Montana defeats Weber State for Big Sky title

Will Cherry scored 23 points Tuesday night to lead Montana to the Big Sky regular-season basketball championship in a winner-take-all 66-51 victory over Weber State in Missoula.

The victory means Montana will host the conference semifinal and championship tournament games Tuesday and next Wednesday.

Kareem Jamar added 17, including three 3-pointers, and Mathias Ward 15 as the Grizzlies (23-6, 15-1) ran their winning streak to 12. Art Steward grabbed 12 rebounds.

Damian Lillard scored 19 points but went just 2 of 11 from 3-point range for the Wildcats (23-5, 14-2). They had won seven in a row but shot just 30 percent and went 3 of 26 from 3-point range.

The win gave Montana its seventh regular-season title and first since 2000.

This was the third time in Big Sky history the regular-season champ was decided on the final night.

Portland State 75, Northern Colorado 74: Charles Odum scored 22 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 3 seconds remaining, to lead the Vikings to a win over the Bears in Portland.

Michael Harthun had 14 points for the Vikings (16-14, 10-6), and Chehales Tapscott added 12 points and eight rebounds. Portland State is the No. 3 seed in the Big Sky tournament and will host sixth-seeded Montana State in the first round Saturday.

Tate Unruh led Northern Colorado (9-19, 5-11) with 20 points and was among five Bears scoring in double figures.