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Ogden • The Weber State Wildcats were on cruise control in Thursday's Big Sky game for a large portion of the contest, thanks to the home team moving to a 19-point lead in the first half.

But visiting North Dakota forced the 'Cats to snap out of a second-hand lull before Weber State (10-5, 2-0) finished off a 74-62 victory.

"I felt we took our foot off the accelerator a little bit and we relaxed. The last five minutes of the first half, they make eight free throws," Weber State coach Randy Rahe said. "We've got to know better than that. The first five minutes of the second half, we didn't start off very well. We started off low-energy, we didn't have the same intensity, so that combined ten minutes got them back into the game."

The big gun for Weberwas senior center Joel Bolomboy, who finished with 20 points and 23 rebounds.

And it was Bolomboy who provided a signature slam to stifle North Dakota's last comeback effort.

With the score 62-54, he drove the basket from the left side and stuffed the ball in from the right — after going under the basket and then over two Bison defenders.

"I think I saw the double team coming. I just spun and I jumped and kind of got stuck," Bolomboy said. "Didn't really have much to do, so I just tried to dunk it."

In the first half, Bolomboy along with fellow bigs Zach Braxton and Kyndahl Hill provided an intimidating presence in the paint.

"I think our game plan was to be physical with their bigs and I think I stuck to the game plan," Bolomboy said.

"We let our defense slip a little bit, on our rotations we were a step slower," he added. "Our coaches told us we needed to pick it up."

North Dakota (6-8, 1-2) was led by Quinton Hooker's 23 points. The leading scorer was Weber State's Jeremy Senglin, who scored 26 points.

Senglin surpassed the 1,000-point mark on the night for his career with the Wildcats.

Senglin's last outing, in Weber's conference-opening win over Idaho State last weekend, saw him get cut above the eye. After 13 postgame stitches in the seven-point outing, Senglin was back to his more usual self against the Bison.

Although Senglin hit five 3-pointers, and teammates Ryan Richardson and Dusty Baker also canned treys, Rahe felt his team could shoot better from the outside.

"We missed a whole bunch of open shots. I think every one we took, with the exception of a couple at the end of the shot clock, was wide open," Rahe said. "But we're gonna keep taking those threes, because they're wide-open looks, and we're going to make those." —

Weber State 74, North Dakota 62

NORTH DAKOTA (6-8)

Crandall 4-11 1-2 9, Baldwin 0-1 0-0 0, Shanks 3-7 0-1 6, Hooker 6-16 10-11 23, Bernstine 3-9 0-0 6, Collins 0-1 0-0 0, McDermott 1-2 2-2 4, Seales 2-2 1-2 5, Avants 3-7 2-4 9. Totals 22-56 16-22 62.

WEBER ST. (10-5)

Bolomboy 8-14 4-7 20, Richardson 1-7 0-0 3, Cannon 0-4 2-2 2, Senglin 7-15 7-9 26, Braxton 3-6 1-3 7, Williams 0-0 2-2 2, John 1-2 0-0 2, Gittens 0-3 0-0 0, Baker 1-3 1-2 4, Hill 4-6 0-0 8. Totals 25-60 17-25 74.

Halftime_Weber St. 41-29. 3-Point Goals_North Dakota 2-6 (Hooker 1-2, Avants 1-2, McDermott 0-1, Crandall 0-1), Weber St. 7-26 (Senglin 5-11, Baker 1-3, Richardson 1-6, John 0-1, Bolomboy 0-1, Cannon 0-2, Gittens 0-2). Fouled Out_Bernstine, Crandall. Rebounds_North Dakota 34 (Hooker 8), Weber St. 45 (Bolomboy 23). Assists_North Dakota 7 (Crandall, Hooker 2), Weber St. 14 (Bolomboy, Gittens, Senglin 3). Total Fouls_North Dakota 24, Weber St. 21. A_6,456