Jamar scores 20, Cherry adds 18 to help Montana beat Weber State 67-64 in Big Sky title game
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Kareem Jamar scored 20 points, Will Cherry had 18 and Montana held off Weber State 67-64 Saturday night to win the Big Sky tournament title for the second consecutive year.
Cherry's 3-pointer extended Montana's lead to 62-57 with 46 seconds to go. After Frank Otis' layup pulled Weber State within three, Jordan Gregory made two free throws with 22 seconds remaining for the Grizzlies.
Gelaun Wheelwright hit a 3 to get the Wildcats to 64-62 with 11 seconds to go. Cherry was fouled a second later and made both free throws for Montana (25-6).
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Jordan Richardson missed a 3 for Weber State (26-6) with 4 seconds remaining, but Joel Bolomboy's putback got the Wildcats within two.
Mike Weisner was fouled and made 1 of 2 from the line with 2 seconds to go for the Grizzlies, and Scott Bamforth's last-second heave was short as the Grizzlies returned to the NCAA tournament for the 10th time.
Gregory finished with 12 points for Montana.
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Davion Berry, Bamforth and Bolomboy scored 12 points each to lead Weber State, and Wheelwright added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Cherry had six points during the Grizzlies' 8-0 run that gave them a 56-50 lead with about 5½ minutes to go, and they didn't trail again.
Berry, the Wildcats' leading scorer at 15.3 points per game, made 3 of 4 free throws in a 36-second span, and Kyle Tresnak made 1 of 2 to pull Weber State within two about 2 minutes later.
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Jamar's three-point play extended Montana's lead to 59-54 with 3:10 to go. Berry followed with a 3 — just his second field goal in five attempts at that point — to get the Wildcats within two again, but the 76-percent free-throw shooter missed two from the line with 1:50 left.
Montana used a 16-7 run in the first half to take a 25-16 lead on Mike Weisner's 3 with 9 minutes to go.
Bamforth scored seven points in Weber State's 10-3 spurt that made it 29-27 on Bolomboy's three-point play with 5½ minutes remaining in the half. Bolomboy's free throw with 51 seconds left tied the score at 34 at the break.