Weber State basketball: Wildcats take command of Big Sky race

OGDEN — With first place in the Big Sky Conference on the line — and probably the right to host the postseason conference tournament — the Weber State Wildcats knew exactly where to turn on Saturday night: their seniors.

Center Steve Panos and guard Nick Hansen, the Wildcats' only two seniors, each turned in a career-best type of performance in Weber State's 81-76 win over Northern Colorado in front of 5,819 fans at the Dee Events Center.

The win puts the Wildcats in the driver's seat in the Big Sky, as they now lead Northern Colorado and Montana by two games with just three left to play.

Panos scored a career-high 29 points on 10-for-13 shooting, and Hansen tied a season-high with 18 points on 6-for-6 shooting from 3-point range. Both players hit key shots in the first half while the Wildcats withstood a flurry of offense from the Bears, and also helped Weber State put the game away.

"They deserve to have games like this," Weber State coach Randy Rahe said of his two seniors. "They're great kids and they work hard at it. I'm really proud of both of them."

It was obvious that it was going to be Panos' night from the outset, as he scored eight of Weber State's first 11 points. The Bears were completely outmatched in the paint, as Panos had a game-high nine rebounds to go along with his career scoring night.

"You start getting into a rhythm early and it carries on for the rest of the game," Panos said. "It turned out to be a good night."

It went the same for Hansen, one of the team's top shooters who's struggled to consistently knock down shots this season. Hansen hadn't scored in double figures since he had 17 points in Weber State's 87-62 win at Northern Arizona on Jan. 9. He had only shot better than 50 percent in one game this season when he went 4-for-5 in an 89-62 win over Western State on Nov. 24.

Hansen made four of his 3-pointers in the first half, with his biggest shot of the game coming right before halftime. Down six with 37 seconds left in the first half, Hansen let a 3 fly early in the shot clock. He drained it, trimming Northern Colorado's lead in half.

"It's about time," said Hansen, who tied a school record with former sharpshooter Alex Fisher in shooting 6-for-6 from 3-point range. Fisher did it against BYU in 1996. "I've been struggling a little bit. I was really fortunate to get a couple of those to go in tonight."