Weber State Outlasts Northern Arizona In Overtime For Season Finale Win

Feb 27, 2023, 8:33 PM | Updated: Feb 28, 2023, 10:46 am

Sports Producer & Locals in the NFL Insider

SALT LAKE CITY – The Weber State men’s basketball team withstood a game-tying three-pointer in regulation and five overtime minutes to beat the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in the Wildcats’ regular season finale.

The Lumberjacks hosted the Wildcats at J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Arizona on Monday, February 26.

Weber State defeated NAU in overtime, 90-89.

Closing out the regular season with a wild dub!

'Cats win in OT!

On to the Big Sky Tournament!#WeAreWeber pic.twitter.com/HOyu2NgCrC

— Weber State MBB 🏀 (@WeberStateMBB) February 28, 2023

With six seconds remaining in the second half, Steven Verplancken Jr. knocked down a pair of free throws to stretch Weber State’s lead to three points. As time expired on the game clock, Liam Lloyd buried a buzzer-beating three-pointer to tie the game at 76-76 and extend the contest by five minutes.

TIE. GAME. 😱@NAUBasketball ties up the contest and we'll have five more minutes in Flagstaff 🪓#ExperienceElevated🏔️ pic.twitter.com/TkWeK2Fg0F

— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) February 28, 2023

The Wildcats opened overtime on a 5-0 before the Lumberjacks responded. Northern Arizona took the lead with less than a minute to play but Weber State’s Dillon Jones completed a three-point play and Verplancken Jr. sank two more free throws to give the Wildcats a four-point advantage with nine seconds to go. Jalen Cone recorded a three-point play with four seconds left but after an NAU steal, he was unable to make a potential game-winning three for the Lumberjacks as time expired.

Weber State finished the evening shooting 56.1 percent overall and 48.0 percent from beyond the arc. NAU shot 41.6 percent from the field, including 35.0 percent from three.

Four Wildcats scored in double figures.

Jones and Verplancken Jr. combined to score 50 points on 17-25 field goals. Jones recorded a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Verplancken Jr. had a team-high 26 points. Zahir Porter poured in 15 points off the bench.

DJ AND ONE! pic.twitter.com/uoKRmVjWPc

— Weber State MBB 🏀 (@WeberStateMBB) February 28, 2023

Five players hit double-digits in scoring for Northern Arizona.

Cone led the Lumberjacks with a game-high 29 points.

With the win, the Wildcats improved to a 17-14 record this season, including 112-6 in Big Sky league games. Weber State swept the season series with NAU.