Viking men lose 77-74 in Big Sky tournament

A year after Weber State failed to make the Big Sky Conference tournament, the Wildcats reached the championship game, with a 77-74 win over Portland State on Tuesday.

Juan Pablo Silveira sealed the semifinal victory for the top-seeded Wildcats (19-11, 12-5), making two free throws with 3.8 seconds to go.

The Wildcats play Northern Arizona in the championship game Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Conference MVP David Patten was one of five Weber State players to reach double-figures. He and Daviin Davis led the Wildcats with 14 points each, one behind teammate Dezmon Harris team-high 15.

Deonte Huff led Portland State, the fourth seed in the tournament, with 20 points.

The Vikings (19-13, 9-8) regained possession after Silveiras free throws, but they failed to get the ball upcourt in time to take the potentially game-tying three-pointer.

The Wildcats used a 13-2 run, spurred by Harris and Davis, late in the game to cut into a Portland State lead after they failed to make a field goal through the first five minutes of the second half. They did the same in the first, scoring just six points through the first five minutes of the game, but came back to take a 37-36 lead into the half.