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Around the Big Sky: Basketball Season Gets Rolling

By Beacon Staff

A recap of recent basketball news in the Big Sky Conference from Assistant Commissioner Jon Kasper:

Wildcats Win at Dayton: Weber State picked up one of the biggest non-conference wins of the Randy Rahe era last Wednesday night, stunning Dayton 62-61. Dayton of the Atlantic-10 Conference entered the game with an RPI of 26. Dayton was 90-15 at home over the past six seasons. A crowd of 12,176 watched the Wildcats earn their first road win of the season. It was the 205th straight game at Dayton with a crowd of at least 11,000. WSU trailed 25-20 at the half, but went on a 13-0 run early in the second half to take a 33-27 lead. Kyle Tresnak led Weber State with 16 points and seven rebounds. Scott Bamforth had 15 points and hit three 3-pointers. True freshman Joel Bolomboy had seven points and 10 rebounds.

Successful Debut: Northern Arizona won its home opener under first-year coach Jack Murphy, beating Sam Houston State 77-60 on Saturday. Northern Arizona made its return to the Walkup Skydome. The Lumberjacks played all of their home games at the Rolle Activity Center the past two seasons. There was a crowd of 1,807, the largest for a season opener since at least 1998. Northern Arizona has three Division I victories this season. NAU did not win its third Division I game until Dec. 29 last season. NAU needs just two more wins to match its win total from last season. Former Arizona coach Lute Olson attended the game.

NAU’S Russell for Real: Northern Arizona true freshman is tied for eighth in the country among freshmen at 16.3 points per game. Russell has scored in double figures in all seven of his games, including 22 points in the win over Sam Houston State. Russell ranks second in the Big Sky in scoring. He scored a career-high 25 points in a win earlier this year over UC Davis. Russell also scored 13 points last week in a loss to No. 9 Arizona.

Top Scoring Freshmen in Division I
1. Anthony Bennett, UNLV, 18.8
2. Jahii Carson, Arizona State, 18.0
3. Jordan Adams, UCLA, 17.8
4. Jordan Reed, Binghamton, 17.5
5. Shawn Long, La-Lafayette, 16.9
6. James Woodar, Tulsa, 16.9
7. Archie Goodwin, Kentucky, 16.4
8. DeWayne Russell, Northern Ariz., 16.3
8. John Brown, High Point, 16.3

Jois Among Top Frosh Rebounders: Eastern Washington true freshman Venky Jois, who has three double-doubles, ranks fifth in the nation among freshmen in rebounds per game. Jois pulled down a career-high 13 in a win over Cal State Fullerton last week. He is averaging 8.9 boards per game. Michael Kessens of Longwood’s leads freshmen at 11.4. Binghamton’s Jordan Reed is averaging 10.3 Hofstra’s Jimmy Hall and Kentucky’s Nerlens Noels are averaging 9.4.

NCAA Leaders: Eastern Washington continues to rank second in the nation in 3-point field goals per game at 10.1. Montana is third in the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage at 44.5 percent. Weber State is seventh at 43.5. WSU is 13th in the nation in assists with an average of 17.8 per game. Idaho State’s Tomas Sanchez leads the nation in free-throw shooting. Sanchez has made all 22 of his attempts. Sac State’s Dylan Garrity is second at 96.9 percent. EWU’s Martin Seiferth is 10th in blocked shots at 3.0 per game.

Men’s Standings
Sacramento State 5-2, 0-0
Montana 3-3, 0-0
Weber State 2-2, 0-0
Northern Arizona 3-4, 0-0
Eastern Washington 2-5, 0-0
Southern Utah 2-5, 0-0
North Dakota 1-4, 0-0
Northern Colorado 1-4, 0-0
Portland State 1-4, 0-0
Idaho State 1-5, 0-0
Montana State 1-5, 0-0

Women’s Standings
Montana State 6-1, 0-0
Portland State 5-1, 0-0
Montana 5-2, 0-0
Sacramento State 4-2, 0-0
Idaho State 4-2, 0-0
Eastern Washington 2-4, 0-0
Northern Colorado 2-4, 0-0
Southern Utah 2-4, 0-0
North Dakota 1-7, 0-0
Weber State 0-6, 0-0

Source: Big Sky Conference