BOISE, Idaho -- Viljami Vartiainen (30) and Blaise Threatt (27) combined for 57 points to lead Weber State to an 83-70 victory over Sacramento State in the first round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament Saturday evening at Idaho Central Arena.

Sacramento State (7-25) sees its season come to an end with today's loss. The Hornets, who dealt with a plethora of injuries this season, used a rotation that featured three freshmen and three sophomores throughout the conference season, and tonight.

Weber State (12-21) advances to the Big Sky Tourney quarterfinal round tomorrow evening against top seed Northern Colorado. The Hornets and Wildcats split their two regular season meetings with each team winning on the road.

The Wildcats shot 57% (30-53) from the field and 50% (12-24) from the 3-point line. Much of that was Vartiainen, who went 7-for-10 from distance and spearheaded a Weber State team that led for over 36 minutes of clock. Besides Vartiainen and Threatt, no other Wildcat scored more than eight points. Weber State outscored the Hornets in the first (37-33) and second (46-37) halves.

The Hornets trailed, 53-49, with 11:30 remaining, but Weber State went on a 6-0 run to extend the lead to 10, and never led by anything less than eight points the rest of the way. In the first half, Sacramento State used an 11-0 run to take its largest lead of the contest at 23-20 with five minutes before halftime.

Sacramento State shot 45% (23-51) from the field, 33% (7-21) from the 3-point line and 90% (17-19) from the free throw line. The Hornets were 1-for-10 from the 3-point line in the second half, after going 6-of-11 in the first half. Sacramento State limited the Wildcats to just two second chance points.

The Hornets were led by Jacob Holt's 20 points, four rebounds and one blocked shot. He had 15 of the team's 37 second half points as he continued to keep Sacramento State within striking distance. It was the his 11th 20-point game of the season. Fellow senior EJ Neal was fantastic, scoring a season-high 18 points on a very proficient line of 5-9 FG, 3-5 3FG, and 5-6 FT. Neal would have scored more, but fouled out with 5:50 remaining.

The rest of the Hornets' eight-man rotation were freshmen and sophomores. Bailey Nunn had nine points and team-best five assists, Emil Skytta eight points, three rebounds and three assists, and Lachlan Brewer eight points (2-4 3FG) and three boards.

Michael Wilson, who made a buzzer-beating putback at the end of the first half, finished with five points, and Chudi Dioramma two points and three rebounds.

The Hornets lose two seniors for next season - Holt and Neal. Holt had a brilliant season that includes second team all-Big Sky honors while finishing among the league's top five players in both scoring and rebounding. Neal led the team in 3-pointers, and buried multiple 3-balls in 18 different games this season.