcat run! pic.twitter.com/zCPkBRNYQg
— Weber State Men’s Basketball (@WeberStateMBB) March 9, 2025
For much of the first half following the early run, it was a story of Hornet strikes and Wildcat responses.
For five minutes, the lowest the Weber State lead dropped to was seven.
Sacramento State finally found its legs as the midway point of the half came and went. They went on a 14-3 run to take their first lead since the opening minutes.
The Wildcats took the advantage back in less than two minutes and didnt look back on their way to a four-point halftime lead. The Hornets shot better from the field and from three but losing the turnover battle proved too much to overcome with better efficiency.
Wildcats on top at the break.
Viljami Vartiainen with 19 first half points and 5 3-pointers! pic.twitter.com/NvfSlnOger
— Weber State Men’s Basketball (@WeberStateMBB) March 9, 2025
Second Half
The tone was set very soon after the break as the second half opened with two straight minutes of no buckets and smothering defense.
The next seven minutes were ironically quite different from the first two. Once again, Weber State and Sacramento State traded makes and misses with no substantial lead able to be built.
Fortunately for the Wildcats, they remained in control during this period.
Big 3⃣Blaise Threatt!
‘Cats lead 53-47 pic.twitter.com/fLKMqrfBjq
— Weber State Men’s Basketball (@WeberStateMBB) March 9, 2025
With 10 minutes left in regulation, Weber State led by eight, 59-51.
This would prove to be the lowest deficit Sacramento State saw down the stretch of the first-round game.
Vartiainen and Threatt turned up the heat at the perfect time. The Hornets had no answer for the guard duo as they combined for a ridiculous 56 points on almost 65 percent shooting. 15 of those points came in the final 10 minutes.
A strong second half led to no questions about the outcome as Weber State defeated Sacramento State,
Big Sky Basketball’s Starch Madness
The 2025 Big Sky Basketball Championships take place from March 8 to 12 at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho, with the winner receiving an automatic ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
The tournament consists of four rounds leading up to the championship game which will be played on Wednesday, March 12, at 9:30 p.m. (MT).
