Freshman leads Montana past Idaho State

Freshman Bobby Moorehead hit 8 of 11 from 3-point range for 24 points and Walter Wright scored 29 on 10-of-17 shooting – all career highs – to help Montana cruise to a 90-77 win over Idaho State on Thursday night in Pocatello, Idaho.

Martin Breunig added 14 points and 10 rebounds for Montana.

The Grizzlies shot 55 percent, including 8 of 13 from 3-point range, and scored 14 points off 10 Idaho State turnovers in the first half to take a 43-34 lead into the break.

A pair of free throws by Geno Luzcando pulled the Bengals within four with 11:45 to play, but Moorehead hit three 3s and Breunig scored six over the next four minutes as Montana pushed its lead to 71-58.

Idaho State trailed by at least seven the rest of the way.

Ethan Telfair led the Bengals with 30 points. Luzcando added 17.

Weber State 68, Montana State 60: Jeremy Senglin scored 17 points and Kyndahl Hill had 14 of his 16 in the second half to lead the Wildcats ovr the Bobcats in Ogden, Utah.

The Wildcats overcame the absence of leading scorer and the nation’s No. 2 rebounder Joel Bolomboy (17.6, 13.0) – out indefinitely with a knee injury – to remain tied with Montana atop the Big Sky Conference standings.

Zach Braxton added 14 points for Weber State, which trailed 34-30 at the half. But the Wildcats responded to shoot 62.5 percent (15 of 24) in the second half despite going 1 of 7 from 3-point range.

Tyler Hall led Montana State with 22 points and Marcus Colbert had 17.

The Wildcats outscored Montana State 42-24 in the paint.

Northern Colorado 72, Sacramento State 67: Jeremy Verhagen and Jordan Wilson drilled two straight 3-pointers in the final 80 seconds to give the Bears just enough to hold off the Hornets in Greeley, Colorado.

Trailing 63-62, Verhagen hit a trey to take a 65-63 lead. Wilson nailed his with 39 seconds left and the Bears made four free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

Jordan Davis led Northern Colorado with 15 points. Verhagen, Anthony Johnson and Dallas Anglin had 11 points apiece for the Bears, who stopped a five-game losing skid.

Sacramento State was up 42-36 at the break. Northern Colorado made 24 of 31 free throws while the Hornets were 12 of 15.

Cody Demps was 6 of 8 from the floor for 18 points and Marcus Graves added 12 for Sacramento State.

North Dakota 80, Portland State 77: Quinton Hooker set a career high and program record at the Division I level with 38 points in helping the Fighting Hawks edge the Vikings in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Hooker also passed 1,000 points for his career and made both free throws with 9.4 seconds left to cap the scoring for the Fighting Hawks.

Donivine Stewart missed an attempt to tie from 3-point range in the final seconds for Portland State.

Adam McDermott’s pair of free throws gave North Dakota the lead for good at 72-70 although the Fighting Hawks led by no more than four from there.

Hooker was 15 of 20 from the field and 3 of 6 from 3-point range to go with five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Cameron Forte led the Vikings with 24 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three steals. De’Sean Parsons added 18 points.