A Near Miss

The Vikings season came to a heartbreaking end Tuesday in Ogden, Utah. On their home floor, the top-ranked Weber State Wildcats squeaked by in a game mostly dominated by the Portland State Vikings, 77-74.

For the Vikings, it was the end of an adrenaline-induced run that left them just steps away from the NCAA tournament.

Down only 75-74 with 20 seconds remaining, junior forward Deonte Huff wrestled a defensive rebound away from the Wildcats and charged up-court. Huff told The Oregonian he was “sure we were going to win at that point.”

It was one-on-one with the game on the line.

Huff took the ball to Weber State guard Juan Pablo Silveira and created contact. Silveria managed to get a hand on the ball, the two tumbled to the floor and Huff’s shot was off. There was no whistle, a call that Ken Bone agreed with.

Weber State recovered the rebound and Portland State quickly fouled.

Silveria went to the line and sunk both free throws. The Vikings got the ball back, down 77-74 with 3.8 seconds left, but were unable to get a three-point shot off in time.

And that was it-the end of a three-game winning streak, and the end of NCAA tournament dreams.

The day after eliminating the Vikings, Weber State knocked off the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in the tournament finale, 88-80.

While Weber’s victory may lessen the sting, there’s bound to be residual pain from the loss for the dejected Vikings. All season long Vikings players explained that their ultimate goal was to participate in the NCAA tournament; and that anything less would be a disappointment.

Certainly it must be, as the Vikings had the ball with a chance to tie and then go ahead in the final seconds. On top of that the Vikings hit only 10 of their 17 free throws. So when they look back, the players may well feel they let a very winnable game go.

Deonte Huff finished with game-highs of 20 points and nine rebounds respectively. Continuing his prolific output off the bench, Huff hit seven of his 11 field goal attempts, including two of four from three-point range.

Senior forward Juma Kamara hit all four of his three-point tries to finish with 14. Junior center Scott Morrison chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds while foul trouble limited the minutes of junior guard Dupree Lucas. He eventually fouled out with 10 points in just 23 minutes of action.

Portland State hit 9-18 three-point attempts and shot 51.9 percent from the field to Weber State’s 40 percent. The Wildcats made up the differential with an abundance of free throws. Weber State shot 20 more free throws than Portland State.

The Vikings played Weber State extremely well on defense. Big Sky MVP David Patten hit only three of his 12 attempts from the field, however converting eight of his 12 free throw attempts to finish with 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Junior guard Dezmon Harris led the Wildcats with 15 points.

Although the Vikings won’t be around for March Madness, the possibility remains that they could be chosen to represent the school in the National Invitation Tournament. A prolonged run there might allow the deserving Viking players an opportunity to look back on this season with reverence. NIT selections are to be announced March 11.