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Weber State guard Miguel Tomley (3) shoots over the outstretched arm of Montana's Te'Jon Sawyer (32) on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Freddie Lacey, for WSU Athletics

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Weber State's Dyson Koehler, left, scoops a shot past Montana's Kai Johnson (1) on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Freddie Lacey, for WSU Athletics

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Weber State's Viljami Vartiainen (8) drives the basketball against Montana's Kai Johnson (1) on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Freddie Lacey, for WSU Athletics

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OGDEN — A few of many fascinating individual matchups between Weber State and Montana never came to fruition Thursday night in a men’s basketball game at the Dee Events Center.

Just when WSU was looking healthy again, another cruel twist.

With starting point guard Blaise Threatt sidelined with an illness significant enough to keep him off the floor, the Wildcats needed more from several others to make up for a player who entered the day No. 3 in scoring (16.9 points per game) and No. 1 in steals (2.4 per game) in the Big Sky.

For 37 minutes, the Wildcats got more. For the final 3 minutes, Montana made all the plays and WSU crumbled; the Griz claimed a 63-59 victory.

“You can’t hang your head but, I mean, we’re not into moral victories,” WSU head coach Eric Duft said. “Our guys, they were short-handed, they played hard … we can go home, be kind of pissed off about the result tonight, then we come to practice tomorrow … and be ready to play.”

Malik Moore and Te’Jon Sawyer did the final lifting. Seconds after Miguel Tomley gave Weber State a lead on a floater with 43 seconds left, Moore swished a contested, stepback 3 to get the Griz ahead 61-59.

Without Threatt, Tomley had the ball in his hands but lost the handle and the ball leaked to midcourt. After taking significant contact from Brandon Whitney, Tomley fumbled again and the ball trickled all the way back to Montana’s foul line. Tomley gained possession there and tried to flip the ball ahead, but it went straight to Sawyer. It was Tomley’s fifth turnover out of his team’s 11.

Sawyer took a foul and calmly drained two free throws with five seconds left to seal the game.

Moore scored a game-high 18 points for Montana (11-7, 4-1 Big Sky), claiming two of his team’s five 3-point makes. Sawyer added 17 points and seven rebounds while blocking two shots. Joe Pridgen pulled down 10 rebounds.

Tomley led Weber State (7-11, 1-3) with 16 points, adding six rebounds. Vasilije Vucinic had 13 points and nine rebounds. Dyson Koehler added 10 points. Nigel Burris totaled seven points, four rebounds and two blocks. Freshman Saadiq Moore, starting for Threatt, had four assists and three steals.

WSU next hosts Montana State at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Alex Tew, with a 5-inch advantage on Montana forward Pridgen, got just one true post touch in the contest. It came early in the second half; he scored, giving WSU a 36-31 lead.

Burris was the next to step up, hitting a 3 and converting a drive following his second chase-down block of the game, making it 41-37. Then it was Trevor Hennig, making a 3-pointer and scoring on a cutting dish from Vucinic to put WSU ahead 46-45.

Then it was Viljami Vartiainen knocking in a straightaway 3 for a 49-45 lead, and a Tomley stepback jumper gave WSU its largest lead since 13-5, a 53-47 advantage with 6:25 left. Saadiq Moore got his big bucket, too, a tough drive scored over the strong Sawyer at the rim for a 55-50 lead.

Pridgen stepped up for Montana, scoring on a driving reverse and putting in a rebound bucket.

Sawyer and Vucinic traded two free throws and the lead. Malik Moore rose for a jumper but dumped it late to a cutting Sawyer, who dunked home a thunderous slam for a 58-57 advantage. Tomley answered with his floater and a Weber lead, but those were WSU’s final points.

WSU’s strong defensive effort (Montana averages 76 points per game) was undone late on turnovers and, Koehler said, rebounding. Montana outdid Weber 11-7 on the offensive glass and 10-5 in second-chance points; Montana had eight offensive boards for eight points in the second half.

“We just can’t do that,” Koehler said. “We just need to do the little things, box our guys out and grab the rebounds. I have to step up in that as well.”

Weber State led for 29 minutes to Montana’s 8.

Koehler opened the contest by continuing his hot shooting in conference games, making two of his first three 3-pointers to get Weber State to a 13-5 lead.

The Griz, carried early by Malik Moore, slowly chipped away at a cold start until Whitney roped in a line-drive 3 to give Montana its first lead of the game at 23-20.

A transition dunk from Pridgen and a Money Williams drive, his only field goal, pushed Montana to a 29-22 lead with 3:33 left in the first half — an extended 24-9 run over 9 minutes of game time.

A stroke of luck is better than nothing, and Tomley got one by banking in an offline 3 from the left wing to break WSU’s struggles. He swished in another, then Vucinic made a pair of free throws to return Weber to the lead.

The Wildcats ended the half with a bang when Burris slammed a Whitney drive attempt off the glass and Tomley capped a 10-0 run with a paint floater, giving WSU a 32-29 halftime lead.

MONTANA 74, WEBER STATE 70

Torrid shooting had Weber State women within one at halftime but Montana took the third quarter 19-9 and that was all the difference, helping the Griz old off the visiting Wildcats with assistant Nate Harris leading Montana after head coach Brian Holsinger was announced as on leave earlier Thursday.

Trailing late, Weber got a 3-pointer from Dakota Nap and a Rose Bubakar steal and layup made it 73-70 with 42 seconds left. UM missed two free throws but WSU couldn’t cash in, and the Griz held on.

Weber State shot 8 of 13 from the 3-point line in the first half. That included four makes from Lanae Billy in the first quarter and a buzzer-beating runner from Kendra Parra to make it 41-40 at the half.

WSU finished 10 of 21 from distance. Montana made 11 in 35 attempts, but scored 17 two-pointers to Weber’s 12.

Parra led WSU (5-9, 2-2 Big Sky) with 19 points and six assists. Billy had 15 points, and Taylor Smith added 13 points and eight rebounds. Antoniette Emma-Nnopu grabbed 12 rebounds.

Tyler McCliment-Call led Montana (6-10, 2-3) with 18 points. Avery Waddington added 13.

WSU next plays Saturday at Montana State.