Dillon Jones Leads Weber State Over Sacramento State 52-49

Weber State took control of Saturday's matchup against Sacramento State with an 12-0 run late in the first half. The Wildcats led for nearly three minutes and never trailed en route to a 52-49 victory.

Dillon Jones led the Wildcats with 18 points, pulling down a missed transition 3-pointer and making up for it with a putback bucket to put his team into an impressive 46-43 advantage with 1:40 remaining.

Dillon Jones led the Wildcats with 18 points.

Weber State's Jones led the Wildcats with 18 points and 12 rebounds in their 73-63 win against Montana State on Thursday. With this win, Weber State (13-12, 8-4 Big Sky Conference) has now won five games in a row and nine of their last 10 contests against Montana State.

With 5:54 left in the second half, MSU held a four-point lead. However, on an 12-0 run that included Great Osobor's layup to put MSU up 53-52 with 6:08 remaining, Jones followed with an acrobatic layup for a 59-52 advantage.

Osobor hit a pair of free throws to make the score 61-54 with 7:40 remaining, but WSU quickly took control of the game and never looked back; neither team scored again for the next four minutes.

With 4:26 remaining, Darius Brown II made a dunk to trim the Wildcats' lead to 18-9. Osobor responded with a field goal and Zahir Porter followed, giving MSU a 30-25 advantage.

MSU still had a chance to tie the game at one with 24 seconds left, but had two empty possessions and needed Weber State to foul in order to stay alive.

Dillon Jones had an outstanding first half, scoring eight of his 12 points and earning himself his fourth double-double of the season. Additionally, he grabbed five rebounds, provided four assists and stole two balls.

He finished 4-for-8 from the field and 2-for-3 from the charity stripe, drawing three fouls in the process. In the first half alone, WSU outscored the Hornets 19-8 on their bench as they shot 56 percent overall but only managed 5 for 18 from the field and 4 for 15 from 3-point range.

After the break, Jones began to find his rhythm as he scored on six of his next seven possessions and hit a 3-pointer for an early nine-point advantage. Jones finished the half with 14 points and 11 rebounds for Weber State.

He has an exciting week ahead, as Weber State travels to Idaho and Sacramento State visits Montana. Additionally, the Wildcats host Portland State in a Big Sky matchup on Saturday night at Reese Court.

Dyson Koehler added 12 points.

On Monday, Dyson Koehler led Weber State to a 52-49 victory against Sacramento State with 12 points. Coming into the contest, he shot an impressive 47.1 percent from the field and earned praise for his aggressive play inside.

After a slow start, the Wildcats used an 8-0 run to pull within three points at 46-43 with 11:55 left in the half. Dillon Jones then hit a triple for an even advantage of 48-46 with 11:55 remaining.

The Aggies rallied, with Daniel Akin making the first field goal of the second half and Steven Ashworth hitting a jumper to make it 47-43 with 12:05 left in regulation. MSU then went on an 11-1 run fueled by Caleb Fuller's first three goals plus treys from Darius Brown II and RaeQuan Battle.

It was a game of seemingly impossible plays that kept coming, yet Montana State held off a Wildcat comeback for the victory. After taking an early 6-4 lead with Fuller's three goals, Montana State tightened their defense and didn't allow any more goals in the opening 16 minutes of play.

In addition to their formidable defensive effort, the Bobcats shot 50 percent from three-point range for the game and held the Wildcats to only 4-of-16 (25%) attempts from beyond the arc. This marked an impressive improvement from last week's performance against Division II Saint Martin's, which marked their worst shooting effort of the season.

Even without much offense, the Wildcats managed to keep the Aggies at six with an 8-0 run that featured tough layups from Great Osobor and Belo. Meanwhile, MSU made some free throws at the other end of the court for a commanding 71-66 lead with 2:35 left in play.

Coach Eric Duft's Wildcats held Cal Poly to just eight second-half points, their lowest total this season. It was the biggest victory of his first year at Weber State and gave him the confidence to take his team on the road for the first time.

Zahir Porter had 10 points.

On Monday night, the Wildcats (2-0) opened up the Big Sky Conference season with a 52-49 victory against Sacramento State. This was their first victory of more than 20 points against an opponent this season.

Jones led Weber State with 18 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in the victory. Steven Verplancken chipped in with 14 points as well.

Weber State had been trailing the Lumberjacks for most of the game, but took control in the second half and never looked back. The Wildcats shot 52 percent from that point forward and made 19 of their 31 free throw attempts.

WSU scored 60 points in the paint despite being held to just 43% shooting from the field, building a commanding lead with strong defensive pressure. Freshman center Handje Tamba played an instrumental role for the Wildcats, pulling down 10 rebounds and making two crucial dunks during the second half.

Porter was a major factor in the victory, scoring 24 points to set a new personal best. He shot 9 of 17 from the field, including 5 of 17 from beyond the arc and 3-4 from the free-throw line.

Porter not only scored points, but he had some incredible finishes at the rim as well. He knocked down some dunks and had other impressive highlight-reel plays as well.

He has demonstrated his versatility this year for the Wildcats, playing both offense and defense with an average of 10.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.25 assists per game. Furthermore, he has shot at least 50% from the field in eight of his 22 games this season.

On January 17, 2020, Zahir Porter set a career high in efficiency during an NCAA game, posting 29 efficiency points in their win against Tarleton State Texans of 94-79.

Weber State earned its second straight bid into the NCAA Tournament with a win against Tarleton State, giving them an excellent start to the season as they aim for their first Big Sky title and national tournament appearance.

On Saturday, the Wildcats (13-12, 8-5) will travel to Montana State. The Bobcats (17-9, 10-3) are currently second in the conference and have won six of their last seven games.

Cameron Wilbon had 9 points.

Dillon Jones led Weber State with 18 points, including the game-winning layup with five seconds remaining in regulation. Dyson Koehler added 12 points as the Wildcats cruised past Sacramento State 52-49 on Saturday.

This game had plenty of drama, including several lead changes and some incredible play by both teams in the closing minutes. But ultimately, the Wildcats came out on top with their best performance of the season: an impressive win!

At the end of the day, it came down to getting enough shots in order to defeat a formidable team. Sacramento State shot 47% from the field and 32% from three-point range while shooting just 30% on this night.

It was a tight game from the start, with both teams struggling early. WSU found its footing after making some big runs in the second. They went on to lead by as many as eight goals late in the second before their long scoring drought in the first had them again behind.

At the end of regulation, the Hornets had outscored Weber State 19-12 in the second half for their first win of the season. They outrebounded WSU 40-36 in second-chance points, but WSU made them pay with an impressive defensive effort.

Cameron Wilbon finished the game with 9 points and four rebounds, as well as tying his career high of three steals.

This year, the sophomore has been an instrumental factor in the Wildcats' success, scoring crucial goals with great energy and effort. Additionally, he has emerged as an essential cog in their defensive rotation as well, limiting opponents to less than a point per possession and keeping several players under two.

Last weekend, He was a major factor in the Wildcats' win against Portland State, contributing 19 points, six rebounds and two blocks. With his strong arm he could potentially break Ryan Davidson's single-game rebound record of 58 that is currently held by the school.

Dalton Knecht of Northern Colorado had 16 points and nine rebounds in their 70-54 victory against Sacramento State on Saturday. Matt Johnson also contributed 16 points while Riley Abercrombie shot 4-of-9 from the field to round out the double-figure scorers for the Bears (11-16, 5-9 Big Sky Conference).