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2/14/10 Sunday Big Sky Scoreboard Eastern Washington 69, Montana 68 2/13/10 Weber St. 81, N. Colorado 76 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Steve Panos scored a career-high 29 points as Weber State defeated Northern Colorado 81-76 on Saturday to earn a two-game cushion atop the Big Sky Conference. Nick Hansen scored 18 points, shooting a perfect 6 of 6 from 3-point range for WSU (17-8, 11-2) while Damian Lillard added 14. Hansen's sixth 3-pointer started an 8-0 run for the Wildcats, giving them a 62-52 lead with 10:45 left. The Bears (20-6, 9-4) hit five free throws to cut that lead in half, and then eventually pulled to 73-72 with 1:21 left after back-to-back 3-pointers from Will Figures. Figures led UNC with 33 points while Mike Proctor had 10. After that, Panos completed a three-point play and WSU made 5-of-6 free throws to seal the win. 2/13/10 Gameday: 1 vs 2 Final: WSU W 81-76 Big Sky TV | KLO 1430 AM | Fans Forum   
Big Sky Scoreboard Weber State 81, Northern Colorado 76 Idaho State 73, Northern Arizona 71, OT Montana State 79, Portland State 71 Seattle 98, Sac State 67 2/13/10 Weber St. 76, N. Arizona 66 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Damian Lillard scored 26 points and Weber State came up with 16 steals in a 76-66 victory over Northern Arizona on Friday night. The Wildcats (16-8, 10-2 Big Sky), who completed a season sweep of the Lumberjacks, also got a big night from Franklin Session. He scored 22 points and grabbed eight steals. Cameron Jones led Northern Arizona (11-12, 5-7) with 24 points, scoring 16 in the first half. The Lumberjacks went on a 10-0 run early in the second half to pull within 42-38 with 13:33 left. However, Lillard and Nick Hansen hit back-to-back 3-pointers and the Wildcats erupted on a 13-0 surge to lead 55-38 less than five minutes later. Session ended that stretch with a three-point play. Weber State led 69-50 on a dunk from Session with 5:26 to gain its biggest lead of the game. 2/12/10 Gameday Final: WSU W 76-66 Big Sky TV | KLO 1430 AM 
Big Sky Scoreboard Weber State 76, Northern Arizona 66 Northern Colorado 68, Idaho State 59 Montana 81, Portland State 76 Eastern Washington 74, Montana State 69 2/11/10 Friday, NAU; Saturday, #2 UNC This week's games will be Weber's third time to play on back-to-back nights in league play. WSU is 3-1 in those games with two at home and two on the road. Friday night WSU will host the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona and then on Saturday, the #1 Wildcats will take on the #2 Northern Colorado Bears. A home sweep this week would put the 'Cats at 7-0 at home with just ISU remaining on Feb 20th. Fans could also start making plans for the Big Sky Tournament in Ogden. If WSU can get past NAU but lose to UNC, WSU would be tied for 1st with an 0-2 record against UNC (assuming UNC beats ISU on Friday). Friday will be the 91st all-time game between WSU and NAU. Weber is 64-26 in those games and 40-6 at home. Coach Rahe is 6-3 against the 'Jacks; all 3 losses came in 2007-08. Saturday night's game will be WSU's 8th all-time meeting against UNC. The 'Cats are 5-2 against the Bears with the 2 losses being in Greeley in 2007-08 and this season. Randy Rahe is a combined 11-5 against this week's foes. Jan 7, 2010 in Greeley N. Colorado 84, Weber St. 75 Associated Press GREELEY, Colo. -- Devon Beitzel scored 25 points leading Northern Colorado to a 84-75 victory over Weber State Thursday night. Taylor Montgomery added a career-high 19 points and Will Figures had 14 for Northern Colorado (14-3, 3-1 Big Sky). Figures became just the third player in school history to score 1,000 points in Division I and the 13th overall. The Bears are off to their best start since beginning 17-2 in 1966-67. Damian Lillard led Weber State (9-7, 3-1) with 15 points. The Wildcats won 15 straight regular-season conference games and 10 straight conference road victories before the loss. Jan 9, 2010 in Flagstaff Weber St. 87, N. Arizona 62 Associated Press FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Nick Hansen scored 17 points and Damian Lillard added 16 as Weber State beat Northern Arizona 87-62 Saturday night. The Wildcats (10-7, 4-1 Big Sky) blew open a close game with a 21-7 run in the second half that put them ahead 71-52 with 5:51 remaining. Weber State led 42-31 at halftime after shooting 53.3 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes. The Wildcats outscored the Lumberjacks 22-10 in the paint in the first half, and 42-14 overall. Northern Arizona (7-9, 1-4) got within 43-41 after opening the second half on a 10-1 run before Weber State pulled away. Cameron Jones led the Lumberjacks with 16 points and Gabe Rogers added 13. Kyle Bullinger added 13 points, Franklin Session 11 and Trevor Morris 10 for the Wildcats. Probable NAU Starters C-32 Nick Larson 6-8 225 Sr Ventura, CA (6.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, .344 3P%) F-42 Josh Lepley 6-8 210 So Reno, NV (5.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg) G-10 Cameron Jones 6-4 180 Jr Los Angeles, CA (18.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.1 ppg, 1.1 spg, .412 3P%) G-11 Gabe Rogers 6-2 165 Fr Houston, TX (8.1 ppg, 2.3 apg, .388 3P%) G-12 Julian Olubuyi 5-9 175 Jr Houston, TX (2.9 ppg, 4.0 apg, .333 3P%) UNC Starters C-41 Mike Proctor 6-8 200 So Phoenix, AZ (7.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg) F-33 Neal Kingman 6-6 210 Jr Greeley, CO (6.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, .288 3P%) G-32 Devon Beitzel 6-0 170 Jr Lafayette, CO (14.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 2.0 spg, .445 3P%) G-2 Will Figures 5-9 155 Sr Centennial, CO (16.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.2 spg, .383 3P%) G-20 Yahosh Bonner 6-0 210 Sr Mesa, AZ (6.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.3 spg, .355 3P%) WSU Starters C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Sr Salt Lake City, UT (11.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 So Mountain View, WY (9.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, .313 3P%) G-12 Franklin Session 6-2 175 Jr Los Angeles, CA (10.5, 6.4 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.7 spg, 1.0 bpg) G-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Sr Pocatello, ID (8.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, .318 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 So Oakland, CA (20.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.4 apg, .380 3P%) NAU Schedule Nov 13 Southwestern (AZ) W 113-61 Nov 15 @ Arizona L 87-70 Nov 17 Fresno State L 65-59 Nov 19 Pacific Suspended Nov 25 @ Santa Clara W 88-72 Nov 28 San Diego State L 89-48 Dec 4 @ Montana* L 71-54 Dec 5 @ Montana State L 62-50 Dec 13 UC-Riverside W 68-56 Dec 16 @ #19 New Mexico L 96-57 Dec 19 @ Air Force W 60-52 Dec 20 @ Colorado State L 64-56 Dec 28 @ TX-Pan American W 64-59 Dec 30 Northern New Mexico W 113-68 Jan 2 Northern Colorado* L 75-66 Jan 7 Idaho State* L 68-56 Jan 9 Weber State* L 78-62 Jan 15 @ Eastern Washington* W 73-69 Jan 17 @ Portland State* W 93-86 Jan 24 Sacramento State* W 75-71 Jan 28 Montana State* W 71-58 Jan 30 Montana* L 84-64 Feb 7 @ Northern Colorado* L 70-63 OT Feb 12 @ Weber State* 7:00 PM UNC Schedule Nov 13 vs McNeese State W 101-73 Nov 15 vs Southern Utah W 73-51 Nov 17 @ Hawaii W 81-75 Nov 20 vs Texas Southern W 66-62 Nov 21 @ Air Force W 70-46 Nov 27 @ North Dakota W 70-63 Dec 1 Colorado State W 70-63 Dec 4 @ Montana State* L 87-63 Dec 5 @ Montana* W 59-48 Dec 12 @ Wyoming L 76-70 Dec 16 Louisiana-Monroe W 95-84 Dec 19 @ Oklahoma L 80-79 Dec 21 San Jose State W 93-69 Dec 28 Denver W 72-57 Dec 30 @ TCU Fort W 64-53 Jan 2 @ Northern Arizona* W 75-66 Jan 7 Weber State* W 84-75 Jan 9 Idaho State* W 78-66 Jan 15 @ Portland State* L 85-69 Jan 16 @ Eastern Washington* W 74-71 Jan 22 Sacramento State* W 79-65 Jan 28 Montana* L 64-62 Jan 31 Montana State* W 74-68 Feb 7 Northern Arizona* W 70-63 OT Feb 12 @ Idaho State* 7:00 PM Feb 13 @ Weber State* 7:00 PM 2/8/10 BigSkyConf.com MBB Notes - Feb. 8 Jon Kasper - Big Sky Conference Around the Big Sky WILDCATS IN: Weber State became the first team to clinch a spot in the postseason tournament, clinching one of the six spots on Sunday. Weber State moved to 9-2 in conference with a 75-71 win over Montana State on Saturday in Bozeman, but didn't clinch the spot until Sunday. Sacramento State's 74-67 win over Eastern Washington on Sunday assured Weber State a bid. Idaho State, Eastern Washington and Sacramento State all have at least eight conference losses and will not be able to catch Weber State. The Wildcats have advanced to the Big Sky Championship four consecutive seasons, and have missed out in the postseason just twice - 1981 and 2006 since the league began the tournament in 1976. Weber State has won or shared two of the past three regular-season titles and will position itself for a third title in four years with home victories this week. The Wildcats face Northern Arizona on Friday and second-place Northern Colorado on Saturday. WSU has won 24 of its last 27 Big Sky games. Weber State is 5-0 in conference home games this season and 12-1 the past two seasons. TOURNEY TALK: Weber State is in the tournament, and Northern Colorado, Montana and Montana State are all on the verge of clinching postseason bids. Currently, a team needs nine victories to clinch a bid, but that number could shrink to eight by Friday night. Northern Colorado (8-3) will clinch a spot with a victory over Idaho State on Friday. Montana State (7-5) can clinch a spot with a win over Eastern Washington on Friday or a victory over Portland State on Saturday. Montana (8-4) will clinch with a win over Portland State on Friday, or losses by Eastern Washington and Idaho State. The top six teams qualify for the Big Sky Championship. The regular-season champion will host the semifinals on Tuesday, March 9, and the championship on Wednesday, March 10. Portland State is currently in fifth place at 5-5. The Vikings play four of their final six conference games at home. NAU is in sixth at 5-6. The Lumberjacks have three road games and two home games remaining. 2/7/10 Sunday Big Sky Scoreboard Northern Colorado 70, Northern Arizona 63, OT Seattle 80, Portland State 77 Sacramento State 74, Eastern Washington 67 2/7/10 Standard.net 'Cats hang on to split road trip By Jasen Asay http://www.standard.net/topics/sports/2010/02/06/cats-hang-split-road-trip 2/6/10 Gameday Final: WSU W 75-71 Big Sky TV | KLO 1430 AM 
Big Sky Scoreboard Weber State 75, Montana State 71 Montana 91, Idaho State 68 2/6/10 Montana Ends 6 Game Losing Streak to WSU Montana 75, Weber St. 61 Associated Press MISSOULA, Mont. -- Anthony Johnson scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half and surging Montana topped league-leading Weber State 75-61 in Big Sky play Friday night. Johnson sank 12 of 14 free throws in the second half. Montana enjoyed a 21-for-28 outing from the foul line for the game. The Wildcats made just 10 trips. Ryan Staudacher provided the shooting touch for the Grizzlies (16-7, 7-4), who have won six of their last seven and snapped an six-game losing streak to Weber State. Staudacher hit five 3-pointers and finished with 16 points. His 3-pointer with 5:14 left gave Montana a 68-52 after Weber State had closed within eight on a 9-0 spurt. Will Cherry added 14 points. Damian Lillard scored 24 points to lead the Wildcats (14-8, 8-2). Lindsey Hughey and Franklin Session had 12 apiece. Weber State had beaten the Grizzlies 64-56 last month. 2/5/10 Gameday Final: WSU L 75-61 Big Sky TV | KLO 1430 AM 
Big Sky Scoreboard Montana 75, Weber State 61 Montana State 63, Idaho State 60 Portland State 76, Sacramento State 62 2/3/10 Wildcat Wall Blog Interview With Franklin Session Wildcat Wall is a fan blog on WeberHoops.com with articles written by Mark Berger and Rod Eyre. New Fan Favorite, Franklin Session
For questions, comments, or thoughts, email me at mark@weberhoops.com 1/31/10 Game of the Week Big Sky Scoreboard Northern Colorado 74, Montana State 68 1/30/10 Saturday Big Sky Scoreboard Montana 84, Northern Arizona 64 Sacramento State 71, Idaho State 55 Portland State 85, Eastern Washington 77 1/29/10 WSU beats Sac; 5th Straight Win Weber St. 81, Sacramento St. 59 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Steve Panos scored 18 points and had 10 rebounds as Weber State defeated Sacramento State 81-59 on Friday night to complete a season sweep of the Hornets. The Wildcats (14-7, 8-1 Big Sky) used a 17-4 run midway through the first half to take control of the game. Lindsey Hughey started the stretch with a 3-pointer followed by a three-point play, and Weber State eventually led 33-22 with 4:24 left in the first half. Damian Lillard scored 15 points, while Hughey added 14 and Franklin Session 11. Justin Eller led the Hornets (7-15, 1-8) with 12 points. Duro Bjegovic had 10. After leading 36-28 at halftime, the Wildcats started the second half on a 9-0 run, with Panos scoring four points. Weber State eventually built a 72-44 lead after a basket from Lillard with 6:57 remaining. 1/29/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 81-59 Big Sky TV | KLO 1430 AM | Big Sky Scoreboard 
1/28/10 Thursday Night's Games Big Sky Scoreboard Montana 64, Northern Colorado 62 Northern Arizona 71, Montana State 58 1/26/09 Fri: Sac State at Weber On Friday night, WSU, now 25th ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25, will attempt to win its 5th straight game and 6th straight against the Hornets of Sacramento State. This week's lone matchup is the 17th all-time meeting between the Wildcats and Hornets in Ogden. WSU is 4-0 at home in Big Sky games and Sac is 0-4 in Big Sky road games. The Hornets have only one win in Ogden and just four wins overall out of the 32 all-time games. All four of Sac's wins against Weber have come in the last seven years. In 2005-06 (one of the eight worst seasons in WSU history) Sac State and Portland State both got their only win in Ogden to date, and after the Hornets won they were so excited they even took the game ball home. WSU head coach Randy Rahe is 6-1 overall against the Hornets. Sac State's head coach Brian Katz is 0-3 vs Weber and was a first year DI coach last season. Katz spent 19 seasons in the JC rankings all in the state of California. He spent 15 years prior to Sac at San Joaquin Delta JC in Stockton, CA. At San Joaquin Delta Katz went 348-138 (79%). The 4 years prior to San Joaquin Katz was the coach at Lassen JC where he posted a 87-47 (65%) record. Overall he was 435-185 (70%) at the JUCO level. Sac Starters C-40 Justin Eller 6-8 235 Sr Yreka, CA (9.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg) F-33 Duro Bjegovic 6-7 235 Jr Drnis, Croatia (6.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.6 apg, .444 3P%) G-12 Jared Stigall 5-10 160 Sr Sacramento, CA (1.4 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.5 apg, .280 3P%) G-23 Domineek Daniel 6-3 190 Jr Barstow, CA (7.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, .313 3P%) G-21 Sultan Toles-Bey 5-10 185 Jr Compton, CA (10.6 ppg, 3.2 apg, 2.7 rpg, 1.7 spg, .359 3P%) WSU Starters C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Sr Salt Lake City, UT (11.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 So Mountain View, WY (9.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, .310 3P%) G-23 Franklin Session 6-2 175 Jr Los Angeles, CA (10.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.8 spg) G-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Sr Pocatello, ID (8.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, .331 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 So Oakland, CA (20.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.7 apg, .367 3P%) Sac Schedule Nov 13 @ Rice L 81-51 Nov 14 vs. Houston Baptist W 70-60 Nov 15 vs. South Alabama L 70-58 Nov 18 Bethany (CA) W 90-75 Nov 21 @ Oregon State W 65-63 Nov 24 @ Idaho L 75-61 Nov 28 UC Riverside L 59-58 Dec 2 @ UC Davis W 59-57 Dec 5 Weber State* 80-65 Dec 8 @ USC L 51-36 Dec 12 @ Pacific L 79-49 Dec 19 Idaho State* W 64-63 Dec 21 William Jessup W 74-42 Dec 27 Loyola Marymount L 82-78 Dec 31 @ Eastern Washington* L 79-75 Jan 2 @ Portland State* L 94-66 Jan 9 Seattle W 80-67 Jan 15 Montana* L 57-56 Jan 17 Montana State* L 58-53 Jan 22 @ Northern Colorado* L 79-65 Jan 24 @ Northern Arizona* L 75-71 Jan 29 @ Weber State* 7:00 PM Hornet bio Established: 1947 Undergraduates: 22,555 Postgraduates: 5,417 Location: Sacramento, CA Colors: Green & Gold Mascot: Herky the Hornet Series: WSU is 28-4 all-time vs Sac 1/25/10 Lillard's 2nd POTW / WSU Ranked in Mid-Major Lillard Player of the Week From the Big Sky Conference's official site by Jon Kasper Lillard, Morgan Share Honor BigSkyConf.com Mid-Major Top 25 CollegeInsider.com's top 25 poll now in its 11th season of existence is a poll for the 25 best teams from the mid-major conferences. This year's first poll was released in October with no Big Sky teams ranked but 4 had votes to be ranked: Weber State 50; Montana State 9; Portland State 9; Montana 4. With Northern Colorado surprising many by starting the season going 7-0, it quickly caught the attention of the Mid-Major voting panel. UNC is now 17-4 overall and ranked 10th. Weber State after starting the season with 50 votes was no where to be found after starting the season 0-3. Now that WSU is 7-1 and sitting on top of the Big Sky voters are respecting the Wildcats. WSU along with 4 other schools went from being unranked to cracking the top 25. Interestingly WSU didn't even have a single vote to be ranked just last week while Montana has spent the whole season with votes. The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Great West, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast. WSU's 2009 team finished ranked 20th in the Mid-Major. The last week of the regular season the Wildcats had 5 votes to be in the AP Top 25 before falling to Montana State in the Big Sky Semifinals. The 2007 team led by David Patton finished ranked 25th. In 2003, WSU finished the season in the top 10 (No. 30 in the AP Poll). The last WSU team to finish in the AP Top 25 was the 1980 team which finished 17th. VOTING PANEL: Randy Bennett (St. Mary's), Will Brown (Albany), Rick Byrd (Belmont), Dave Calloway (Monmouth), Kermit Davis (Middle Tennessee), Steve Donahue (Cornell), Anthony Evans (Norfolk State), James Fox (Davidson), Mike Gillian (Longwood), Steve Hawkins (Western Michigan), Dick Hunsaker (Utah Valley), Eddie Jackson (American), Kerry Keating (Santa Clara) *, Billy Kennedy (Murray State), Tod Kowalczyk (UW-Green Bay), Jim Larranaga (George Mason), Jim Les (Bradley), Mike Lonergan (Vermont), Bob Marlin (Sam Houston State), Gregg Marshall (Wichita State), Tom Moore (Quinnipiac), Jimmy Patsos (Loyola MD), Tom Pecora (Hofstra), Vann Pettaway (Alabama A&M), Rick Scruggs (Gardner-Webb), John Shulman (Chattanooga), Brad Stevens (Butler), Gary Stewart (UC Davis), Scott Sutton (Oral Roberts), Wayne Tinkle (Montana), Ernie Zeigler (Central Michigan) 1/22/10 Weber St. 89, E. Washington 67 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Damian Lillard scored a career-high 36 points, including 25 in the first half, to lead Weber State to an 89-67 win over Eastern Washington on Saturday. The sophomore scored the first eight points of the game as the Wildcats (13-7, 7-1 Big Sky) jumped out to an 18-5 lead. Steve Panos added 19 points for Weber State, and Lindsey Hughey and Trevor Morris each finished with 10. Glen Dean led the Eagles (6-15, 2-6) with 16 points. Laron Griffin had 11 and Jeffery Forbes added 10. Eastern Washington pulled within 34-30 on a basket by Forbes with 4:37 left in the first half. But Lillard took over again, scoring 12 points in the next two minutes to give the Wildcats a 46-32 lead. After leading 50-34 at halftime, WSU stretched its lead to 61-39 five minutes into the second half and never trailed by less than 12 points the rest of the game. 1/23/10 Gameday Final: WSU W 89-67 Big Sky TV | KLO 1430 AM 
Big Sky Scoreboard Weber State 89, Eastern Washington 67 Idaho State 88, Portland State 80, OT Montana State 61, Montana 52 1/22/10 Weber St. 86, Portland St. 83 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Franklin Session scored a career-high 24 points and was one of four Weber State players in double digits as the Wildcats defeated Portland State 86-83 on Friday night. Damian Lillard scored 15 for the Wildcats (12-7, 6-1 Big Sky), who made 8 of 10 free throws in final 55 seconds to hold on for the win. Lindsey Hughey had 13 points and Steve Panos 10. Weber State's free throws came after Melvin Jones' 3-pointer ended a 6-0 run for the Vikings (8-11, 3-4) and pulled them within 78-76. Jones' layup with 15 seconds left cut Weber State's lead to 84-83. After two free throws by Hughey, the Vikings had two chances to tie the game. But Dominic Waters and Jones each missed 3-point attempts, with Jones' shot coming at the buzzer. Waters had 21 points for the Vikings. Phil Nelson and Julius Thomas each had 15. 1/22/10 Gameday Final: WSU W 86-83 Big Sky TV | KLO 1430 AM 
Big Sky Scoreboard Weber State 86, Portland State 83 Idaho State 80, Eastern Washington 74 Northern Colorado 79, Sacramento State 65 1/21/10 Fri: Portland State; Sat: Eastern Washington Big Sky TV | KLO 1430 AM This Friday night at the Dee Events Center WSU will host the Portland State Vikings, WSU will also host Eastern Washington on Saturday. Due to the economic downturn the Big Sky Conference has made some adjustments to the scheduling of men's basketball by playing games on back-to-back nights to cut costs. As for when the traditional Thurs/Sat schedule will resume it is unknown. Friday's game vs PSU will be WSU's 34th all-time meeting against the Vikings. Weber is 24-9 all-time against PSU, 15-1 in Ogden, 9-8 in Portland. PSU joined the Big Sky Conference in 1997. PSU along with Sac and CS-Northridge joined the Big Sky when Boise State and Idaho left for the Big West. WSU's Saturday night game against the Eagles of EWU will be the 55th all-time meeting; overall WSU is 35-19 vs the Eagles, 24-3 in Ogden, 11-16 in Cheney, WA. EWU joined the Big Sky in 1987. Weber swept the Vikings and Eagles last season (4-0) and the last time the 'Cats have lost to both teams was on Feb 14th and 16th of 2008. Portland State's loss last week to NAU at home on Jan 17th was its first loss in the Stott Center in a year since losing to Weber on Jan 18, 2009. Weber State head coach Randy Rahe is 10-3 vs the two Northwestern foes. Rahe is 68-41 overall as a head coach, his Big Sky record is 44-15, 26-4 at home and 18-11 on the road. First year PSU head coach Kevin Geving is 8-10 overall and 3-3 in league play. Geving was an assistant to Ken Bone who led the Vikings to the NCAA Tournament the past 2 seasons before leaving for Washington State. EWU's Kirk Earlywine in his 3rd year is 29-50 overall and 14-24 in Big Sky play. Coach E led his teams both to a 6-10 record in the Big Sky the past two seasons and neither team made the Big Sky Tourney despite last season's 6-2 start. Earlywine spent 7 years at Weber as an assistant during the Cravens era (2000-2006). Preseason Polls The Big Sky preseason polls had PSU and EWU picked to finish 3rd and 8th respectively in both polls. Lindy's College Basketball magazine picked PSU 4th and EWU 6th while Athlon Sports magazine went with PSU 2nd and EWU 7th. Portland State Lindy's: The Vikings enjoyed their greatest success in school history the past two years with consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Others naturally took notice, namely Washington State, which promptly hired coach Ken Bone to the Pac-10. Now it's Tyler Geving's turn. Bone's lead assistant loses some star quality with graduations and departures, but also has enough firepower returning in double-figures scorers Dominic Waters and Phil Nelson to make another title run. The Vikings are woefully short in stature and will need to depend on their athleticism, not size, to get victories. Athlon Sports: The Vikings, who put together back-to-back 23-win seasons and made it to the NCAA Tournament the last two years under Ken Bone, will be a diffent team now that their former coach has moved on to Washigton State. But the school's decision to promote associate head coach Tyler Geving to replace Bone should make the change relatively seamless, which means Portland State should remain among the Big Sky's top teams. Geving welcomes back five letterwinners, including starters Phil Nelson (10.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg), a junior forward, and senior forward Jamie Jones (9.1 ppg). But the key returnee is senior combo guard Dominic Waters, who started only two games last season but averaged 11.4 points and 2.9 assists per game in earning a spot on the All-BSC second team. Waters is a game-changer who can provide instant offense, and he should help keep PSU among the league's elite programs. Eastern Washington Lindy's: Now is the time for the Eagles to take a step forward. It's year three in coach Kirk Earlywine's tenure in Cheney, and he has the players to make a statement. Three starters return, including two of the conferences's best in guard Benny Valentine, a 5-7 blur who was EWU's top scorer last year, and 6-9 post Brandon Moore, who led the club in rebounding. Big power forward Mark Dunn is a another returning starter. Add a large and talented recruiting class and on paper, this should be the year the Eagles get a least into the conference tournament, something they haven't done the past three seasons. Athlon Sports: The Eagles failed to take as big a step as third-year coach Kirk Earlywine had hoped last winter, mainly because of chemistry problems resulting from the midseason addition of a couple of players who had been academically ineligible. Both are gone. This year's team has a chance to build around one of the Big Sky's top point guards in senior Benny Valentine (15.1 ppg). But to make any great strides, the Eagles will need to find help for 6'9" senior center Brandon Moore (11.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg) on the low blocks. Probable PSU Starters C-44 Jamie Jones 6-7 220 Sr El Segundo, CA (12.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.0 bpg) F-21 Phil Nelson 6-7 220 Jr Keizer, OR (12.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.2 spg, .400 3P%) G-12 Paul Guede 6-5 205 Jr London, UK (4.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, .209 3P%) G-4 Melvin Jones 5-10 165 Jr Seattle, WA (13.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.6 apg, .481 3P%) G-11 Dominic Waters 6-1 180 Sr Portland, OR (18.9 ppg, 4.7 apg, 2.2 rpg, .488 3P%) Probable EWU Starters C-45 Brandon Moore 6-9 250 Sr Graham, WA (8.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg) F-42 Mark Dunn 6-8 270 Sr Trafalgar, IN (12.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, .459 3P%) G-2 Jeffrey Forbes 5-10 170 Fr Federal Way, WA (9.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.5 spg, .281 3P%) G-1 Glen Dean 5-10 170 Fr Seattle, WA (12.1 ppg, 3.8 apg, 2.4 rpg, 1.0 spg, .449 3P%) G-14 Gary Gibson 6-1 175 Sr Windsor, ON (2.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.9 apg, .111 3P%) Probable WSU Starters C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Sr Salt Lake City, UT (10.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 So Mountain View, WY (10.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, .333 3P%) G-12 Franklin Session 6-2 175 Jr Los Angeles, CA (9.7, 6.9 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.7 spg) G-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Sr Pocatello, ID (9.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, .331 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 So Oakland, CA (19.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.6 apg, .344 3P%) PSU Bio Established: 1946 Undergraduates: 18,012 Postgraduates: 6,272 Location: Portland, OR Colors: Forest Green & White Home Court: Stott Center, capacity 1,500 WSU vs PSU, football: 18-12 WSU vs PSU, basketball: 24-9 EWU Bio Established: 1882 Undergraduates: 8,309 Postgraduates: 923 Location: Cheney, WA Colors: Red & White Home Court: Reese Court, capacity 6,000 WSU vs EWU, football: 14-14 WSU vs EWU, basketball: 35-19 PSU Schedule Nov 13 vs Belmont L 74-67 Nov 14 vs Wright State L 75-70 Nov 15 @ #13 Washington L 111-55 Nov 21 Cal Poly W 92-83 Nov 29 @ Stanford L 83-64 Dec 2 @ #25 Portland W 86-82 Dec 5 Eastern Washington* W 98-75 Dec 9 Linfield College W 85-52 Dec 13 @ Pepperdine W 93-81 Dec 15 @ Saint Mary's L 101-80 Dec 19 @ Washington State L 93-69 Dec 21 @ Boise State L 69-62 Dec 29 Williamette W 97-90 Jan 2 Sacramento State, CA* W 94-66 Jan 8 @ Montana State* L 77-71 Jan 9 @ Montana* L 90-58 Jan 15 Northern Colorado* W 85-69 Jan 17 Northern Arizona* L 93-86 EWU Schedule Nov 14 Portland A L 64-58 Nov 16 @ Washington State L 67-61 Nov 17 Whitman W 100-88 Nov 21 @ UT-Arlington W 72-68 Nov 24 Boise State L 82-69 Nov 28 @ Idaho L 76-54 Dec 1 Walla Walla W 89-61 Dec 5 @ Portland State* L 98-75 Dec 12 Seattle U W 100-97 OT Dec 17 @ Nevada L 73-70 Dec 19 @ BYU L 91-34 Dec 22 vs Chicago State L 62-53 Dec 23 vs Jackson State L 72-67 Dec 28 @ Gonzaga L 94-52 Dec 31 Sac State* W 79-75 Jan 8 @ Montana* L 79-66 Jan 10 @ Montana State* W 75-73 Jan 15 Northern Arizona* L 73-69 Jan 16 Northern Colorado* L 74-71 1/20/10 Jazz Bear Night Friday vs PSU 
WSU will host Portland State and Eastern Washington on back-to-back nights this Friday and Saturday. Tipoff for both games will be at 7 PM at the Dee. Look for the Standard-Examiner Family Night coupon to get six tickets for just $25 in Thursday's paper. Coupon is valid for both games. 1/17/10 Sunday Big Sky Scoreboard Northern Arizona 93, Portland State 86 Montana State 58, Sacramento State 53 1/17/10 Big Sky Overtime Records Last night Weber State beat the ISU Bengals in triple overtime at Holt Arena in Pocatello. WSU has played in eight overtime games during the Coach Rahe era and have won five of the contests. Idaho State has played in 13 overtime games in the same span of time but only succeeding twice. At one point last season ISU lost three straight games in OT, two of them in double OT. Most Overtimes in a Game 4 Portland State at Northern Arizona - Jan. 4, 2009 4 Weber State at Eastern Washington - Jan. 16, 1999 4 Idaho State vs Montana State - Jan. 26, 1989 4 Idaho State vs Weber State - Feb. 28, 1981 4 Montana vs Idaho State - Feb. 17, 1979 4 Gonzaga vs Idaho State - Feb. 10, 1978 4 Weber State vs Northern Arizona - Jan. 25, 1966 Most Overtime Games in a Season 5 Weber State - 1998-99 5 Montana - 1994-95 (Three 2OT) 5 Weber State - 1977-78 5 Idaho State - 2000-01 5 Idaho State - 2008-09 1/17/10 WSU wins Border War in Pokey in Triple OT! Associated Press Weber St. 95, Idaho St. 93 POCATELLO, Idaho -- Damian Lillard hit a layup with 0.5 seconds left in triple overtime Saturday to lift Weber State to a 95-93 victory over Idaho State. Lillard finished with 28 points for the Wildcats (11-7, 5-1 Big Sky). Franklin Session added 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists; Steve Panos had 21 points and seven rebounds; and Kyle Bullinger finished with 13 points. The Bengals (4-14, 1-5) were led by Amorrow Morgan with 30 points. Broderick Gilchrest had 25 points and seven assists, and Austin Kilpatrick added 12 points and nine rebounds. Morgan hit a jump shot with 1:02 left in the second overtime to tie it 82-82. Lillard's 3-pointer at the buzzer missed. In the first overtime, Gilchrest had a chance to end the game. But after hitting his first free throw with 0.7 seconds left to tie it at 74, he missed the second attempt. The game was tied at 62 at the end of regulation. 1/16/10 Gameday Final: WSU W 95-93 in triple overtime Big Sky TV | KLO 1430 AM 
Big Sky Scoreboard Weber State 95, Idaho State 93 Northern Colorado 74, Eastern Washington 71 1/15/10 Friday Night Portland State 85, Northern Colorado 69 Montana 57, Sacramento State 56 Northern Arizona 73, Eastern Washington 69 1/14/10 Sat: Weber at Idaho State This Saturday night in Pocatello, Idaho, the Wildcats will take on the rival Bengals of ISU at Holt Arena in the 107th all-time meeting. WSU's Purple Pak will be taking its third annual trip to ISU as well the Wildcat Club will also take a bus of fans as they do occasionally. This is the second Purple Pak bus trip this season and the students are hoping it won't be their last. Last season the Pak had 5 bus trips - NAU, UM, ISU (football and basketball) and San Diego State. Overall in the series against the Bengals, WSU is 66-40, 40-9 at home, 26-31 in Pokey. WSU has won the last 2 games played against ISU and the 'Cats have also won 2 of the last 3 in Holt Arena. Weber State head coach Randy Rahe is 4-2 against ISU and 67-41 overall as a head coach. Rahe's Big Sky record is 43-15, 26-4 at home and 17-11 on the road. ISU head coach Joe O'Brien in his 4th season with the Bengals is 42-68 overall. In the past 3 seasons he has led ISU to a 6th, 5th and 4th place finish in the Big Sky. 2008-09 in Ogden Last year's 2 seniors in Daviin Davis and Kellen McCoy scored 19 and 18 points respectively to lead WSU to a 75-61 win over ISU at the Dee. Damian Lillard scored 10 points. The win was the 2nd in the same week against ISU. ISU had an early lead but the 'Cats took the lead with nine minutes remaining in the first half and never trailed after that. Matt Stucki led ISU with 15 points, Chron Tatum scored 13 and Amorrow Morgan with 11. 2008-09 in Pocatello Weber beat Idaho St in overtime 76-67. Lillard led WSU with 22 points as the 'Cats overcame a 13-point deficit late in the game. Kyle Bullinger, Steve Panos and Daviin Davis all scored 13 points. ISU led 49-36 with 14 minutes left in the game before WSU mounted its comeback. The Bengals had two chances to end the game but missed a free throw and a field goal attempt in the last 15 seconds of regulation. In OT, WSU outscored ISU 13-4. Matt Stucki had a game high 29 points and Amorrow Morgan scored 11. Preseason Polls The Big Sky preseason polls had ISU picked 3rd by the coaches and 4th by the media. The Bengals even had one 1st place vote from the coaches poll. Lindy's College Basketball magazine and Athlon Sports magazine both picked ISU to finish in 5th place. Lindy's take on ISU: Success for ISU has been extremely difficult to come by. The Bengals have posted just one winning season in the past 11 years, and even that was only 15-14. Their last NCAA Tournament appearance? That was in 1987 - some current players were not even born then. So last year's 13-19 mark wasn't that bad considering ISU finished fourth in the conference and won a game in the Big Sky Tournament, and did so despite losing four overtime games during the season. The Bengals have one of the league's top players returning in talented senior guard Amorrow Morgan, a first-team all-conference pick last season. He might even have enough help to get ISU above the .500 mark this season. Athlon Sports on ISU: Fourth-year coach Joe O'Brien, armed with a three-year contract extension, has some holes to fill as he continues trying to build the Bengals into a title contender. But the return of All-Big Sky performer Amorrow Morgan, a guard who averaged a team-high 13.6 points, last winter, should help ease the sting of the graduation loss of Matt Stucki, another All-BSC selection. Chron Tatum, a senior forward, is also back, along with senior guard Donnie Carson and 7'0" center Deividas Busma. The Bengals are getting better, but they're not there yet. Probable ISU Starters C-21 Demetrius Monroe 6-8 200 Sr San Diego, CA (9.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg) G-23 Austin Kilpatrick 6-6 205 Sr Puyallup, WA (5.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, .375 3P%) G-1 Amorrow Morgan 6-5 210 Sr Memphis, TN (17.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.2 spg, .311 3P%) G-20 Donnie Carson 6-2 195 Sr Detroit, MI (4.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.4 apg, .250 3P%) G-2 Broderick Gilchrest 6-0 185 Jr Memphis, TN (14.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.6 apg, 2.1 spg, .311 3P%) Probable WSU Starters C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Sr Salt Lake City, UT (10.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 So Mountain View, WY (10.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, .344 3P%) G-12 Franklin Session 6-2 175 Jr Los Angeles, CA (8.9, 6.8 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.7 spg) G-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Sr Pocatello, ID (10.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, .354 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 So Oakland, CA (18.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.8 apg, .339 3P%) Bengal Bio Established: 1901 Students: 13,802 Location: Pocatello, ID Colors: Black & Orange Home Court: Holt Arena, capacity 8,000 Mascot: Benny the Bengal Famous Potatoes ISU alumni: Jerry Graybeal, former WSU Athletic Director; Jared Allen, Minnesota Vikings; Ron Boone, broadcaster for the Utah Jazz; Merril Hoge, ESPN commentator; Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals head coach; William L. Petersen, actor on CSI. ISU Schedule Nov 13 @ Iowa State L 88-68 Nov 15 @ Bradley L 74-69 Nov 17 @ BYU L 87-53 Nov 21 Colorado Christian W 77-60 Nov 24 @ Utah State L 77-44 Nov 28 @ UM-Kansas City W 68-65 Dec 1 @ Notre Dame L 80-70 Dec 5 @ Utah L 68-56 Dec 9 Boise State L 79-67 Dec 11 @ USC L 59-53 Dec 19 @ Sac State* L 64-63 Dec 22 @ Oregon L 77-71 Dec 28 Montana Tech W 63-55 Dec 31 Montana* W 67-65 Jan 3 Montana State* L 70-63 Jan 7 @ Northern Arizona* L 68-56 Jan 9 @ Northern Colorado* L 78-66 The last time ISU won the Big Sky title was in 1994 and they were co-champs with Weber State. ISU has 4 regular season Big Sky titles: 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1994. The Wildcats are the defending conference champions and have won 18 Big Sky titles overall which is the most of any Big Sky school in basketball. Only NAU Cross Country has more conference titles with 19. Montana football also has 18 titles. 1/10/10 Potato Week: Fan Bus Trip On Saturday, Jan 16, the Weber State men's basketball team and 2 fan busses will travel to Pocatello for the annual game in the Potato Cellar (Holt Arena) between WSU and Idaho State. Tipoff is set for 7 PM. The 'Cats are 66-40 all-time vs the Bengals, 40-9 in Ogden and 26-31 in Potatoville. The 'Cats have won 2 out of the last 3 on the other side of the border. Student Bus $20 Saturday will be the Purple Pak's 3rd annual trip to ISU for basketball and fourth overall in the same time including football. After taking 4 bus trips last season, the students are anxious to get back on the road to cheer on the Purple & White. Seats are still available for the trip, anyone interested should contact Bev Rudd (801-626-6468, 801-663-6135, beverlyrudd@weber.ed) for further details. Drinks, snacks and game ticket will be provided by the Purple Pak. Wildcat Club Bus $45 Drinks, snacks and game ticket will be provided the Alumni Association and Wildcat Club. For questions call 801-626-7535 or click here to register online for the trip. When/Where Both busses will leave at 4 PM from the west parking lot of the Alumni Center behind the Weber State Credit Union. The deadline for both trips are this Wednesday, Jan 13. Payment must be received with reservation. 1/9/10 Weber St. 87, N. Arizona 62 Associated Press FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Nick Hansen scored 17 points and Damian Lillard added 16 as Weber State beat Northern Arizona 87-62 Saturday night. The Wildcats (10-7, 4-1 Big Sky) blew open a close game with a 21-7 run in the second half that put them ahead 71-52 with 5:51 remaining. Weber State led 42-31 at halftime after shooting 53.3 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes. The Wildcats outscored the Lumberjacks 22-10 in the paint in the first half, and 42-14 overall. Northern Arizona (7-9, 1-4) got within 43-41 after opening the second half on a 10-1 run before Weber State pulled away. Cameron Jones led the Lumberjacks with 16 points and Gabe Rogers added 13. Kyle Bullinger added 13 points, Franklin Session 11 and Trevor Morris 10 for the Wildcats. 1/9/10 Gameday Final: WSU W 87-62
Big Sky TV | KLO 1430 AM | Big Sky Scoreboard Northern Colorado 78, Idaho State 66 Montana 90, Portland State 58 Sacramento State 80, Seattle 67 1/8/10 Friday Night Montana State beat Portland State in Bozeman, MT, to give PSU its first loss, 77-71. The Bobcats were up on the Vikings by as many as 14 points in the first half and 11 in the second. PSU came back and tied things up at 59-59 with 7 minutes to play. With 1:25 left in the game the Viks were down 73-71. Phil Nelson missed a 3-pointer at the 1:15 mark and Dominic Waters committed a turnover with 20.8 seconds in the game. Waters had the game-high with 24 points, Melvin Jones 14, Nelson 13 and Jamie Jones had 10 points and 10 boards for PSU. MSU was led by Bobby Howard with 18 and 4 other Bobcats scored in double figures. PSU had 20 turnovers and 8 by Waters. Eastern Washington traveled to Missoula and lost to Montana 79-66. Anthony Johnson scored 25 points and Will Cherry, off the bench chipped in with 17. EWU had 22 turnovers. 1/7/10 N. Colorado 84, Weber St. 75 Associated Press GREELEY, Colo. -- Devon Beitzel scored 25 points leading Northern Colorado to a 84-75 victory over Weber State Thursday night. Taylor Montgomery added a career-high 19 points and Will Figures had 14 for Northern Colorado (14-3, 3-1 Big Sky). Figures became just the third player in school history to score 1,000 points in Division I and the 13th overall. The Bears are off to their best start since beginning 17-2 in 1966-67. Damian Lillard led Weber State (9-7, 3-1) with 15 points. The Wildcats won 15 straight regular-season conference games and 10 straight conference road victories before the loss. 1/7/10 Gameday Final: WSU L 84-75
Big Sky TV | KLO 1430 AM | Big Sky Scoreboard Northern Arizona 68, Idaho State 56 1/7/10 Gameday Articles Standard-Examiner: 'Cats hit road vs. surprising Bears Deseret News: Wildcats travel to take on surprising Bears' club Greeley Tribune: Bears face toughest test yet Big Sky: (Jan 5) Let's Talk Men's Hoops 1/5/10 Thurs: Weber at Northern Colorado This week's matchup in Greeley will be the 7th all-time meeting between the Wildcats and Bears. The 'Cats are 5-1 against the Bears with the only loss being in Greeley in 2007-08. 2008-09: W 88-84 OT, W 82-76 2007-08: L 55-52, W 70-54 2006-07: W 61-60, W 76-65 WSU's 3-0 start in Big Sky play is the 3rd time that the 'Cats have been as successful in the past 8 seasons. Weber's last 4-0 start was in 2003. WSU also has the chance to win its 11th straight regular season conference road game. UNC is 2-1 in league play with its first Big Sky home game being Weber State. UNC went to the Montanas and lost at MSU by 24 points, 87-63, and then beat the Griz the following night 59-48. Last Saturday the Bears went down to Flagstaff and jacked NAU 75-66. Randy Rahe is 5-1 against the Bears. UNC head coach Tad Boyle is 44-61 overall as a head coach with 3 years of experience at UNC. In his 3 years with the Bears he has led his teams to a 5th, 7th and 9th place finish. 2008-09 In Ogden The 'Cats came back from a 16-point hole in the second half to beat UNC 88-84 in OT. Daviin Davis, the 2008-09 Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year, sunk a 3-pointer to give WSU a 2-point lead (86-84) with 18 ticks left in overtime. Davis forced a turnover and Kellen McCoy hit two free throws with 9 seconds left. McCoy led all scores with 23 points, Damian Lillard had 18, WSU also set a new school record with 15 3's. The previous record of 14 was set in 1993-94. WSU was down 73-66 with 45 seconds left in regulation. Lillard hit a game tying 3-pointer at 74-all and sent the game to OT. 2008-09 In Greeley Last year's Big Sky MVP Kellen McCoy logged 25 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists as WSU surged past UNC 82-76 for a 6th straight conference win and 9th win out of 10 Big Sky games. Kyle "K-Bull" Bullinger recorded 17 points and 5 boards, Lillard dropped in 15. UNC was led by senior Jabril Banks with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Devon Beitzel scored 15 points, Mike Proctor and Will Figures both scored 10 points. Stats So far this year Weber State has played 7 home games and 8 away. UNC has only played 4 home games while spending most of the season on the road playing 12 away. The Bears are 4-0 at home and 9-3 away. Team points per game: WSU 73.7, UNC 75.1. Points allowed: WSU 70.6, UNC 65.8. FG%: WSU .426, UNC .462. 3P%: WSU .324, UNC .400. FT%: WSU .721, UNC .736. Rebounds: WSU 36.53, UNC 32.43. Ast: WSU 12.73, UNC 12.56. TOs: WSU 12.33, UNC 13.37. Blk: WSU 3.07, UNC 1.62. Stl: WSU 5.60, UNC 7.78. Preseason Polls In the Big Sky preseason polls UNC was picked 6th by the coaches and media. Lindy's College Basketball magazine picked UNC to finish 8th. Athlon Sports magazine picked UNC to finish in 6th place. Lindy's take on UNC: The Bears have been steadily moving up the ranks in the Big Sky since moving to Division I four years ago. UNC finished fifth in the conference last year, but was quickly bounced in the conference tournament. Steady veteran guard Will Figures - last year's second-leading scorer - is back, as are two other starters in Devon Beitzel and Taylor Montgomery, but the graduation of first-team all-conference player Jabril Banks will sting. It appears the Bears have .500 talent at best and lack the inside presence needed to make a significant move this year. Athlon Sports on UNC: The Bears lost Jabril Banks, one of the league's most productive players, to graduation, but fourth-year coach Tad Boyle still has a decent amount of talent coming back. The best of the returnees is Will Figures, a fleet-footed senior guard who matched Banks for team-high scoring honors last winter by averaging 12.1 points. Devon Beitzel, a shooting guard who averaged 11.8 points as a sophomore, is also back, but with Banks gone, the frontline - where junior Taylor Montgomery (3.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg) is the most experienced of the returnees - remains a concern. UNC Starters C-41 Mike Proctor 6-8 200 So Phoenix, AZ (7.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 0.8 spg) F-44 Taylor Montgomery 6-7 230 Jr Aurora, CO (8.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, .400 3P%) G-32 Devon Beitzel 6-0 170 Jr Lafayette, CO (14.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.4 apg, 2.2 spg, .436 3P%) G-2 Will Figures 5-9 155 Sr Centennial, CO (16.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.2 spg, .406 3P%) G-20 Yahosh Bonner 6-0 210 Sr Mesa, AZ (7.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.5 spg, .444 3P%) Probable WSU Starters C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Sr Salt Lake City, UT (10.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 So Mountain View, WY (10.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg, .352 3P%) G-12 Franklin Session 6-2 175 Jr Los Angeles, CA (8.9, 7.1 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.8 spg, 0.8 bpg) G-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Sr Pocatello, ID (9.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, .343 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 So Oakland, CA (19.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.7 apg, .343 3P%) Bears Bio Established: 1889 Undergraduates: 10,799 Postgraduates: 2,182 Location: Greeley, Colorado Colors: Navy Blue & Gold Home Court: Butler-Hancock, capacity 2,941 UNC Schedule Nov 13 vs McNeese State W 101-73 Nov 15 vs Southern Utah W 73-51 Nov 17 @ Hawaii W 81-75 Nov 20 vs Texas Southern W 66-62 Nov 21 @ Air Force W 70-46 Nov 27 @ North Dakota W 70-63 Dec 1 Colorado State W 70-63 Dec 4 @ Montana State* L 87-63 Dec 5 @ Montana* W 59-48 Dec 12 @ Wyoming L 76-70 Dec 16 Louisiana-Monroe W 95-84 Dec 19 @ Oklahoma L 80-79 Dec 21 San Jose State W 93-69 Dec 28 Denver W 72-57 Dec 30 @ TCU W 64-53 Jan 2 @ Northern Arizona* W 75-66 Jan 7 Weber State* Making History In 2008-09 the Bears made their first ever Big Sky Conference post season appearance. They also had their first ever All-Big Sky 1st team player in Jabril Banks. UNC has had 4 Big Sky honorable mentions, Devon Beitzel and Will Figures last season and Sean Taibi and Jabril Banks in 2007-08. UNC's first Big Sky season, 2006-07, they finished 2-14 and 4-24 overall. In 2007-08 they finished 6-10 and 11-19 overall and last season the Bears went 8-8 and 14-18. One more win this season will tie last season's win total. 1/3/10 Altitude TV Big Sky Schedule The Big Sky basketball "Game of the Week" is back on Altitude Sports & Entertainment for the third year in-a-row. The Altitude games start today with Montana State at Idaho State at 2 PM. Each Sunday will feature the game of the week in Big Sky basketball; also, the conference semifinal games will be broadcasted on the Altitude. The championship game will be on ESPN2. The games can be viewed on DirecTV, dish Network, and Comcast. Altitude is available within a 10-state territory of the Rocky Mountain Region including: Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Northern New Mexico, Northeast Nevada and Southwest South Dakota. 1/2/10 Wildcats Off to 3-0 Start! Weber St. 64, Montana 56 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Damian Lillard scored a career-high 30 points as Weber State beat Montana 64-56 on Saturday night. Lillard's biggest shot of the game came in the closing minutes when he hit a 3-pointer with 1:40 left to break a 54-54 tie. He then gave the Wildcats (9-6, 3-0 Big Sky) a 59-54 lead with a layup with 39 seconds left. Will Cherry scored 17 points to lead the Grizzlies (10-6, 1-3), who trailed 33-23 at halftime but opened the second half on an 8-1 run and eventually led 50-42. Lillard scored 16 of his points in the first half and at one point had outscored the entire Montana team, 14-13. Steve Panos had 10 points for the Wildcats, including a key layup off an offensive rebound with 14 seconds to play to give Weber State a 62-54 lead. Brian Qvale had 14 points for Montana while Anthony Johnson scored 11. 1/2/10 Gameday Final: WSU W 64-56 TV: On the Internet at Big Sky TV | RADIO: On the Internet at KLO 1430 AM
Big Sky Scoreboard Northern Colorado 75, Northern Arizona 66 Portland State 94, Sacramento State 66 1/2/10 Tonight: Montana at Weber On New Year's Eve Weber State played its first day game since the 90s and beat Montana State. Tonight WSU will conclude the New Year's weekend games by hosting the Montana Griz who last won at the Dee in 2003-04. The game will be Weber's 107th all-time meeting between the 2 schools. The Wildcats have played Montana and Idaho State 106 times each and Montana State the next most at 105 meetings. 2008-09 In Ogden Last year at the Dee, WSU beat UM 71-55. Kellen McCoy and Daviin Davis each scored 18 points. Damian Lillard chipped in with 17. WSU hit 24-of-30 from the charity stripe. In the game UM took an early lead, but WSU went on an early run outscoring UM 16-2 in the first half to take an 18-11 lead. The 'Cats biggest lead, 62-43, came on a layup by Lillard with 5 minutes to go in the game. The Griz then scored 8 in-a-row to get within 11 but it would not be enough at the Dee. For the Griz, Anthony Johnson scored 21 points and Jack McGillis added 16. 2008-09 In Missoula When Weber traveled to Montana, the 'Cats were 6-0 on the road with 2 to go to finish with a perfect 8-0 on the road; a conference record. Lillard scored 16 and Steve Panos added 13 to help WSU beat UM (69-58) for the second straight in Missoula. Daviin Davis added 12 points and seven boards in WSU's clincher for the Big Sky title with a 12-1 record. Lillard's 12 points at halftime put WSU ahead 33-27 at intermission. Davis scored on two consecutive layups to increase WSU's lead to 54-38 with 11 minutes to go. Weber was up by as many as 19 points before winning by 11. Anthony Johnson led the Griz with 17 and was the only player on his team to score in double figures. Weber/Montana Stats WSU is off to a 2-0 start in conference play for the second time since 2003. The 2003 team went 16-0 and the 2009 team went 15-1. The 'Cats have won 14 straight conference regular season games and 9 straight conference road games. Montana is 1-2 in conference play after hosting NAU and Northern Colorado a few weeks ago, the Griz beat NAU and then lost to UNC. Montana played in Pocatello 2 nights ago and lost to Idaho State on a last second shot by the Bengals for the 67-65 win. The W was just the second against DI opponents so far this year for the struggling Bengals who have 8 seniors on the roster. Weber's all-time record against Montana is 63-43 overall, 38-13 in Ogden, and 25-30 at UM. Of all the schools in the Big Sky, Montana has the best record against Weber State. Randy Rahe is 11-4 against the Montanas, 6-3 vs MSU and 5-1 vs UM. WSU's last loss to Montana was in January of 2007 in Missoula. Montana's Wayne Tinkle is 58-48 overall has a head coach with 3 years of experience at UM. In his 3 years with the Griz he has led his teams to 3rd, 4th and 2nd place finishes. So far this year Weber State has played 6 home games and 8 away. UM has played 9 home games and 6 away. WSU is averaging 74.4 ppg and 67.1 for UM. WSU allows 71.6 ppg and UM allows 58.3. UM is 2-5 away from Missoula while WSU is 3-5 away from Ogden. Preseason Polls In the Big Sky preseason polls Montana was picked 2nd by the coaches and media. Montana also had 3 out of 8 possible 1st place votes by the coaches while Weber had 4 votes. In the media, UM had 3 votes out of the posssible 28 and WSU had 23 votes. Lindy's College Basketball magazine picked Montana to finish 3rd with Weber in 2nd and Montana State 1st. Lindy's also selected UM's Anthony Johnson as Big Sky MVP and WSU's Franklin Session as Newcomer of the Year. Athlon Sports magazine picked WSU 1st and UM 3rd. Lindy's take on UM: The Grizzlies bounded into Big Sky title contention last year following several difficult seasons. They should be back in the hunt this year behind the play of guard Anthony Johnson, last year's Big Sky Newcomer of the Year. Johnson is arguably the Big Sky's top player and has a nice supporting cast with sharp-shooting guard Ryan Staudacher and rugged forward Jack McGillis. Low post is a major concern in Missoula, however. Coach Wayne Tinkle needs junior post Brian Qvale to step up. Expect the Grizzlies to be in the hunt for the conference title in the regular season and postseason tournement. Athlon on UM: The Grizzlies have been a bit of an enigma in recent years, looking like perennial title contenders on paper but seldom living up to expectations. This looks like another championship-caliber team that fourth-year coach Wayne Tinkle has assembled. Senior guard Anthony Johnson averaged 17.6 points to lead the Big Sky in scoring last season and finished fifth in assists with an average of 3.1 per game. The 6'6" Johnson is versatile and athletic, and seems to have splended supporting cast that includes returning starters Ryan Staudacher (7.8 ppg), a senior guard and outstanding perimeter shooter, and senior forward Jack McGillis (8.1 ppg), a 6'6" wing who knows how to get to the basket. Mix in several other returning letterwinners and a couple of highly promising players who redshirted last season and the Griz seem ready to contend once again - on paper. Probable MSU Starters C-41 Brian Qvale 6-11 255 Jr Williston, ND (10.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.9 bpg) F-44 Jack McGillis 6-6 215 Sr Missoula, MT (6.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.8 spg, .281 3P%) G-2 Raason Young 6-6 175 Jr Washington, DC (5.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg, .538 3P%) G-3 Ryan Staudacher 6-3 210 Sr Kirkland, WA (8.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.5 apg, .418 3P%) G-23 Anthony Johnson 6-2 210 Sr Tacoma, WA (16.8 ppg, 3.5 apg, 3.3 rpg, .366 3P%) A newcomer on the Griz squad is freshman Will Cherry. UM fans are very excited about this young player who was rated very high by ESPN recruiting standards. Cherry was rated as an 80 and is a 6'1" guard from Oakland, CA. Probable WSU Starters C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Sr Salt Lake City, UT (10.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 So Mountain View, WY (10.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, .340 3P%) G-12 Franklin Session 6-2 175 Jr Los Angeles, CA (9.1, 7.0 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.8 spg, 0.8 bpg) G-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Sr Pocatello, ID (9.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, .344 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 So Oakland, CA (18.6 ppg, 3.8 apg, 3.6 rpg, .326 3P%) UM Bio Established: 1893 Undergraduates: 11,799 Graduates: 2,059 Location: Missoula, MT Nickname: Grizzlies Colors: Maroon & Silver Stadium: Dahlberg Arena (7,500) UM Schedule Nov 13 North Dakote W 61-37 Nov 14 Boise State W 95-82 Nov 15 Loyola Marymount W 64-63 Nov 19 @ Denver L 56-49 Nov 23 @ Oregon W 68-55 Nov 29 @ Washington L 63-59 Dec 4 Northern Arizona* W 71-54 Dec 5 Northern Colorado* L 59-48 Dec 10 @ Loyola Marymount W 82-73 Dec 12 @ Colorado State L 62-61 Dec 16 Montana St-Northern W 57-43 Dec 19 UC-Riverside W 67-52 Dec 21 Fresno State W 59-56 Dec 23 Great Falls W 100-52 Dec 31 @ Idaho State* L 67-65 Jan 2 @ Weber State* 1/1/10 Weber State Streaks 14 straight regular season conference wins 10 straight regular season conference road wins 9 straight conference road wins (including conference tournaments) 5 straight wins against Montana 5 straight wins against Sac State Weber State has the Big Sky record for the most consecutive wins in-a-row overall, in Big Sky play, at home and on the road. The longest win streak is 18 straight games and 24 straight conference games. The longest road winning streak is 13 in-a-row in conference games. The record for consecutive road wins whether it be conference or not is 8 straight which was tied by WSU in 2008-09. The only team in school history to go 8-0 on the road in conference play in one season was WSU last year. Weber's overall road win streak ended at Santa Barbara this season on November 17th. WSU also ends 2 streaks. Weber beat Utah to end an 8 game losing streak to the Utes dating back to 2000-01. WSU's 2-of-3 wins at the Basketball Travelers Invitational in Logan ends a 15 year losing streak in the Spectrum. Weber's last win on USU's court was during the 1993-94 season. WSU's home opener streak comes to an end. In season openers WSU is 39-9. Weber is 29-3 when opening the season at home. Losing to Utah State 66-60 this season ended a 12 year streak of opening wins at home. The only losses came in 1991-92 against St. Mary's, 1997-98 to Utah, and now USU in 2009-10. WSU is 4-8 when opening the season on an opponent's home court. WSU is 4-1 in neutral court season openers. 1/1/10 WSU Wins 14th Straight Regular Season Big Sky Game Weber St. 75, Montana St. 62 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Kyle Bullinger scored 20 points, while Franklin Session added 10 points and 10 rebounds as Weber State defeated Montana State 75-62 on Thursday. Nick Hansen scored 15 points for the Wildcats (8-6, 2-0 Big Sky), who shot 9-of-10 from the free-throw line in the final 1:21. Steve Panos added 14. Marquis Navarre led the Bobcats (7-6, 2-1) with 14 points, while Bobby Howard and Danny Piepoli each had 13. MSU went on a 10-2 run late in the first half to take a 36-35 lead with Will Bynum hitting a pair of 3-pointers during the stretch. But a pair of free throws with 52 seconds left in the period gave WSU a 37-36 lead at intermission. It was just the second time this season the Wildcats led at halftime. 12/31/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 75-62 TV: On the Internet at Big Sky TV | RADIO: On the Internet at KLO 1430 AM
12/29/09 Thurs: Montana State at Weber, 3 PM New Year's Eve at 3 PM Weber State will host Montana State for its first home conference game. The game will be the 104th all-time meeting between the 2 schools. Last season, the last week of the year WSU closed out a record setting 15-1 season by going 8-0 on the road. No Big Sky team had ever won 8 road games in one season. WSU notched its 8th road win in Bozeman beating MSU 84-64. Damian Lillard scored a then career-high 27 points. Kellen McCoy, last year's Big Sky MVP dropped in 20 points, "The Real" McCoy scored 15 points in the first 9 minutes to give WSU a double-digit lead just 6 minutes into the first half. WSU's lone season loss was a 75-70 decision to MSU in Ogden earlier in the season. The next meeting between WSU and MSU was in the semifinal game of the Big Sky Tournament. In the quarterfinal MSU traveled to Missoula and beat Montana 56-54. With MSU coming to Ogden for the Big Sky semifinal WSU had just received 5 votes (35th) in the AP Top 25. BYU was ranked 25th, Utah 29th with 29 votes, Utah State 33rd with 6 votes. In the semifinal game after WSU had just won 12 straight games the 'Cats fell to the Bobcats 70-61. It took MSU 46 years to muster up 9 wins in Ogden and then in 2009 the Bobcats beat WSU twice and at the Dee. In the game MSU's Branden Johnson made four 3-pointers scoring 16, Divaldo Mbunga added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Kellen McCoy led WSU with 16 points. The Wildcats couldn't get any shots to fall after being such a good shooting team all year. WSU shot 33% in the game and was just 4-of-26 from downtown. It's now 2010 and WSU is back and ready for another run for the Big Sky title. WSU is already 1-0 with an early December conference win on the road at Sac State. The 'Cats have won 14 straight conference regular season games and 9 straight conference road games and even 10 straight regular season conference road wins dating back to March 3rd of 2008. Weber's all-time record against Montana State is 69-34 overall, 43-11 in Ogden, and 26-23 at MSU. Notable alumni of Montana State include Dennis Erickson, current head football coach at Arizona State, Craig Kilborn the actor and former talk show host played basketball for the Bobcats. Also, the Big Sky's only school to ever win a national championship in men's basketball was MSU in 1929. Randy Rahe is 10-4 against the Montanas, 5-3 vs MSU and 5-1 vs UM. WSU hasn't lost to the Montana Griz since January of 2007. Preseason Polls In the Big Sky preseason polls Montana State was picked to finish 5th by the coaches and media and WSU was picked 1st. Lindy's College Basketball magazine picked Montana State to win the Big Sky with Weber in 2nd. Lindy's take on MSU: The Bobcats more than made up for a sub-par regular season in March. After barely garnering the sixth and final berth into the Big Sky Tournament, the Bobcats upset rival Montana on the road and then No. 1 seed Weber State on its home court. In the title game, MSU came oh-so-close before falling to Portland State, 79-77. For his work, coach Brad Huse was awarded a three-year contract extension. More good news in Bozeman: The Bobcats return four starters, led by leading scorer Will Bynum, and fellow double digit scorer Bobby Howard. The loss of first-team all-confernce post Divaldo Mbunga is a huge one, however. Probable MSU Starters C-42 Branden Johnson 6-9 230 Sr Yakima, WA (10.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, .375 3P%) F-15 Bobby Howard 6-7 225 Jr Great Falls, MT (13.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, .346 3P%) F-23 Erik Rush 6-5 210 Jr San Jose, CA (13.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.1 spg, .263 3P%) G-20 Will Bynum 6-3 180 Sr Almagordo, NM (8.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.2 apg, 2.0 spg, .200 3P%) G-3 Marquis Navarre 5-11 165 Sr Oceanside, CA (10.9 ppg, 3.0 apg, 2.4 rpg, 1.7 spg, .500 3P%) Probable WSU Starters C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Sr Salt Lake City, UT (10.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 So Mountain View, WY (9.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, .340 3P%) G-12 Franklin Session 6-2 175 Jr Los Angeles, CA (9.1, 6.8 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.8 spg, 0.8 bpg) G-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Sr Pocatello, ID (9.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, .352 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 So Oakland, CA (19.1 ppg, 3.8 apg, 3.6 rpg, .333 3P%) Montana State Bio Established: 1893 Undergraduates: 10,842 Postgraduates: 1,408 Location: Bozeman, MT Nickname: Bobcats Colors: Blue & Gold Stadium: Worthington Arena (6,378) MSU Schedule Nov 14 @ Nevada L 75-61 Nov 17 Colorad Christian W 68-58 Nov 21 Southern Miss L 66-62 Nov 25 @ San Francisco W 70-66 Nov 28 @ Oregon L 89-66 Dec 4 Northern Colorado* W 87-63 Dec 5 Northern Arizona* W 62-50 Dec 9 @ Memphis L 76-51 Dec 12 Northern New Mexico W 103-54 Dec 18 UC-Santa Barbara W 76-64 Dec 21 @ Cal Poly W 76-72 Dec 23 @ Boise State L 58-56 Dec 31 @ Weber State* Basketball Travelers Invitational Dec 21: Weber beats CS Fullerton 82-71, video clip | Utah State beats Morehead State 79-72 Dec 22: Weber beats Morehead State 66-64, video clip | Utah State over CS Fullerton 83-60 Dec 23: Morehead State beats Fullerton 69-62 | Weber loses to Utah State 85-73 12/23/09 Utah St. 85, Weber St. 73 Associated Press LOGAN, Utah -- Tai Wesley scored 19 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds to lead Utah State to a 85-73 win over Weber State Wednesday night. Jared Quayle added 16 points and Modou Niang a career-high 13 for the Aggies (9-4). The win was the final game of the Basketball Travelers Invitational, hosted by Utah State. Damian Lillard scored 22 for Weber State (7-6), Kyle Bullinger 21 and Nick Hansen 11. Lillard did not score from the field until the second half. The Wildcats got a layup from Trevor Morris with 13:50 to play to bring the score to 55-46, the closest Weber State would get in the second half. Two consecutive tip-ins from Tyler Newbold put the Aggies back in charge. Wesley scored the first five points of the game as Utah State burst out to a 14-2 lead. The Aggies held a double-digit lead throughout the rest of the first half and led 46-29 at halftime. 12/23/09 Gameday Final: WSU L 85-73 TV: None | RADIO: On the Internet at KLO 1430 AM | Live Stats: Game Tracker 
12/23/09 Weber State vs Utah State Part 2 Weber State started the 2009-10 basketball season off hosting the Utah State Aggies and WSU will now conclude the preseason at Utah State. Tip-off is set for 8:05 PM tonight. The game is the 62nd all-time meeting; the overall series is, WSU with 25 wins and USU with 36. Against the Ag's, the 'Cats are 15-14 at home, 2-1 on neutral courts and 8-20 in Logan. WSU is now 10-20 overall in the Spectrum with the 2 wins this week against Fullerton and Morehead. WSU's last win in Logan was in 1994. The first 2 games ever played between WSU & USU was 1971 & 1972, both in Logan and both won by Weber. There have been 5 overtime games and WSU has taken 3 of them. The lowest scoring game between the 2 was 1971, WSU won 63-62. The highest scoring game was 1988, USU won 107-93. The series has gone back and forth and WSU has led in wins up until 1988 where the series came to a 17-17 tie. Since '89 the Aggies have led the series and the 'Cats kept within 4 games until USU's recent 6 game win streak that put them 10 ahead. Stew Morrill is in his 12th season as USU's head coach, he is 9-4 against Weber. His 1st year was 1999 and his Aggies lost by 20 points to the 'Cats at the Delta Center. Stew would lose 3 of his first 4 competitions to the Purple and White. Stew is the winningest coach in USU history with 267 wins and 10 straight 23 win seasons. This season USU has 18 home games which will help in securing another 20 win season with 8 down thus far. Coach Rahe spent 13 seasons as an assistant to Stew at Colorado State & Utah State. Rahe is 1-4 vs Stew (1-1 at home, 0-1 neutral, 0-2 in Logan). Injuries USU will play tonight's game without starting center Nate Bendall who will be out for heart surgery. When WSU played USU the first time the Aggies had to play without starting small forward Pooh Williams. Williams is now back and playing at 100% but Bendall is now out for the next 7-10 days. Salt Lake Tribune: "Bendall's surgery is not considered serious, career, nor life threatening. He had the option of getting the surgery done during or after the season, but decided to get it done over the holidays." Probable USU Starters C-44 Matt Formisano 6-8 240 Jr Centennial, CO (4.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg) F-42 Tai Wesley 6-7 240 Jr Provo, UT (13.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.3 apg) F-5 Pooh Williams 6-3 200 Jr Federal Way, WA (8.3 ppg, 2.3 apg, 2.0 rpg, .414 3P%) G-24 Tyler Newbold 6-4 210 Jr Payson, UT (8.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.8 apg, .377 3P%) G-21 Jared Quayle 6-1 180 Sr Perry, UT (11.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 4.7 apg, .413 3P%) Probable WSU Starters C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Sr Salt Lake City, UT (11.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 So Mountain View, WY (8.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, .395 3P%) G-12 Franklin Session 6-2 175 Jr Los Angeles, CA (9.7, 7.1 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.8 spg, 0.8 bpg) G-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Sr Pocatello, ID (9.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, .341 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 So Oakland, CA (18.8 ppg, 3.7 apg, 3.4 rpg, .317 3P%) USU Schedule Nov 13 at Weber State W 66-60 Nov 18 at Utah L 68-67 Nov 21 at Northeastern L 64-61 Nov 24 Idaho State W 77-44 Nov 28 Southern Utah W 89-49 Dec 2 Brigham Young W 71-61 Dec 5 Saint Mary's L 68-63 Dec 12 Utah Valley W 87-56 Dec 16 at Cal State Bakersfield W 68-51 Dec 18 at Long Beach State L 75-62 Dec 21 Morehead State W 79-72 Dec 22 Cal State Fullerton W 83-60 Dec 23 Weber State
*1963 was the first year Weber State competed as an NCAA Division I basketball team. 12/22/09 Weber St. 66, Morehead St. 64 Associated Press LOGAN, Utah -- Damian Lillard scored 22 points, including the go-ahead basket in the final minute, to push Weber State past Morehead State 66-64 Tuesday night. Lindsey Hughey also added 15 for the Wildcats (7-5) and Nick Hansen added 13. The win came in the second day of the Basketball Travelers Invitational hosted by Utah State. Morehead State (4-6) was led by Maze Stallworth, who dropped in 21 and pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds. Kenneth Faried scored 16 and Demonte Harper 14 for the Eagles. Trailing by as many as 20 points twice in the first half, Weber State took their first lead of the game 50-49 with 5:25 to play in the game when Kyle Bullinger made a breakaway layup following a missed shot by Faried. The teams then traded leads or were tied nine times until Lillard made a spinning layup to give the Wildcats a 58-57 advantage with 51 seconds to play. 12/22/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 66-64 TV: None | RADIO: On the Internet at KLO 1430 AM 
12/22/09 Tues: WSU vs Morehead State Tonight in Logan, WSU will attempt to win its second game in 2 days. The Basketball Travelers Invitational sponsored by Gossner Foods in Logan continues after WSU and USU each get a win on the opening night. Weber will play Morehead State who lost to Utah State 79-72 and USU will take on CS Fullerton who lost to Weber 82-71. Tonight's game will be the first ever between the Wildcats and the Eagles of Morehead State. WSU is 3-0 all-time against current Ohio Valley Conference members - Austin Peay 0-0; Eastern Kentucky 1-0; Eastern Illinois 1-0; Jacksonville State 0-0; Murray State 0-0; SE Missouri State 0-0; Morehead State 0-0; Tennessee-Martin 0-0; Tennessee State 1-0; Tennessee Tech 0-0. Preseason Polls Last season Morehead made it to the big dance for the first time since 1984 and won the play-in-game against Alabama State and then lost to 1-seed Louisville 74-54. Morehead returns big man Kenneth Faried and three other starters and was picked to finish first in the OVC this year. Athlon Sports picked the Eagles to win the OVC and to make the NCAA Tournament as a 15-seed. Lindy's college basketball magazine has Faried ranked as the 20th best center in the nation. Probable Morehead Starters C-35 Kenneth Faried 6-8 225 Jr Newark, NJ (16.8 ppg, 13.0 rpg, 1.8 bpg, 1.6 spg) F-22 Demonte Harper 6-4 185 Jr Nashville, TN (12.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.3 spg, .379 3P%) F-1 Maze Stallworth 6-4 215 Sr Elizabethtown, KY (8.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, .305 3P%) G-11 Terrance Hill 6-1 170 So Columbus, GA (7.4 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, .313 3P%) G-15 Brandon Shingles 6-3 175 Sr Albany, GA (5.0 ppg, 6.3 apg, 2.5 rpg, 1.3 spg, .250 3P%) Probable WSU Starters C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Sr Salt Lake City, UT (11.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 So Mountain View, WY (9.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, .342 3P%) G-12 Franklin Session 6-2 175 Jr Los Angeles, CA (9.8, 6.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.0 spg, 0.8 bpg) G-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Sr Pocatello, ID (8.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, .324 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 So Oakland, CA (18.4 ppg, 3.8 apg, 3.7 rpg, 0.9 spg, .329 3P%) Morehead Bio Established: 1887 Location: Morehead, KY Nickname: Eagles Colors: Blue & Gold Undergraduates: 7,921 Postgraduates: 1,588 Arena: Ellis T. Johnson Arena, 6,500 Conference: Ohio Valley morehead Schedule Nov 13 at No. 5 Kentucky L 75-59 Nov 16 Brescia W 86-51 Nov 21 Louisiana-Monroe L 74-73 Nov 29 Kent State L 63-57 Dec 3 at Tennessee-Martin W 74-66 Dec 5 at Murray State L 86-56 Dec 15 St. Catharine W 81-53 Dec 18 East Tennessee State W 60-58 Dec 21 at Utah State L 79-72 Dec 22 vs Weber State Dec 23 vs Cal State Fullerton Notable Morehead State Alumni: Billy Ray Cyrus, famous Country singer and mullet; Phil Simms, former NFL QB and MVP of Super Bowl XXI; Kelly Kulick - pro bowler; Liz Johnson pro bowler. 12/21/09 Weber St. 82, Cal St.-Fullerton 71 Associated Press LOGAN, UTAH -- Damian Lillard scored 20 points and joined three other Wildcats in double-figure scoring as Weber State topped Cal State Fullerton 82-71 Monday night. Franklin Session and Lindsey Hughey added 14 for Weber State (6-5), while Steve Spanos dropped in 12. The win was in the opening round of the three-day Basketball Travelers Invitational, hosted by Utah State. Fullerton (4-4) was led by Jacques Streeter with 21, Gerard Anderson 14 and JerVaughn Johnson 13. Though trailing at half, the Wildcats pushed to a 63-52 lead with 10:23 to play behind three 3-point shots by Nick Hansen. After that, the Titans were never able to draw closer than 79-71, though Streeter scored 14 in the second half. 12/21/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 82-71 TV: None | RADIO: On the Internet at KLO 1430 AM 
12/19/09 Mon: WSU vs CS Fullerton @ USU Tournament On Monday WSU will head up to Logan for the Basketball Traveler's Invitational sponsored by Gossner Foods. The Wildcats will play 3 games in 3 days before the holiday break and 4 games in 7 days including the UNLV game. The games in Logan will be a 4 team tournament although all 4 teams will play each team once and there will be no champioship game. On the first night WSU will be matched up with California State University, Fullerton at 5:30 pm followed by Morehead vs Utah State at 8 pm. WSU will play Morehead State on Tuesday and then Utah State on Wednesday. Weber State's all-time record vs the Fullerton Titans is 3-1. WSU vs Fullerton 1963 W 86-78 Ogden; L 93-112 Fullerton 1988 W 81-77 Ogden 1989 W 88-77 Fullerton WSU is 27-20 against current Big West Conference members - Pacific 2-1; UC Riverside 1-1; UC Santa Barbara 2-1; CS Fullerton 3-1;CS Northridge 13-8; Long Beach State 3-8; UC Irvine 1-0; UC Davis 2-0; Cal Poly 0-0. Preseason Polls Last season Fullerton finished in 7th place out of 9 Big West teams with a 7-9 record and 15-17 overall. The Titans lost the the Big West player of the year (Josh Akognon, 24 ppg) to graduation but they do return 3 starters from last season in Jacques Streeter, guard; Gerard Anderson, forward; Aaron Thompson, forward. Lindy's college basketball magazine picked them to finish 5th; Athlon Sports picked the Titans to finish 6th. Both polls have Long Beach and Santa Barbara as the top 2. 3 DI Transfers Fullerton has added 3 DI transfers to its roster: Orane Chin, South Florida; Jer'Vaughn Johnson, San Diego State; Bryce Webster, Minnesota. Johnson and Webster are starters and Chin, a 6-7 junior forward comes off the bench averaging 8.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 21 minutes per game. Probable Fullerton Starters C-13 Bryce Webster 6-10 240 Jr Minnesota, MN (7.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 0.9 bpg) F-12 Jer'Vaughn Johnson 6-6 240 Sr Compton, CA (11.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.0 spg, .375 3P%) F-5 Gerard Anderson 6-6 205 Sr Los Angeles, CA (5.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.4 spg) G-0 Aaron Thompson 6-4 190 Sr Los Angeles, CA (12.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.3 spg, .632 3P%) G-11 Jacques Streeter 6-0 175 So Los Angeles, CA (10.0 ppg, 3.7 apg, 2.4 rpg, .333 3P%) Probable WSU Starters C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Sr Salt Lake City, UT (11.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 So Mountain View, WY (9.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, .342 3P%) G-12 Franklin Session 6-2 175 Jr Los Angeles, CA (9.8, 6.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.0 spg, 0.8 bpg) G-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Sr Pocatello, ID (8.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, .324 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 So Oakland, CA (18.4 ppg, 3.8 apg, 3.7 rpg, 0.9 spg, .329 3P%) Fullerton Bio Established: 1957 Location: Fullerton, CA Nickname: Titans Colors: Blue & Orange Students: 36,262 Arena: Titan Gym, 4,000 Conference: Big West Fullerton Schedule Nov 14 Hope International W 93-57 Nov 17 at UCLA W 68-65 2OT Nov 24 New Mexico State W 84-73 Dec 4 vs. Central Arkansas L 69-49 Dec 5 at Stephen F. Austin L 62-61 Dec 9 at San Diego State L 82-68 Dec 12 Occidental W 97-59 Dec 21 vs Weber State Dec 22 at Utah State Dec 23 vs Morehead State CS Fullerton is well known for its baseball. The Titans have 4 NCAA DI national championships - 1979, 1984, 1995, 2004. Notable Fullerton alumni include: Cedric Ceballos, NBA player; Kevin Costner; Jeremy Giambi, MLB; Steve Mariucci, NFL coach. 12/18/09 UNLV 72, Weber St. 63 Associated Press LAS VEGAS -- Matt Shaw scored 16 points and Chace Stanback added 15 to lead UNLV over Weber State 72-63 on Thursday night. Shaw was 4 of 6 from 3-point range while Stanback had five rebounds and four blocks for UNLV (9-1). Oscar Bellfield scored 10 points along with eight assists. Kyle Bullinger scored a game-high 21 points to lead Weber State (5-5). He was 5 of 8 from 3-point range and was 1-point short of tying his career scoring high. UNLV shot 25 of 53 (47 percent) from the field, while the Wildcats were 20 of 55 (36 percent). The Rebels were 10 of 23 from 3-point range (44 percent), while Weber State was 10 of 24 (42 percent). UNLV had a season-high nine blocks. 12/17/09 Gameday Final: WSU L 72-63 TV: None | RADIO: On the Internet at KLO 1430 AM | Live Stats: Game Tracker  
12/16/09 Thurs: Weber at #23 UNLV Thursday night at 8 pm local time the (5-4) Weber State Wildcats will take on the (8-1) UNLV Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. UNLV is currently ranked No.23 in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25. After losing at home to Kansas State last week UNLV dropped from No.17 to just outside the top 25 in the AP poll. On Wednesday night UNLV traveled to Cedar City where they struggled in the first half against the SUU Thunderbirds but then finished them off winnning the game by 18 points. UNLV had a 1 point lead at the half and saw 6 ties and 4 lead changes in the game. UNLV won 77-59 Weber State is 2-1 all-time against UNLV and 1-1 since moving up to Div I. The last meeting between the 2 teams was in 1998-99 (L 82-64). The other game was in 1979-80 against the Tarkanian Rebels, WSU won 79-78 in the championship game at the Las Vegas Holiday Classic. Weber finished the 1980 season ranked 17th in the AP Top 25. Coach Rahe, 62-38 overall as head coach of the Wildcats is 1-8 vs Mountain West teams (0-1 New Mexico, 1-3 Utah, 0-4 BYU). WSU overall is 34-60 against current Mountain West teams (13-25 Utah, 10-25 BYU, 5-1 Colorado State, 2-4 Wyoming, 2-2 New Mexico, 1-1 Air Force, 1-1 UNLV, 0-1 San Diego State, 0-0 TCU). UNLV is led by head coach Lon Kruger. The 2009-10 season is Kruger's 24th year as a head coach in the college ranks. He also spent 4 seasons coaching the Atlanta Hawks (2000-03) and 1 season as an assistant with the New York Knicks (2003-04). Kruger's overall coaching record in college is 438-287. With the Rebels he is 120-54. Kruger has taken 4 different teams to a total of 11 NCAA Tournament appearances. He made it to the Elite 8 with Kansas State in 1988 and the Final Four in 1994 with Florida. In 2007 Kruger took UNLV to the Sweet 16 led by his own son as the point-guard. Coach Kruger 1982-86 Texas-Pan American, 52-59 1986-90 Kansas State, 81-46 1990-1996 Florida, 104-80 1996-2000 Illinois, 81-48 2004-2010 UNLV, 120-54 UNLV fans have seen different starting lineups every week this season. The probable starters below were the starting 5 against SUU. Also, coming off the bench is UNLV's leading scorer in Tre'Von Willis a 6'4" junior averaging 16.9 ppg, 4 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.1 spg, .273 3P%. Probable UNLV Starters C-34 Matt Shaw 6-8 240 Jr Los Angeles, CA (5.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg) F-22 Chace Stanback 6-8 So Los Angeles, CA (8.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.0 spg, 0.9 bpg) G-2 Kendall Wallace 6-4 Jr Mesa, AZ (6.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, .371 3P%) G-0 Oscar Bellfield 6-2 So Los Angeles, CA (10.9 ppg, 3.6 apg, 3.4 rpg, 1.2 spg, .294 3P%) G-5 Derrick Jasper 6-6 Jr Paso Robles, CA (7.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.6 spg, .278 3P%) Probable WSU Starters C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Sr Salt Lake City, UT (11.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 So Mountain View, WY (8.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, .267 3P%) G-12 Franklin Session 6-2 175 Jr Los Angeles, CA (10.0, 6.4 rpg, 2.8 apg, 2.1 spg, 0.9 bpg) G-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Sr Pocatello, ID (9.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, .328 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 So Oakland, CA (19.6 ppg, 3.8 apg, 3.7 rpg, 0.9 spg, .323 3P%) UNLV Bio Established: 1957 Location: Paradise, NV Nickname: Rebels Colors: Scarlet & Gray Undergraduates: 22,108 Postgraduates: 6,263 Arena: Thomas & Mack Center, 18,000 Conference: Mountain West UNLV Schedule Nov 14 Pittsburg State W 91-52 Nov 18 Nevada W 88-75 Nov 21 Southern Illinois W 78-69 Nov 25 Holy Cross W 80-59 Nov 28 No. 16 Louisville W 76-71 Dec 2 at Arizona W 74-72 2OT Dec 5 at Santa Clara W 66-63 Dec 12 Kansas State L 95-80 Dec 15 at Southern Utah W 77-59 Dec 17 Weber State 12/13/09 Weber St. 84, S. Utah 66 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Steve Panos scored 19 points and was one of five Weber State players in double figures as the Wildcats beat Southern Utah 84-66 on Saturday night. Nick Hansen had four 3-pointers in the first eight minutes as the Wildcats (5-4) built an early 21-6 lead. Hansen finished with 18 points while Franklin Session also had 18. Davis Baker scored 27 points to lead the Thunderbirds (3-7), who have lost five straight games. The Thunderbirds cut the Wildcats lead to 66-53 with 8:56 to play following a three-point play by Matt Hodgson, but Weber State answered with 10 straight points. Southern Utah ended the first half on a 7-3 run, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Damon Heuir, but still trailed 48-31 at intermission. The 48 points were the most scored by Weber State in a first half this season, and the lead was its first at halftime this season. 12/12/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 84-66 TV: Streaming online at BigSkyTV.org | RADIO: On the Internet at KLO 1430 AM 
12/11/09 Sat: Southern Utah at Weber Saturday night at 7pm the (4-4) Weber State Wilcats will host the (3-6) Thunderbirds of Southern Utah. Currently SUU has lost 4 straight while WSU has won 3 straight. The two teams have met on the hardwood 25 times since 1982. Weber leads the series with a record of 19-6. In Ogden, WSU is 14-2 and 5-4 in Cedar City. Tomorrow's game will be Coach Rahe's 4th against the T-Birds and he is 3-1 overall with the loss being the first game of the series back in 2007 in Cedar. 2007: L 75-63, W 59-57 2008: W 66-62 Last year's 66-62 win in Cedar was Weber's first win at the Centrum after having lost 2 in-a-row down South. In 2006-07 WSU lost 75-63 and in 2005-06 WSU lost 68-47. The only overtime game in the series was SUU’s first win over the 'Cats, winning 92-90 in 1986-87 in Ogden. Of the last 6 meetings between the 2 teams SUU has won 3 times. SUU Starters C-44 Matt Hodgson 6-11 225 Fr Booval, Australia (5.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.6 bpg) F-34 Matt Massey 6-9 220 So Brisbane, Australia (10.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg, .375 3P%) F-4 Jake Nielson 6-3 185 So Aurora, CO (10.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.4 apg, 2.0 spg, .333 3P%) G-25 Davis Baker 6-5 195 Sr Coto de Caza, CA (16.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, .143 3P%) G-3 Damon Heuir 6-2 200 Townsville, Australia (1.2 ppg, 2.2 apg, 2.1 rpg, .500 3P%) WSU Starters C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Sr Salt Lake City, UT (10.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 So Mountain View, WY (9.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, .250 3P%) G-12 Franklin Session 6-2 175 Jr Los Angeles, CA (9.0, 6.6 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.9 spg, 1.0 bpg) G-15 Lindsey Hughey 6-3 200 Jr Grand Prairie, TX (6.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, .267 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 So Oakland, CA (20.6 ppg, 3.6 apg, 3.4 rpg, 1.0 spg, .321 3P%) T-Bird Bio Established: 1897 Location: Cedar City, UT Nickname: Thunderbirds Colors: Red & White Undergraduates: 6,490 Postgraduates: 567 Conference: Summit League SUU Schedule Nov 14 at Hawaii L 65-48 Nov 15 vs. Northern Colorado L 73-51 Nov 17 vs. McNeese State W 68-59 Nov 19 Southwest W 111-51 Nov 21 Wayland Baptist Univ W 79-61 Nov 25 Tennessee Tech L 72-65 Nov 28 at Utah State L 89-49 Dec 3 at Centenary L 93-85 Dec 5 at Oral Roberts L 68-53 Dec 12 at Weber State 12/9/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 73-70 TV: Streaming online at BigSkyTV.org | RADIO: On the Internet at KLO 1430 AM 
12/8/09 Lillard, Big Sky POTW Honors From the Big Sky Conference's official site by Jon Kasper Waters, Lillard Share Weekly Honor BigSkyConf.com 12/7/09 Wed: Montana Tech at Weber Wednesday night the Wildcats and Orediggers of Montana Tech will tipoff at 7pm at the Dee Events Center. With wins against Utah and Sacramento State last week, WSU will try to keep the win streak going before hosting SUU on Saturday. Damian Lillard has been on a scoring rampage this season and as of late he scored 27 against Sac and a career-best 28 against Utah. Lillard, the 16th leading scorer in the nation right now might be too much to handle for the Orediggers. Montana Tech is 4-7 overall and competes at the NCAA DII level. The game will be the 5th ever meeting between the schools. Weber leads the series 4-0. All 4 games have been played in Ogden. The first meeting was during the 2002-03 season, the 'Cats won 94-58 (26-6 overall on the season). In 2005-06 the 'Cats won 81-51 (10-18 overall) and two years ago in 2006-07 WSU won 81-53 (20-12 overall). Last season's meeting, the 'Cats won 77-62 (21-10 overall). The Orediggers will also play Idaho State on Dec 28. Also, Kelvin Sampson, former Indiana head coach, was the Montana Tech's head coach from 1981-85. According to Wikipedia, despite his storied off-court issues, Sampson had an open invitation to return to Butte to coach again. Montana Tech named it's new basketball court after Sampson. Currently, Sampson is an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks. Athletic Director Joe McClafferty: "Sampson is a great man who did a tremendous amount for the school." Montana Tech Bio Nickname: Orediggers Location: Butte, MT Established: 1889 Enrollment: 2,320 Colors: Green & Copper NCAA Classification: Division II Conference: Frontier 12/6/09 Wildcats Win 9th Straight Big Sky Road Game! The Weber State Wildcats set a Big Sky record last season for the most conference road wins in one season going 8-0. With the win over Sacramento State last night the streak continues to 9 in-a-row. The Big Sky record for consecutive conference road wins is 13 which was set also by WSU back in 1968-70. Weber's next Big Sky road game is at Northern Colorado on January 7th. WSU has now beat Sac 5 straight times and is now 28-4 all-time against the Hornets (15-1 in Ogden, 13-3 in Sac). Coach Rahe notched his 60th win as a head coach and his 40th conference victory in the same night. Rahe and company are an impressive 16-10 on the road against Big Sky opponents. Road games typically are considered hard to win in college basketball which Rahe is starting to make look deceiving.
12/5/09 Weber St. 80, Sacramento St. 65 Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Damian Lillard had 27 points and four assists in Weber State's 80-65 victory over Sacramento State Saturday night. Franklin Session had 14 points and 18 rebounds and Nick Hansen added 17 points for the Wildcats (3-4, 1-0), who got their first road win in the Big Sky Conference opener. Sultan Toles-Bey had 14 points and Michael Selling added 13 points and six rebounds for the Hornets (4-5, 0-1). Before the Hornets ended the first half leading 32-30, Duro Bjegovic's basket at the 2:51 mark gave Sacramento State its biggest lead at 30-25. Both teams had trouble finding the basket in the first half. The Hornets made 11 of 31 from the field while the Wildcats hit 10 of 34. Six lead changes and two ties were recorded in the second half before the Wildcats went on a 17-3 run to make the score 61-50 with less than five minutes remaining. 12/5/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 80-65 Box Score TV: Streaming online at BigSkyTV.org | RADIO: On the Internet at KLO 1430 AM
Big Sky Scoreboard Big Sky: Portland State 98, Eastern Washington 75 | Northern Colorado 59, Montana 48 Montana State 62, Northern Arizona 50 Out of confernece: Utah 68, Idaho State 56 12/5/09 Tonight: WSU at Sac State Sacramento State Hornets aka California State University, Sacramento, will be hosting the WSU Wildcats for the 17th ever meeting in Sacramento between the Wildcats and Hornets. Last season when the two teams met, Sac was being outscored by an average of 17.4 points per contest and finished the year with a 2-27 record. This year in just 8 games Sac has doubled its win total from last year to this year with 4 wins and 4 losses. The Hornets have only one win in Ogden and just 4 wins overall out of the 31 all-time games. All four of Sac's wins against Weber have come in the last 7 years. In 2005-06 (one of the 8 worst seasons in WSU history) Sac State and Portland State both got their only win in Ogden to date, and after the Hornets won they were so excited they even took the game ball home. WSU head coach Randy Rahe is 5-1 overall against the Hornets. Sac State's head coach Brian Katz is 0-2 vs Weber and was a first year DI coach last season. Katz spent 19 seasons in the JC rankings all in the state of California. He spent 15 years prior to Sac at San Joaquin Delta JC in Stockton, CA. At San Joaquin Delta Katz went 348-138 (79%). The 4 years prior to San Joaquin Katz was the coach at Lassen JC where he posted a 87-47 (65%) record. Overall he was 435-185 (70%) at the JUCO level. Sac Starters C-40 Justin Eller 6-8 235 Sr Yreka, CA (8.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg) F-32 Michael Selling 6-8 225 Jr Folsom, CA (8.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg) G-21 Sultan Toles-Bey 5-10 185 Jr Compton, CA (12.3 ppg, 3.9 apg, 3.8 rpg, 2.3 spg, .303 3P%) G-14 Mike Marcial 6-1 180 Sr Clovis, CA (2.9 ppg, 3.8 apg, 3.3 rpg, .273 3P%) G-22 Antonio Flaggs 6-3 180 Sr Pittsburg, CA (7.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.8 rpg, 2.1 apg, .375 3P%) WSU Starters C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Sr Salt Lake City, UT (11.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 So Mountain View, WY (10.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, .261 3P%) F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (6.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, .306 3P%) G-15 Lindsey Hughey 6-3 200 Jr Grand Prairie, TX (7.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.8 apg, .364 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 So Oakland, CA (20.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.3 spg, .304 3P%) Sac Schedule ovember 13 at Rice L 81-51 Nov 14 vs. Houston Baptist W 70-60 Nov 15 vs. South Alabama L 70-58 Nov 18 Bethany (CA) W 90-75 Nov 21 at Oregon State W 65-63 Nov 24 at Idaho L 75-61 Nov 28 UC Riverside L 59-58 Dec 2 at UC Davis W 59-57 Dec 5 Weber State 8:05 pm Hornet bio Established: 1947 Undergraduates: 22,555 Postgraduates: 5,417 Location: Sacramento, CA Colors: Green & Gold Mascot: Herky the Hornet Series: WSU is 27-4 all-time vs Sac Famous alumni Tom Hanks, Creed Bratton from The Office, Lester Holt anchor of the weekend edition of Today, Joan Lunden & Bobby McFerrin. 12/3/09 Weber St. 83, Utah 76 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Damian Lillard scored a career-high 28 points to lead Weber State to an 83-76 win over Utah on Wednesday night. Steve Panos added 20 points for the Wildcats (2-4). Kim Tillie led Utah (3-4) with 20 points while Carlon Brown had 16. David Foster had a school-record 10 blocks but was in foul trouble often and played just 22 minutes. Lillard hit a jumper with 2:44 left in the game to give the Wildcats a 71-69 lead. On the next trip down the court, Lillard made his only 3-pointer to finish a 9-0 run. The Utes opened the game on a 9-0 run thanks to a 3-pointer from Tillie and then two more 3s from Marshall Henderson. A three-point play by Brown built Utah's lead to 28-14 with 7:32 left in the first half. Weber State took its first lead on Lillard's finger-roll that capped a 9-2 run and gave the Wildcats a 53-51 advantage with 13:35 to play. 12/2/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 83-76 Box Score 
11/29/09 Wed: Utah at Weber TV: Streaming online at BigSkyTV.org | RADIO: On the Internet at KLO 1430 AM The 2009-10 season marks Utah's 102nd season of men's hoops. Wednesday night's matchup between the Utes and Wildcats is the 38th meeting between the 2 schools dating back to the 1970's. WSU Coach Randy Rahe was an assistant coach for the Utes under Ray Giacoletti from 2004-2006. Rahe is 0-3 vs Utah as a head coach. Utah's Coach Boylen is 2-0 all-time vs WSU. Weber State is 12-25 all-time against Utah and 9-8 at home. The Utes have won 8 straight meetings dating back to 2002 and is WSU's longest in-state losing streak. Weber's last victory over the Utes (79-77) was in Salt Lake in 2000-01. This year's Utes are 3-3 overall and in its last two games beat No. 21 Illinois and lost to Oklahoma State on back-to-back nights at a tournament in Las Vegas. In the Illinois game Utah was down 32-16 at the half before making a furious comeback out scoring the Illini 44-26 to win the game with a buzzer beater. Probable Utah Starters C-51 David Foster 7-3 255 So Lake Forest, CA (5.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg F-14 Kim Tillie 6-11 230 Sr France (9.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg) G-5 Luka Drca 6-5 205 Sr Belgrade (10.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, .286 3P%, 1.8 spg) G-15 Carlon Brown 6-5 205 Jr Riverside, CA (13.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.3 spg, 1.2 apg, .320 3P%) G-3 Marshall Henderson 6-2 175 Fr Hurst, TX (8.8 ppg, 0.7 apg, 0.3 spg, .265 3P%) Probable WSU Starters C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Sr Salt Lake City, UT (9.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 So Mountain View, WY (11.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, .286 3P%) F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (7.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, .281 3P%) G-15 Lindsey Hughey 6-3 200 Jr Grand Prairie, TX (8.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.0 apg, .500 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 So Oakland, CA (19.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.6 spg, .325 3P%) Utah Bio Established: 1850 Undergraduates: 28,619 Postgraduates: 6,531 Nickname: Utes Colors: Red & White Conference: Mountain West 10 highest winning % in NCAA Div I history 1998 NCAA champion runner-up 1944 NCAA National Champions Utes Schedule (3-3) November 13 Idaho L 94-87 November 18 Utah State W 68-67 November 21 Southern University W 88-48 November 24 Seattle L 77-74 November 27 vs. No. 21 Illinois W 60-58 November 28 vs. Oklahoma State L 77-55 Common Opponents USU @ WSU L 66-60 USU @ Utah W 68-67 WSU @ Seattle L 91-87 Seattle @ Utah L 77-74 Boylen's Coaching Experience Michigan State 1987-92 (under Jud Heathcote), Assistant Coach 2005-07, Assistant Coach Houston Rockets (NBA) 1992-94, Video Coordinator 1994-2003, Assistant Coach Golden State (NBA) 2003-04, Assistant Coach Milwaukee (NBA) 2004-05, Assistant Coach Jud Heathcote was the head coach for Montana (1971-76) for 5 seasons, he lead UM to its first ever Big Sky championship in 1975. He became Michigan State's head coach in 1976 and 19 seasons later he would go on to lose the last game he would ever coach to 14-seed Weber State in the first round of the 1995 NCAA Tourney. 11/27/09 BYU 87, Weber St. 70 Associated Press PROVO, Utah -- Jimmer Fredette scored 23 points and handed out a game-high seven assists, and Jackson Emery added 15 points to lead BYU past Weber State 87-70 Friday night. Fredette and Emery turned a one-point game into a rout with six minutes to play when each hit back-to-back three-pointers. Fredette added two free throws to complete the 14-2 run, after which the Cougars led 72-59. BYU (5-0) improved to 18-0 against Weber State all-time at the Marriott Center. Damian Lillard led the Wildcats (1-4) with 23 points and Lindsay Hughey scored 16. Emery made 4 of 6 three-point attempts and Fredette made 3 of 5. The Cougars jumped to an early 18-4 lead with torrid shooting, but Weber State built a comeback around offensive rebounds and drives to the basket by Lillard and Hughey. 11/27/09 Gameday Final: WSU L 87-70 Box Score 
11/27/09 Tonight: Weber State at BYU TV:The Mountain RADIO: On the Internet at KLO 1430 AM Since 1973, the 'Cats and Cougars have played each other 34 times. WSU is 10-24 overall and 10-7 in Ogden which means 0-17 in Provo. Can Weber get its first ever win in Provo this year? Weber's last win against BYU was 2003 winning the game 75-69 after a 15 point halftime lead. WSU went on to win 16 more in a row that year to have the nation's 2nd longest win streak. The following stats are since 1964 which was the first year WSU competed as a 4-year institution as well as WSU's first year in Division I basketball.
WSU's last appearance in Provo - Dec 5, 2007 In front of 11,459 fans, No. 22 BYU beat Weber 74-57. The Cougars came out of the gates on a scoring rampage to build up a big first half lead and then WSU came back in the second half out scoring BYU 36-30 was't quite enough after being down by 21 at the half. Morris: 12 pts, 5 rebs, blk, 17 min McCoy: 9 pts, 6 rebs, 22 min Last year's game in Ogden - Dec 3, 2008 The last matchup between the two schools was the worst loss WSU has had in the series against the Cougars. WSU lost the game 92-62 after being down 46-39 at halftime. Bull: 16 pts, 5 rebs, 3 three's. Panos: 12 pts Davis: 10 pts, 2 blks, dunk BYU's Schedule thus far Nov 13 Bradley W 70-60 Nov 17 Idaho State W 87-53 Nov 21 at Hawaii W 83-65 Nov 24 Southern University W 107-51 11/23/09 Tues: Western State at Weber RADIO: On the Internet at KLO 1430 AM TV: Streaming live on the Internet free at BigSkyTV.org Weber State (0-3) will host Western State College of Colorado on Tuesday night at the Dee Events Center. Western State has played 3 exhibition games again DI schools and went 0-3. They had fairly close scores with Colorado State and Air Force but were blown out by Northern Colorado 111-65. Western is 2-0 in the regular season with wins over DII equals in UC-San Diego and Northern New Mexico. WSU will be eager to get its first win of the season against the Western State Mountaineers after starting off the season a bit slow going 0-3 losing to Utah State, UC-Santa Barbara and Seattle U. Against USU and Santa Barbara the 'Cats committed a high number of fouls keeping the games out of reach allowing 47 combined free points while losing both games by a combined margin of 15 points. WSU had 58 3-pt attempts between the 2 games and hit just 9. In the Seattle game the box score looked much better in the FT and 3-pt columns but WSU committed 20 turnovers which is the same amount of TO's between the USU and UCSB games combined. Western Schedule vs DI 11/4 at Northern Colorado L 65-111 11/7 at Colorado State L 50-64 11/13 at Air Force L 54-65 11/24 at Weber State Western State Bio Nickname: Mountaineers Location: Gunnison, CO Established: 1901 Enrollment: 2,400 Colors: Red NCAA Classification: Division II Western's basketball media guide WSU Football For the second year in-a-row the Weber State football team will again be making a playoff appearance. WSU will travel to William & Mary located in Williamsburg, Virginia. Kickoff will be Saturday afternoon. 11/22/09 Gameday Final: WSU L 91-87 Box Score RADIO: On the Internet at KLO 1430 AM 
11/21/09 Big Sky Update Sac Beats a Pac-10: Ends 39 road game losing streak In Corvallis, Oregon, the Hornets of Sac State beat Oregon State 65-63 for its first time in 6 tries. Sac had the nation's longest road losing streak at 39 before beating the Beavers. Sac is now 2-30 against Pac-10 foes. The hot shooting Hornets hit 9-of-15 from 3-point range in the first half and went into the locker room with a 22 point lead after going on a 27-4 run. Sac only attempted 1 more 3-point attempt in the final 20 minutes of the game. Sac is now 3-2 on the season after only winning 2 games all last year and finishing 9th in the conference with a 1-15 record and 2-27 overall. Sac's other 2 wins thus far were against Houston Baptist and a non DI. NAU game suspended due to power outage The NAU Lumberjacks were up 45-43 against the University of the Pacific with 8:52 remaining in the game in Flagstaff when an unexpected power outage ended the game. NAU was on a 15-2 run when all the lights powered off. Fans waited for about 45 minutes waiting to see what would happen before the game was called. "Tonight's game is being suspended due to the power outage," head official Michael Irving said. "It's unsafe to continue playing the game at this point in time. Any decision regarding the future of the game will have to be made by the athletic directors at the participating schools." The pending status of whether or not the game will be finished in Flagstaff or Stockton, CA, or any where else will be announced next week by NAU officials. NAU does have a road game at Santa Clara next week which is only 80 miles from Pacific. Northern Colorado is 5-0! The UNC Bears are off to a great start at 5-0. The Blue & Gold started the year off at the Rainbow Classic in Hawaii beating McNeese State, SUU and Hawaii. UNC then competed in the Reggie Minton Air Force Classic where they took down Texas Southern and Air Force. UNC has yet to play a home game and Bears fans will continue to wait until Dec 1 when they host Colorado State. In 2006-07 when the Bears moved up from DII to DI and joined the Big Sky they started the year off 0-6. It only took the Bears 3 seasons to qualify for the Big Sky Tournament after finishing 5th last season. This year UNC has been picked in the polls to finish 6th. Nov 13 vs. McNeese State W 101-73 Nov 15 vs. Southern Utah W 73-51 Nov 17 at Hawaii W 81-75 Nov 20 vs. Texas Southern W 66-62 Nov 21 at Air Force W 70-46 11/20/09 Sun: WSU @ Seattle Seattle University (1-2) will host the Wildcats of WSU (0-2) at Key Arena in Seattle on Sunday. Key Arena is the former home to the now defunct Seattle Sonics. SU moved up to DI in 2008-09 after spending the past 30 years between the NAIA and DII ranks. SU had a DI men's basketball team from 1950 to 1980. From '50 to '71 SU was an Independent; from '71 to 1980 Seattle was a member of the West Coast Conference. The 1958 SU team led by Elgin Baylor made it to the Final 4 where they knocked off #1 ranked Kansas State before losing the title game to Kentucky. In 1966 Texas Western's "glory road" to winning the national title was almost perfect. TWU's lone loss on the season was to Seattle U. During the 1960's, SU sent more players to the NBA than any other school. SU is reclassifying from Division II to Division I right now and the move will take five years and should be complete in 2012-13. Last season SU hired Cameron Dollar, a former assistant at University of Washington. Dollar was a top candidate a year ago at Sac State before Brian Katz was hired. SU's goal is to be reunited as a member of the West Coast Conference, which is made up of small, private, religiously affiliated schools. The WCC is a non-football conference. Seattle Bio Established: 1891 Location: Seattle, WA Type: Private, Jesuit Undergraduates: 7,751 Nickname: Redhawks Colors: Scarlet & White Arena: Key Arena, capacity: 17,072 Class: Division I Conference: Independent SU Schedule (1-2) Nov 14 at Oklahoma State L 86-64 Nov 17 at Portland L 98-81 Nov 19 Fresno State W 85-84 Nov 22 Weber State 11/17/09 Gameday Final: WSU L 66-57 Box Score RADIO: On the Internet at KLO 1430 AM 
11/15/09 Tues: WSU @ UC-Santa Barbara Weber State will travel to UC-Santa Barbara on Tuesday, November 17th to take on the Gauchos at 8:05 PM. Currently the Gauchos are 1-0 with a win over (DII) CS-Los Angeles. Last season the Gauchos finished 4th in the Big West Conference after being picked to be one of the top teams. This season the Gauchos have been picked 2nd (six 1st place votes) behind Long Beach State (twenty-three 1st place votes). The Tuesday night matchup is just the 3rd ever meeting between the Gauchos and Wildcats. The first meeting was in 2003 at the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska. Weber won 91-82, WSU went on to finish that season 26-6 overall and undefeated in Big Sky play (16-0). The second meeting was last season at the Dee Events Center where the 'Cats won 70-63. All scores were led by Steve Panos with 21 points and 5 rebounds in just 23 minutes. UCSB will be led by a 6'5" guard in Orlando Johnson, a preseason All-Big West selection and also the younger brother of former Weber State basketball player Robbie Johnson. Robbie played for WSU from 1990-94 and is #3 in school history for career steals with 156. Johnson is a transfer from Loyola Marymount, he sat out last year as a redshirt and did not play against Weber State. From uscbgauchos.com: Johnson's one season at Loyola Marymount was an outstanding one...Set school records for freshman by scoring 383 points and averaging 12.4 points per game...Also tied LMU's record for rebounds by a freshman with 152...Led the Lions in scoring and rebounding, tied for the team-lead in blocked shots with 12, and was second on the team with 40 three-point baskets...Johnson scored in double-figures 20 times in 31 game...Also scored 15 or more 12 times and 20 or more four times...Scored a career-high 26 points against Wagner, 25 against UC Riverside, 23 against Presbyterian, and 21 against Mercer...Had a season-high 11 rebounds three times...Had double-doubles against Boise State (16 points, 11 rebounds), Portland (16 points, 11 rebounds), and Pepperdine (17 points, 11 rebounds)...Made a season-high four three-point baskets against UC Riverside...Hit two or more three-pointers 10 times...Johnson shot 41.2% overall, 32.0% from three-point range, and 64.2% from the free throw line...Averaged 2.1 assists per game and had a season-high of six against Boise State...Earned West Coast Conference Player of the Week honors. Gauchos Bio Established: 1905 Location: Santa Barbara, CA Undergraduates: 17,726 Postgraduates: 2,833 Nickname: Gauchos Colors: Blue & Gold Arena: The Thunderdome, capacity: 5,600 Conference: Big West vs WSU: 0-2 UCSB Schedule (1-0) Nov 14 Cal State-Los Angeles W 85-57 Nov 17 Weber State, 8:05 PM 11/13/09 Gameday Final: L 66-60 Box Score TV:Streaming online free - BigSkyTV.org RADIO: On the Internet at KLO 1430 AM
11/12/09 Rahe Signs 3
The Stats: Weber State vs Utah State Weber State will start the 2009-10 basketball season off hosting the Utah State Aggies. Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM Friday the 13th of November. This year's game is the 61th all-time meeting; the overall series is, WSU with 25 wins and USU with 35. Against the Ag's, the 'Cats are 15-13 at home, 2-1 on neutral courts and 8-20 in Logan. The first 2 games ever played between WSU & USU was 1971 & 1972, both in Logan and both won by Weber. There have been 5 overtime games and WSU has taken 3 of them. The lowest scoring game between the 2 was 1971, WSU won 63-62. The highest scoring game was 1988, USU won 107-93. The series has gone back and forth and WSU has led in wins up until 1988 where the series came to a 17-17 tie. Since '89 the Aggies have led the series and the 'Cats kept within 4 games until USU's recent 6 game win streak that put them 10 ahead. Stew Morrill is in his 12th season as USU's head coach, he is 8-4 against Weber. His 1st year was 1999 and his Aggies lost by 20 points to the 'Cats at the Delta Center. Stew would lose 3 of his first 4 competitions to the Purple and White. Stew is the winningest coach in USU history with 267 wins and 10 straight 23 win seasons. This season USU has 18 home games which will help in securing another 20 win season. Coach Rahe spent 13 seasons as an assistant to Stew at Colorado State & Utah State. Rahe is 1-4 vs Stew.
*1963 was the first year Weber State competed as an NCAA Division I basketball team. 11/8/09 CollegeInsider.com's Top 25 CollegeInsider.com's top 25 poll now in its 11th season of existence is a poll for the 25 best teams from the mid-major conferences. This year's first poll was released in October with no Big Sky teams ranked but 4 currently have votes to be ranked: Weber State 50; Montana State 9; Portland State 9; Montana 4. The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Great West, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast. The WSU 2009 team finished ranked 20th. The last week of the regular season the Wildcats had 5 votes to be in the AP Top 25 before falling to Montana State in the Big Sky Semifinals. The 2007 team led by David Patton finished ranked 25th. In 2003, WSU finished the season in the top 10 (No. 30 in the AP Poll). The last WSU team to finish in the AP Top 25 was the 1980 team which finished 17th. Voting Panel: Mike Adras (Northern Arizona), Randy Bennett (St. Mary's), Will Brown (Albany), Dave Calloway (Monmouth), Kermit Davis (Middle Tennessee), Steve Donahue (Cornell), James Fox (Davidson), Steve Hawkins (Western Michigan), Brad Holland (UC Santa Barbara), Kerry Keating (Santa Clara), Billy Kennedy (Murray State), Tod Kowalczyk (UW-Green Bay), Jim Larranaga (George Mason), Jim Les (Bradley), Mike Lonergan (Vermont), Bart Lundy (High Point), Bob Marlin (Sam Houston State), Gregg Marshall (Wichita State), Ritchie McKay (Liberty), Tom Moore (Quinnipiac), Jimmy Patsos (Loyola MD), Tom Pecora (Hofstra), Vann Pettaway (Alabama A&M), Charles Ramsey (Eastern Michigan), John Shulman (Chattanooga), Brad Stevens (Butler), Gary Stewart (UC Davis), Scott Sutton (Oral Roberts), Scott Wagers (East Tennessee State), James Wilhelmi (Howard), Ralph Willard (Holy Cross). 11/8/09 WeberStateSports.com Weber State Defeats Colorado Christian 75-65 in Final Exhibition Game Source: Weber State Athletics WeberStateSports.com article 11/7/09 Gameday Final: WSU wins 75-65 Box Score 
11/6/09 Sat: Colorado Christian at Weber State On Saturday WSU will complete the exhibition portion of the season by hosting Colorado Christian University. Weber beat Colorado Springs last Monday 110-58. The 'Cats were on fire knocking down 19-of-26 from beyond the arc. CCU was picked 2nd in the RMAC East Division in the preseason poll. They will be led by 6-11 senior Justin Neuhaus, who was selected as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and the unanimous RMAC Divisional Player of the Year. Last season CCU had 21 wins and advanced to the RMAC semi-finals and the NCCAA National Tournament. The last meeting between the Cougars and Wildcats was on November 10, 2006, WSU won 83-57. Cougar Bio Private School Undergraduates: 3,400 Location: Lakewood, CO Conference: Rocky Mtn Athletic Conference NCAA Classification: Division II Colors: Navy Blue & Gold 11/2/09 Gameday Final: WSU 110, UCCS 58 
11/2/09 UC-Colorado Springs at Weber The Weber State men's basketball team will play its first exhibition game tonight to start the 2009-10 season. The 'Cats will host the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Mountain Lions. This will be the third meeting between the two teams in four years. In 2006-07 WSU won 86-67 and in 2008-09 WSU won 96-81. Much like WSU, UCCS is an institution of higher learning with a slightly higher ratio of female students to male students. UCCS - 58% female students, and 42% male students. The U.S. News & World Report college and university rankings put UCCS' College of Engineering and Applied Science as ranked fourth-best among public universities and No. 16 overall among bachelor and master's degree engineering schools. The Mountain Lion basketball squad finished last season with an overall record of 11-19. UCCS will be traveling to Pocatello to take on Idaho State the next night after playing at WSU. Mountain Lion Bio Public School Undergraduates: 6,150 Postgraduates: 1,500 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Conference: Rocky Mtn Athletic Conference NCAA Classification: Division II Colors: Black & Gold 11/1/09 Blue Ribbon Preview: Weber State The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook for 2009-10 has been released. Blue Ribbon is an annual publication which includes preseason previews of every NCAA Division I men's college basketball team. Blue Ribbon Analysis BACKCOURT: A BENCH/DEPTH: B FRONTCOURT: B+ INTANGIBLES: A+ "There's plenty of talent, both returning and incoming, at Weber State. The Wildcats could run away with the regular season title again -- last year they won it by four games -- and this time take care of business in the conference tournament. Lillard is a sensational player and will contend for conference player of the year honors. Bullinger, Panos and Hansen are proven commodities in the Big Sky, and can play with anyone. Three quality JUCO guards will fortify the Wildcats' backcourt depth. There might be some question about front-line depth, as most of the talent is on the perimeter. But Rahe, one of the hot coaching commodities in the West, usually finds a way." 10/28/09 Purple & White Game 7 PM Tonight The annual Weber State basketball Purple and White game is tonight at 7PM. This will be an opportunity for the fans to meet the 2009-10 men's and women's basketball teams. The 2 teams will each have an intra-squad scrimmage after they are introduced to the fans. Each game will have 10 minute halves. The WSU men were picked to finish 1st in the coaches and media polls and the women were picked 4th in the coaches and 6th in the media. The women return 5 starters. 10/21/09 WSU picked 1st in polls Last season WSU went 15-1 in the regular season which was the second best record in conference history and the best ever road record at 8-0. Can you top that or even repeat the year after when losing the conference MVP in Kellen McCoy and the conference defensive player of the year in Daviin Davis? Both of which are now playing professionally in Europe. Well...the coaches and media both seem to think WSU can take the 'Sky again. In the coaches poll WSU received 4 of the possible 8 first place votes as a coach can't vote for his own team. In the media poll WSU received 23 of the possible 28 first place votes. Coming in at second in both polls is Montana. Just the flip-flop of the football polls this year. If the 'Cats were to win the conference in football and basketball this year, WSU would be the first school in conference history to win back-to-back Big Sky titles in both sports. Since the Big Sky Conference started in 1964, 9 times there has been a team win back-to-back regular season titles in basketball. Five of these 9 were the Wildcats. In 2007-08 Weber State was picked to finish 1st by the coaches and 2nd by the media and the 'Cats finished 3rd. In 2008-09 WSU was picked 5th and 4th by the 2 polls and they won the regular season Big Sky championship. This year's Wildcat team will be led by 3 returning starters. Sophomore guard Damian Lillard was the 2000-09 Freshman of the Year, who was also the first ever true freshman in Big Sky history to be selected as a First Team All-Conference player. Another sophomore starter this year will be forward Kyle Bullinger, a Second Team All-Conference player, and senior center and third year starter Steve Panos. WSU fans will have a team in good hands with young upcoming talent combined with senior leadership in Panos and Nick Hansen. Also added to the mix will be some junior college transfers that will make an immediate impact on the program to make 2009-10 an exciting season to be a Wildcat fan. Coaches' Poll Team - First-place votes 1. Weber State 4 2. Montana 3 3. Idaho State 1 4. Portland State 1 5. Montana State 6. Northern Colorado 7. Northern Arizona 8. Eastern Washington 9. Sacramento State Media Poll Team - First-place votes 1. Weber State 23 2. Montana 3 3. Portland State 2 4. Idaho State 5. Montana State 6. Northern Colorado 7. Northern Arizona 8. Eastern Washington 9. Sacramento State 8/31/09 Basketball Team Looking for Managers The Weber State men's basketball program is looking for a couple of new basketball managers for the upcoming season. For those interested, please contact Phil Beckner, Director of Basketball Operations. Office: (801) 626-7883 phillipbeckner@weber.edu
New Faces of WSU Basketball Rahe's new players fill gaps left from last year Chemistry between old and new players helps drive the WSU Basketball Team towards first game of the season By Matt Maynes WSU Signpost Article 7/24/09 Official Basketball Schedule Released WSU Athletics has officially released the basketball schedule for the 2009-10 season. The highlights of the schedule are SUU, Utah and Utah State at home. The 'Cats will travel to play BYU, Utah State and UNLV. Similar to the 2007-08 season WSU will start things off with a home game against the Aggies (Nov 13). In December, from the 21st to 23rd, WSU will compete in the Duel in the Desert, a 4 team classic sponsored by Gossner Foods. WSU will play Morehead State on the 21st, CS-Fullerton on the 22nd and USU on the 23rd. The first Big Sky game is on Dec 5th at Sac State which seems a bit odd but since UNC joined in 2006 scheduling hasn't been the same. The first conference home game will be against Montana State which the 'Cats will be looking forward to after the way last season ended. It took MSU 46 years to get 9 wins in Ogden and last season they got 2. Another oddity about the new schedule is the Big Sky has decided to change the conference format to Friday & Saturday nights and not the usual Thursday/Saturday format fans are used to. This is to help cut costs for the conference overall and all sports will be making adjustments besides football. Even with the new format the Wildcats' conference schedule looks fairly favorable in that there is only 1 road trip with games on back-to-back nights (Montanas). 7/4/09 More Recruiting New players added to the recruiting page. John Hayward-Mayhew, the son of former Weber State fall of famer Stan Mayhew has transferred to SLCC from Missouri State after playing one season as a freshman. WSU most likely will keep an eye on him while he plays for the Bruins. Stan Mayhew was inducted into the Weber State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005. Mayhew holds the school record for the most points scored in a single game with 45 against Utah State in 1977. Back in '77 the Wildcats swept the Aggies 2-0. WSU won in Ogden 89-76 and also won in Logan 72-67. 6/13/09 WSU Recruiting 2010-11 There isn't a whole lot to talk about during the Summer for Weber State basketball and the fans forum has pretty much died. Take a look at the recruiting page, 4 new players have been added to the list that recruiting sites say Weber is interested in. Wes Eikmeier, an Iowa State transfer that was reported to be making a visit to Weber ended up signing with Colorado State. Also, 6'10" high school center Ben Mills has now topped 7 feet. Rivals.com shows that Weber has offerred the Wisconsin big man a scholarship but he has been attracting more and more attention lately. 6/5/09 2009 Weber State Basketball Camp Boys ages 8 through high school seniors are invited to sign up. The camp runs from June 8-25. WSU Head Coach Randy Rahe along with his assistants and players will be running the camp at the Dee Events Center. Session I: June 8-11, 9AM to 1PM Session II: June 22-25, 9AM to 1PM For further details and to sign up click here 5/25/09 Lance Allred's Book Nominated for Award Lance's book has been nominated for the 2010 PNBA (Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association) book of the year. List of nominees: www.pnba.org/images/2010AwardNom.pdf Lance Allred launches official website and Twitter page: LanceAllred41.com & Twitter.com/LanceAllred41
WeberStateSports.com Eric Duft Named Associate Head Men's Basketball Coach at Weber State University Source: Weber State Athletics WeberStateSports.com article 4/28/09 BigSkyConf.com Weber State Men, NAU Women Lead All-Sports Trophy Races by Jon Kasper BigSkyConf.com article 4/16/09 Mid-Major Top 25 - 'Cats Finish 20th The 2009 Wildcat basketball team finished the season ranked No. 20 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. Portland State finished just outside the top 25 with 19 votes. The last week of the regular season the Wildcats had 5 votes to be in the AP Top 25 before falling to Montana State in the Big Sky Semifinals. The last WSU team to finish in the AP Top 25 was the 1980 team which finished 17th. The CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 is now in its tenth season of existence. Weber finished the 2007 season ranked 25th. In 2003, WSU finished the season in the top 10 (No. 30 in the AP Poll). Voting Panel: Mike Adras (Northern Arizona), Randy Bennett (St. Mary's), Will Brown (Albany), Dave Calloway (Monmouth), Kermit Davis (Middle Tennessee), Steve Donahue (Cornell), James Fox (Davidson), Steve Hawkins (Western Michigan), Brad Holland (UC Santa Barbara), Kerry Keating (Santa Clara), Billy Kennedy (Murray State), Tod Kowalczyk (UW-Green Bay), Jim Larranaga (George Mason), Jim Les (Bradley), Mike Lonergan (Vermont), Bart Lundy (High Point), Bob Marlin (Sam Houston State), Gregg Marshall (Wichita State), Ritchie McKay (Liberty), Tom Moore (Quinnipiac), Jimmy Patsos (Loyola MD), Tom Pecora (Hofstra), Vann Pettaway (Alabama A&M), Charles Ramsey (Eastern Michigan), John Shulman (Chattanooga), Brad Stevens (Butler), Gary Stewart (UC Davis), Scott Sutton (Oral Roberts), Scott Wagers (East Tennessee State), James Wilhelmi (Howard), Ralph Willard (Holy Cross). The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit League, Sun Belt, West Coast. 4/6/09 Lillard named to Freshmen All-America Team WSU true freshman Damian Lillard was named to the collegeinsider.com Freshmen Mid-Major All-America team. Twenty-one players were selected for the honors by the collegeinsider.com staff, Division I coaches and NBA scouts. Lillard was the Big Sky Freshman of the Year and first ever Big Sky first-team All-Conference player as a true freshman. The 18 year old started 26 of the 31 game season, averaged 11.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.9 apg, .84 FT% and .374 3P%. The collegeinsider.com Freshmen All-America team is one team consisting of 21 players. Larry Anderson G 6-6 Long Beach State Ivan Aska F 6-7 Murray State Keion Bell G 6-3 Pepperdine Julian Boyd F 6-6 Long Island Jamar Briscoe G 5-10 North Carolina Central John Brown G 6-4 The Citadel Kevin Dillard G 5-11 Southern Illinois Novar Gadson G 6-7 Rider Anthony Hitchens G 5-9 Akron R.J. Evans G 6-3 Holy Cross Samme Givens F 6-5 Drexel Jarrod Jones F 6-8 Ball State Damian Lillard G 6-2 Weber State Shelvin Mack G 6-3 Butler Dominique Morrison F 6-5 Oral Roberts Harouna Mutombo G 6-4 Western Carolina Clifford J. Reed G 6-3 Bethune Cookman Kevin Thompson F 6-8 Morgan State Julius Wells F 6-5 James Madison Eric Wise F 6-5 UC Irvine Alex Young F 6-5 IUPUI 4/4/09 Kellen McCoy, AP All-American Kellen McCoy, 2009 Big Sky MVP and Weber State senior was named to the Associated Press men's basketball All-America Team. McCoy is the second WSU player to make all-american in the past 3 seasons and the only Big Sky player named to the list this year. David Patten, the 2007 Big Sky MVP and former Wildcat was also an AP All-American. During his 2 year career at Weber, McCoy was part of a Big Sky championship and a 3rd place finish. This season McCoy was named the Big Sky Conference MVP, and was an unanimous selection to the all-league first team. McCoy averaged 14.1 ppg, 2.74 apg and 1.32 spg. He shot 81% from the free-throw line and 44% from 3-point range. McCoy and the 'Cats won the regular-season title finishing with a 15-1 league record. No Big Sky team has ever finished the regular season with more than 15 wins. WSU's season ended with a loss to San Diego State in the NIT. AP ALL-AMERICA TEAM FIRST TEAM Blake Griffin, F, Oklahoma Tyler Hansbrough, F, North Carolina DeJuan Blair, F, Pittsburgh James Harden, G, Arizona State Stephen Curry, G, Davidson SECOND TEAM Hasheem Thabeet, C, Connecticut Ty Lawson, G, North Carolina Luke Harangody, F, Notre Dame Jodie Meeks, G, Kentucky Jarel McNeal, G, Marquette THIRD TEAM Terrence Williams, F, Louisville Sherron Collins, G, Kansas Toney Douglas, G, Florida State Sam Young, F, Pittsburgh Gerald Henderson, G, Duke HONORABLE MENTION Jeff Adrien, Connecticut; Josh Akognon, Cal State Fullerton; Cole Aldrich, Kansas; Alex Barnett, Dartmouth; Marqus Blakely, Vermont; Craig Brackins, Iowa State; Michael Bramos, Miami (Ohio); Jon Brockman, Washington; Brandon Brooks, Alabama State; John Bryant, Santa Clara; Chase Budinger, Arizona; DeMarre Carroll, Missouri; Jeremy Chappell, Robert Morris; Dionte Christmas, Temple; Earl Clark, Louisville; Darren Collison, UCLA; Dante Cunningham, Villanova; Devan Downey, South Carolina; Tyreke Evans, Memphis; Levance Fields, Pittsburgh; Jonny Flynn, Syracuse; Kenny Hasbrouck, Siena; Jordan Hill, Arizona; Matt Howard, Butler; Lester Hudson, Tennessee-Martin; Matt Kingsley, Stephen F. Austin; Kalin Lucas, Michigan State; Eric Maynor, Virginia Commonwealth; Kellen McCoy, Weber State; Tywain McKee, Coppin State; Orlando Mendez-Valdez, Western Kentucky; Derrick Mercer, American; Luke Nevill, Utah; Ahmad Nivins, Saint Joseph's; Artsiom Parakhouski, Radford; A.J. Price, Connecticut; Alex Renfroe, Belmont; Tyrese Rice, Boston College; Kyle Singler, Duke; Jermaine Taylor, Central Florida; Jeff Teague, Wake Forest; Marcus Thornton, LSU; Evan Turner, Ohio State; Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State; Gary Wilkinson, Utah State; Booker Woodfox, Creighton; Ben Woodside, North Dakota State. 3/24/09 Stadium in Italy Named After Weber Basketball Star Willie Sojourner The Pala Sojourner was built in 1974 and has a capacity of 3,500. It was updated in 2007 and is planned to be upgraded to a capacity of 5,800. Pala Sojourner is home to the Nuova Sebastiani Basket Rieti. Italian Wikipedia info translated to English: It is named after Willie Sojourner, Rieti icon of basketball to the highest levels. Pala Sojourner it.wikipedia.org/wiki/PalaSojourner Pala Sojourner Arena pic upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/PalaSojournerRIETI-NSB-MPS0003.jpg Sojourner mentioned as Sebastiani notable player (played 6 seasons) wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuova_AMG_Sebastiani_Basket_Rieti 3rd place Sebastiani team pic - 1978 (Sojourner on the right end) upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/it/b/b0/Althea_Rieti.jpg Photo of Sojourner playing in Italy in 1980 upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/it/f/f9/Una_stoppata_di_Zio_Willie.jpg Willie Sojourner page in Italian (more info than English page) it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Sojourner Translated to English from Italian page: In September of 2005, Sojourner back in Rieti accepted as a living legend by the fans, but unfortunately, just a month later lost his life in a road accident. He has headed the sports hall of Rieti, the Pala Sojourner. Trophies & Awards 1969: Big Sky Championship 1970: Big Sky Championship 1971: Big Sky Championship 1974: ABA Championship 1976: CBA Playoff MVP 1980: Korac Cup victory 1990: Weber State hall of fame To this day, Sojourner is #1 in Big Sky history for career rebounds average (14.1) and #2 for career rebounds (1,143). He is #2 in Big Sky history for single season rebounds (411). In the WSU record books he has too many records to even mention. His last season at Weber was 38 years ago. Sojourner was the 6th player in WSU history to go to the NBA and is 1 of 17 overall to make it. He was selected in the second round of the 1971 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls and by the Virginia Squires in the 1971 ABA Draft. WSU player records weberhoops.com/stats/records.pdf 3/19/09 Standard.net Rahe tabbed as Coach of the Year By Jasen Asay standard.net/live/sports/167082 This marks the second time Coach Rahe has received coach of the year honors in his 3 seasons at Weber State. 3/18/09 NIT: San Diego St 65, Weber St 49 Box Score | NIT Bracket Wade's double-double lets San Diego St. win in NIT Associated Press SAN DIEGO -- Lorrenzo Wade had 20 points and 10 rebounds as San Diego State beat Weber State 65-49 in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday. San Diego State (24-9) coasted to the win after a 22-4 run in the first half helped the Aztecs take a 39-17 halftime lead. The Aztecs will play the winner of Wednesday's Kansas State-Illinois State game Friday night. Wade was 9 of 14 shots from the floor, posting his third double-double of the season and second in his last four games. Kyle Spain scored eight of his 11 points during the Aztecs' key first-half run, including a pair of 3s. San Diego State extended its lead to 25 with 5:52 left in the game before the Wildcats finished their season on a 12-1 run. Kellen McCoy scored 14 points for Weber State (21-10), the Big Sky Conference regular season champion. San Diego State, which finished second in the Mountain West Conference, matched the school record for most wins in a season. The Aztecs are 14-2 at home this season and 50-8 in their last 58 home contests. Weber State was 3-for-21 from beyond the arc, while San Diego State was 5-for-21. 3/16/09 NIT: WSU at San Diego St NIT Website | NIT Bracket | WSU Fans Forum The 2008-09 Weber State men's basketball team has an automatic bid to this year's NIT. The Wildcats will take on the Aztecs of San Diego State at 8 PM in San Diego on Tuesday, March 17th. All games will take place at campus sites through the quarterfinals. The semifinals and finals will be hosted at Madison Square Garden in New York. Tournament Schedule 1st Rd: Tues, March 17 and Wed, March 18 2nd Rd: Thurs, March 19, Fri, March 20, Sat, March, 21 and Mon, March 23 Quarterfinal Rd: Tues, March 24 and Wed, March 25 Semifinals: Tues, March 31 Championship: Thurs, April 2 Weber State in the Postseason NIT (1-1) WSU's NIT record is 1-1 with it's only appearance being 1984. WSU beat Fordham 75-63 and then lost in the 2nd round to SW Louisiana 74-72 in double overtime. Weber State in the Preseason NIT (1-2) Weber has also competed in the preseason NIT twice. In 1987-88 the 'Cats lost to New Mexico 88-72. In 1995-96 WSU beat Fresno State 102-86 and then lost to Michigan 80-62. 3/15/09 Standard.net Conference tourneys a big waste By Jim Burton standard.net/live/sports/167082 3/13/09 Standard.net Wildcats are more than just one game By Jasen Asay standard.net/live/sports/166903 3/11/09 NIT Bound 'Cats Get Upset In Semifinal Montana St. 70, Weber St. 61 Box Score Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Branden Johnson made four 3-pointers while scoring 16 points as Montana State upset top-seeded Weber State 70-61 in the Big Sky Conference tournament semifinals on Tuesday night. The Bobcats (14-16) were the only conference team to beat Weber State (21-9) during the regular season and did it again on the Wildcats' home court to advance to the Big Sky championship game for the first time since 1999. Montana State plays defending champion Portland State on Wednesday for the conference's automatic NCAA tournament berth. Divaldo Mbunga added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Bobcats, who lost the last five games of the regular season but have won two in a row in the conference tournament. Kellen McCoy led Weber State with 16 points. The Wildcats shot 33 percent in the game and were just 4-for-26 from 3-point range. 3/10/09 Big Sky Semifinals on the Altitude Final: WSU L 70-61 Big Sky Scoreboard
3/9/09 Weber State in the AP Top 25 Weber State receives votes for AP Top 25 and ESPN/USA Today Top 25 for week 17. In the AP Poll Weber received 5 votes, 10 spots back from No. 25 BYU. Just ahead of Weber is Utah State and Utah. In the ESPN/USA Today, the 'Cats are 11 spots back from No. 25 Illinois with 1 vote.This marks the first time for the Wildcats to receive ranking votes since 2003. The 2003 WSU team finished with the 5th most votes outside of the AP Top 25 that year. The last season for a Big Sky team to finish in the Top 25 was the No. 8 Idaho Vandals in 1982. Weber State is the only other team in the Big Sky to be in the Top 25 in Big Sky history. WSU in the Top 25: 17th in 1969, 20th in 1971, 19th in 1972, 18th in 1973, 17th in 1980. AP & ESPN/USA Today Polls AP Top 25 1. North Carolina (35) 27-3 1,734 2. Pittsburgh (33) 28-3 1,731 3. Connecticut 27-3 1,592 4. Memphis (2) 28-3 1,544 5. Louisville (1) 25-5 1,513 6. Oklahoma 27-4 1,399 7. Michigan State 25-5 1,349 8. Wake Forest 24-5 1,246 9. Duke 25-6 1,237 10. Villanova 25-6 1,108 11. Kansas 25-6 1,038 12. Gonzaga 25-5 978 13. Washington 24-7 910 14. Missouri 25-6 779 15. UCLA 24-7 752 16. Butler 26-4 536 17. Clemson 23-7 528 18. Syracuse 23-8 518 19. Xavier 24-6 465 20. LSU 25-6 461 21. Marquette 23-8 453 22. Florida State 23-8 333 23. Arizona State 22-8 199 24. Purdue 22-9 169 25. Brigham Young 24-6 158 Others Receiving Votes Illinois 131, Texas A&M 63, Saint Mary's 56, Utah 21, West Virginia 17, Auburn 9, Dayton 7, Utah State 6, Virginia Commonwealth 6, Weber State 5, Creighton 4, Northern Iowa 3, Siena 3, Oklahoma State 3, Penn State 2, New Mexico 2, California 2, Texas 2, American University 1, Ohio State 1, Tennessee 1. 3/8/09 Weber's Big Sky Tournament History Tuesday night's semifinal games will be Idaho State vs Portland State at 5:00 pm and Weber State vs Montana State at 7:30 pm. Below are the all-time wins and losses in the Big Sky Tournament which started in 1976. Weber is 13-6 between Montana State, Idaho State, and Portland State. The 'Cats have never lost in the tournament to Portland State. Big Sky Tournament Win/Loss Records Boise State 11-10 Cal State Northridge 7-4 Eastern Washington 7-9 Gonzaga 0-1 Idaho 15-13 Idaho State 16-19 Montana 25-23 Montana State 14-21 Nevada 11-9 Northern Arizona 13-17 Northern Colorado 0-1 Portland State 4-6 Sacramento State 2-4 Weber State 34-23 Weber State's Tournament Record vs Current Members (26-12) Eastern Washington 1-3 Idaho State 5-3 Montana 5-3 Montana State 5-2 Northern Arizona 4-1 Northern Colorado 0-0 Portland State 3-0 Sacramento State 3-0 Weber State's Tournament Record vs Former Members (8-11) Boise State 2-4 Cal State Northridge 0-2 Gonzaga 1-0 Idaho 1-2 Nevada 4-3 Big Sky Tournament Championships Weber State 7 Boise State 4 Idaho 4 Montana 4 Idaho State 2 Montana State 2 Nevada 2 Northern Arizona 2 Cal State Northridge 1 Eastern Washington 1 Portland State 1 Gonzaga 0 Northern Colorado 0 Sacramento State 0 Year-by-Year Results | Year-by-Year Champions 3/7/09 Semifinal: WSU vs MSU - PSU vs ISU Big Sky Scoreboard Montana St. 56, Montana 54 Associated Press MISSOULA, Mont. -- Will Bynum scored 15 points, including a decisive three-point play with seven seconds left, to lift Montana State to a 56-54 win over Montana in the first round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament on Saturday night. Divaldo Mbunga added nine points and 11 rebounds for the sixth-seeded Bobcats (13-16, 6-10 Big Sky), who avenged two losses to the Grizzlies earlier this season and won their first league tournament game since 1999. Montana State trailed 30-29 at halftime, but used a 12-0 run in the middle of the second half to take a 50-42 lead. Trailing 53-52 with 22 seconds left, the Grizzlies (17-12, 11-5) held on for the last shot. But Bynum stole an Anthony Johnson pass and converted a three-point play with seven seconds remaining to seal the win. Johnson led the Grizzlies with 19 points, followed by Jordan Hasquet with 12. The Bobcats shot 38 percent from the field and outrebounded the Grizzlies 40-29, including 18 offensive rebounds. Idaho St. 67, N. Colorado 60 Associated Press POCATELLO, Idaho -- Matt Stucki scored 20 points as Idaho State overcame a 6-point halftime deficit and beat Northern Colorado 67-60 in a Big Sky Conference Tournament quarterfinal game on Saturday night. Idaho State (13-18, 10-7 Big Sky) goes on to play Portland State in the tournament semifinals on Tuesday at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. With the game tied at 55 with 2:20 remaining, the Bengals outscored Northern Colorado 12-5, getting all of their points at the foul line. The game featured 10 tie scores and 10 lead changes. Donnie Carson added 12 points and six rebounds for the Bengals and forward Austin Kilpatrick had 10 points and seven boards. Will Figures and John Pena led Northern Colorado (14-18, 8-9) with 14 points apiece. Northern Colorado led 36-30 at halftime. ISU outrebounded Northern Colorado just 36-35, but NCU had 17 turnovers to Idaho State?s 12. 3/7/09 Gameday, Big Sky Quarterfinals Watch Live (free) | Big Sky Scoreboard Tonight at 7:05 PM the quarterfinal games will take place. (5) Nothern Colorado will play at (4) Idaho State and (6) Montana State will play at (3) Montana. (1) Weber State and (2) Portland State will await tonight's games to see who they will play on Tuesday in the Big Sky Semifinals live on the Altitude Sports Network. Both of tonight's games can be seen live on Big Sky TV for free. Earlier this season UNC lost by 1 in overtime in Pocatello, MSU lost by 14 in Missoula. 3/6/09 Interview With The Big Sky WeberHoops.com's Wildcat Wall, is our WSU fan blog with weekly/bi-weekly articles by Rod Eyre and Mark Berger. Under Links in the left pane of this page you will see the link to Wildcat Wall. Mark had the opportunity to do a very interesting interview with the Big Sky's Jon Kasper, Assistant Commissioner for Media Relations. Wildcat Wall interview 3/5/09 The Big Sky Awards - 4 WSU Players Honored Today the Big Sky Conference announced the selections for all-conference awards. From 1963 (the inaugural year of the Big Sky) until 1990, the conference named a 1st & 2nd team. From 1991 to 2006 they only named a 1st team. In 2007 the 2nd team award was re-instated as well as adding the honorable mention list. The panel of voters are the 9 head coaches.
McCoy Named MVP! Kellen McCoy was named the 2009 Big Sky MVP. Daviin Davis, Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year. Damian Lillard, Big Sky Freshman of the Year. This is the first time is WSU history to have all 3 of these selections in the same season. Also, Davis is Weber's first ever Defensive player award winner. WSU First-Team: Kellen, McCoy and Damian Lillard WSU Honorable Mention: Daviin Davis and Kyle Bullinger The Big Sky will release all the selections later this afternoon. 3/4/09 McCoy, 3rd Big Sky POTW Honors From the Big Sky Conference's official site by Jon Kasper McCoy Named Player of the Week BigSkyConf.com 3/4/09 BigSkyConf.com: Wildcats Finish Perfect on Road Jon Kasper - Big Sky Conference Wildcats Finish Perfect on Road Also, the All-Conference Teams will be announced tomorrow - March 5th. The Big Sky will also announce the winners of: MVP, Freshman of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. The All-Conference team and individual award winners are chosen by the 9 Big Sky head coaches. 3/3/09 When It Rains In Bozeman It Pours Box Score Weber St. 84, Montana St. 64 Associated Press BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Damian Lillard scored a career-high 27 points to help Weber State avenge its only conference loss by beating Montana State 84-64 on Tuesday night. Kellen McCoy added 20 points for Weber State (21-8, 15-1 Big Sky), the conference's regular season champion. He scored 15 points in the first nine minutes, and the Wildcats built a double-digit lead with 14:10 to play in the first half. Weber State never let the margin slip below 11 the rest of the way, and Lillard helped put the game out of reach by scoring his team's first 12 points of the second half. Erik Rush scored 16 points and Will Bynum added 14 for Montana State (12-16, 6-10), which had already secured sixth place and will play in a Big Sky tournament quarterfinal game against archrival Montana on Saturday. Weber State, which fell 75-70 to MSU on Jan. 15 in Ogden, Utah, earned a first-round bye and will host the top four teams in the tournament March 10-1 3/3/09 Blowout in Bozeman Final: WSU W 84-64 Box Score
3/2/09 'Cats Get Chance to Avenge Lone Loss WSU Fans Forum | MSU Fans Forum Weber State takes on the Bobcats of Montana State in Bozeman Tuesday night at 7 PM. Last season WSU went 3-0 vs the Bobcats with a regular season sweep followed up by a quarterfinal win in the Big Sky Tournament. The Wildcats' lone Big Sky loss this season was at home against MSU. Prior to the game Weber hadn't lost at home to MSU since 2004-05. Montana State started the season off pretty hot. They beat Weber in Ogden, and they even took out PSU on Super Bowl Sunday. Since then, either there is a mutiny on the Bobcat ship or a few planks are missing from the hull because the Bobcats have lost 4 in-a-row and 6 of their last 7. MSU's game against Weber will have no impact on the conference tournament. No matter what happens WSU is the 1-seed in the semifinals. MSU will travel to Missoula to play Montana this Satuday in the Big Sky Quarterfinals. Montana beat MSU in both regular season games this year. MSU Starters G-23 Erik Rush 6-5 200 So San Jose, CA (9.3 ppg, 4 rpg, 1.8 apg, .259 3P%) F-42 Branden Johnson 6-8 215 Jr Yakima, WA (5.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, .323 3P%) C-32 Divaldo Mbunga 6-9 240 Sr Luauda (10.3 ppg, 7 rpg, 1.5 bpg) G-20 Will Bynum 6-3 185 Jr Almagordo, NM (11.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.6 apg, .200 3P%) G-3 Marquis Navarre 5-11 165 Jr Oceanside, CA (5.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.9 apg, .195 3P%) Bench F-15 Bobby Howard 6-7 220 So Great Falls, MT (11 ppg, 5.4 rpg, .317 3P%) WSU Starters F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (8.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, .396 3P%) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 Fr Mountain View, WY (9.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, .410 3P%) C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Jr Salt Lake City, UT (9.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg) G-33 Kellen McCoy 5-6 180 Sr Norman, OK (13.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.8 apg, .429 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 True Fr Oakland, CA (11.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.9 apg, .368 3P%) Bench F-31 Daviin Davis 6-4 190 Sr Midland, TX (10 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.6 bpg) MSU Schedule Dec 6 @ Eastern Washington L 61-55 Jan 3 @ Montana L 73-59 Jan 8 Sacramento State W 62-41 Jan 10 Northern Arizona W 74-68 Jan 15 @ Weber State W 75-70 Jan 17 @ Idaho State L 64-43 Jan 22 Northern Colorado L 65-55 Jan 29 Eastern Washington W 69-65 Feb 1 Portland State W 85-82 Feb 7 Montana L 78-63 Feb 12 @ Northern Arizona L 83-64 Feb 14 @ Sacramento State W 69-54 Feb 19 Idaho State L 63-56 Feb 21 UC-Santa Barbara L 78-71 (non-conference game) Feb 25 @ Portland State L 64-58 Mar 1 Northern Colorado L 77-50 Bobcat bio Established: 1893 Undergraduates: 10,842 Postgraduates: 1,408 Location: Bozeman, MT Stadium: Worthington Arena (6,378) Colors: Blue & Gold Weber's all-time record against Montana State is 68-33 overall, 43-10 in Ogden, and 25-23 at MSU. Notable alumni of Montana State include Dennis Erickson, current head football coach at Arizona State, Craig Kilborn the actor and former talk show host played basketball for the Bobcats. Also, the Big Sky's only school to ever win a national championship in men's basketball was MSU in 1929. Randy Rahe is 9-3 against the Montanas, 4-2 vs MSU and 5-1 vs UM. Last season Weber won at both UM and MSU. With a win against MSU, WSU will have completed a road sweep of the Montanas for the second year in a row. 3/1/09 BigSkyConf.com: Conference Tournament Update Weber State and Portland State will have the byes. Montana State will play at Montana on Saturday, also, Northern Colorado will be going to Pocatello to play at ISU. The Weber/Montana State game this Tuesday will have no impact on the seedings regardless of the outcome. Pairings Set for Men's Championship 2/28/09 Win No. 20 - Team Cuts Down Net Box Score | Game Pics Weber St. 97, Sacramento St. 61 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Nick Hansen came off the bench to score 17 points in leading Weber State to a 97-61 win over Sacramento State on Saturday night. Kellen McCoy finished with 16 points, while Damian Lillard added 14 and Steve Panos scored 12 for the Wildcats (20-8, 14-1 Big Sky), who have won 11 straight games. With the score tied 10-10 with 16:25 remaining in the first half, the Wildcats erupted on a 37-8 run to take control. The closest the Hornets came after that was following a 7-0 run that cut WSU's lead to 47-25 with two minutes left in the first half. The Wildcats led 54-28 at the break -- marking their season-high for most points in a half. Loren Leath led Sacramento State (2-27, 1-15) with 15 points, followed by Justin Eller with 14 and Antonio Flaggs with 10. 2/28/09 Gameday Big Sky Scoreboard Final: WSU W 97-61
Saturday: Idaho State 72, NAU 49 | Portland State 66, EWU 62 in OT Sunday: Northern Colorado at Montana State 2/26/09 WSU Outright Big Sky Champs Box Score | Game Pics Weber St. 70, N. Arizona 51 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Kellen McCoy scored a career-high 27 points as Weber State defeated Northern Arizona 70-51 on Thursday night to claim sole possession of the Big Sky Conference regular-season championship. McCoy shot 10-of-12 from the field for the Wildcats (19-8, 13-1 Big Sky), while Nick Hansen added 11 points. Shane Jogannsen led Northern Arizona (8-18, 5-10) with 21 points as the Lumberjacks were eliminated from the race to reach the league's postseason tournament, which will be hosted by Weber State. McCoy scored Weber State's first seven points and 10 of its first 13 as the Wildcats jumped to a 13-3 lead three minutes into the game. Three minutes later, Kyle Bullinger scored five straight points to give the Wildcats a 21-7 lead. Northern Arizona went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 26-20 with nine minutes left in the first half, but that was as close as the Lumberjacks would get. The Wildcats led 33-21 at halftime. 2/26/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 70-51 Big Sky Scoreboard
UNC 67, UM 57 | ISU 74, Sac 39 2/25/09 Thurs: NAU at Weber WSU Fans Forum | NAU Fans Forum Weber State has won 9 straight games including a perfect 7-0 on the road. Weber won at NAU earlier in the conference season beating the Lumberjacks 59-54. NAU is one of the tougher venues in the Big Sky to come away with a win at. Weber is 23-20 at NAU and 62-26 overall against the 'Jacks since they joined the Big Sky in 1970. At home Weber is 39-6 vs NAU. Weber will attempt win number 40 Thursday night which the 'Cats couldn't get last year. On January 31st, Weber beat ISU at the Dee to get win number 40 at home against the Bengals. Coach Rahe, 54-34 overall as the Weber head coach is 4-3 against the Lumberjacks and they are the only conference team with 3 wins against him. Rahe's Big Sky record is 36-13, his home Big Sky record is 22-3, and he is 33-6 in the Dee overall. The 5-9 'Jacks beat Sac (twice), EWU, Northern Colorado and Montana State. NAU is 1-12 on the road this season. At home NAU is 7-5 which includes a 4 overtime loss to Portland State. NAU in the Big Sky record books Sadly, NAU star point-guard Josh Wilson will not be suiting up for his last game against Weber State. Wilson broke a bone in his foot a few weeks back which ended his college career prematurely. Wilson finishes his career as #3 in Big Sky history for assists with 636. He needed just 7 more to pass up Weber's Mark Mattos for the #2 spot. Also, NAU's head coach, Mike Adras is also moving up the list in the record books. Adras is #4 in Big Sky history for conference wins with 82. He needs 13 more wins to pass former Weber coach Neil McCarthy with 94 wins to become #3. The coach with the most wins is Mick Durham (Montana State) with 123 wins, coming in 2nd is Bobby Dye (Boise State) with 102 wins. NA-Who? NAU is a school located in Flagstaff, AZ, that has been a member of the Big Sky since 1970. They have 5 conference championships - '87, '97, '98, '06, & '07. NAU and Weber were co-champions in 2007 by both finishing 11-5, however, Weber beat NAU in the conference tournament championship and later went on to the NCAA tournament. Even though the 2 finished as co-champs, WSU swept NAU 3-0. NAU has won the conference tournament 2 times of the 5 times they have hosted. NAU bio Established: 1899 Undergraduates: 15,569 Postgraduates: 5,783 Location Flagstaff, AZ Colors: Blue, Sage, & Gold Nickname: Lumberjacks Mascot: Louie the Lumberjack NAU Starters F-40 Shane Johannsen 6-6 230 So Phoenix, AZ (9.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg) F-32 Nick Larson 6-8 225 Jr Ventura, CA (3 ppg, 2.8 rpg) F-20 Zarko Comagic 6-7 225 Sr Kralejevo (9.7 ppg, 5 rpg, .351 3P%) G-2 Jermaine Bishop 6-2 220 Sr Del Rio, TX (5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, .381 3P%) G-10 Cameron Jones 6-4 185 So Los Angeles, CA (13.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg .444 3P%) WSU Starters F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (8.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, .370 3P%) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 Fr Mountain View, WY (9.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, .418 3P%) C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Jr Salt Lake City, UT (10.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg) G-33 Kellen McCoy 5-6 180 Sr Norman, OK (13.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.8 apg, .404 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 True Fr Oakland, CA (11.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.6 apg, .358 3P%) WSU Bench F-31 Daviin Davis 6-4 190 Sr Midland, TX (10.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, .302 3P%) NAU Schedule Dec 29 at Northern Colorado L 81-79 Jan 2 Eastern Washington W 72-49 Jan 4 Portland State L 92-91 Jan 8 at Montana L 62-61 Jan 10 at Montana State L 74-68 Jan 18 at Sacramento State W 89-64 Jan 22 Idaho State L 60-52 Jan 24 Weber State L 59-54 Jan 31 Northern Colorado W 67-64 Feb 5 at Portland State L 78-66 Feb 7 at Eastern Washington L 54-50 Feb 12 Montana State W 83-64 Feb 14 Montana L 73-54 Feb 21 Sacramento State W 68-58 2/23/09 Big Sky: This Week's Sky Highlights This week's action in the Big Sky, game times, latest news around the conference, and stats. MBB Notes - Feb 23 2/21/09 2009 Big Sky Tournament @ Weber State Monday morning at 10:00 AM on February 23rd, tickets can be purchased at the Dee Events Center Ticket office for the Big Sky Tournament. The ticket office at the Dee Events Center is open daily. Dee Events Center Open: M-F 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-2pm Extended hours on event days Phone: 801.626.8500 Online: WeberStateTickets.com There will be a $6 processing fee for phone/online orders. Big Sky Tournament Big Sky Semifinals Tues, March 10 5:00 PM No. 2 seed vs highest remaining seed (Altitude TV) 7:30 PM No. 1 Weber State vs lowest remaining seed (Altitude TV) Big Sky Championship game Wed, March 11 8:00 PM on ESPN2 Tournament Ticket Pricing All-Tournament Pass (all 3 games) $40 - rows 1-30 $20 - rows 31-39 Single-day tickets $24 - rows 1-30 $10 - rows 31-39 Weber students $5 per day with a valid student ID Also, students are allowed 1 guest pass per student ID for $10 per day 2/20/09 Weber Students Love Big Sky TV Alumni Center Pics Weber State's Purple Pak, students and fans gathered on campus to watch Weber State attempt to go 7-0 on the road and earn the right to host the conference tournament by beating the Montana Griz in Missoula on Thursday night. Fortunately for the fans in attendance the 'Cats beat the Griz 69-58. The last half of the conference season the WSU Purple Pak started watching the men's basketball road games live on Big Sky TV hooked up to a projector. With a packed Alumni Center full of students/WSU fans, one could sense the excitement and nervousness in the room awaiting tip-off. Many of the students were scarfing down hotdogs like they were at the Coney Island hotdog eating contest on the 4th of July. It appeared they had not received the memo that any remaining food after tip-off would still be available to eat. Mark Mandell, a WSU student to graduate this May: "Hey, just like the team stepped up to the challenge in Missoula, I stepped up to the challenge of Chase Saxton who dared me to down 10 hotdogs in 4 minutes..." WSU sophomore, Andy "Big Papa" Skillman: "I love Big Sky TV, it has been awesome to be able to meet here and watch the road games live as a group. WSU athletics has made this school year the most fun I've had as a WSU student. Also, I can't wait for the conference tournament now that we have a few more home games on the schedule and beating the Griz today is what it's all about." At the end of the game the entire room was chanting: "Big Sky Champs...Big Sky Champs...Big Sky Champs..." WSU Signpost From Today's Signpost, WSU student newspaper: The Wildcats weren't completely alone on the road in Missoula, as the WSU Purple Pak watched attentively on Big Sky TV. The WSU Alumni Center continually welcomes all Wildcat students to stop by and enjoy the game on a big screen, and students packed the building last night while cheering the team on to victory. "Wow," Hansen said. "I didn't even know they did that. That's tight and it's huge for us. Our fans aren't just fans at home, but it's cool that we know they are out there rooting for us, even when they can't be at the game." Big Sky TV Big Sky TV, which is a free service this season was unveiled in 2006 as a video streaming web site that features all football, men's and women's basketball, and volleyball games held in Big Sky venues. Big Sky TV is one of the most comprehensive of any video streaming site by an NCAA conference. 2/19/09 WSU 2009 Big Sky Champions! Associated Press Weber St. 69, Montana 58 MISSOULA, Mont. -- Damian Lillard scored 16 points and Steve Panos added 13 to lead Weber State to a 69-58 win over Montana on Thursday night. Daviin Davis came off the bench to add 12 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats (18-8, 12-1 Big Sky), who clinched the conference title and secured home court advantage for next month's league tournament. Lillard scored 12 points before intermission, including nine straight that gave the Wildcats a 31-20 lead with 4:38 remaining. Weber State went into the break ahead 33-27. Davis hit two consecutive layups to push the Wildcats' lead to 54-38 with 11:38 remaining in the game. They led by as many as 19 points, as Montana (16-10, 10-4) shot just 36 percent from the field in the second half. Anthony Johnson led the Grizzlies with 17 points. He shot only 6-of-16 from the field but made all five of his free throw attempts. No other Grizzly player scored in double figures. 2/19/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 69-58 Box Score | Big Sky Scoreboard
Idaho State 63, Montana State 56 Portland State 77, Northern Colorado 74 2/18/09 Thurs: #1 Weber at #2 Montana The Montana Griz, 10-3 (16-9), were picked to finish 2nd place in the coaches and media polls while Weber was picked to finish 4th/5th place. With 2 weeks remaining in the season it is down to Weber and Montana to win the conference regular season title and earn the right to host the tournament. With a WSU win the 'Cats will be at least co-champs and host the tournament. With a Montana win, WSU may need to win all remaining games unless UM can lose one of its final 2 games. Montana has the second longest winning streak in the conference with 7 in-a-row. Only WSU has more straight wins with 8. In conference play WSU is 6-0 on the road and UM is 6-0 at home. While playing with its black road shoes Weber is 10-0 and just 1-1 with the white home shoes. Weber will be taking the black sneakers to Missoula! Weber's all-time record against Montana is 62-43 overall, 38-13 in Ogden, and 24-30 at Montana. The last time Montana won the Big Sky in basketball was 2000. The Griz's last NCAA Tournament appearance was 2006. As of late the Griz have been conference tournament spoilers. In 2002 when Montana State hosted, UM ended up going to the Big Dance. In 2005, PSU hosted yet Montana went to the Big Dance again, but this time they beat Weber for the conference tournament championship by 2. Weber's Jamal Jenkins threw up a halfcourt shot with 3 seconds remaining in the game and Weber lost. In 2006, NAU hosted yet UM went to the Big Dance as a 12-seed and beat the WAC champion, Nevada Wolf Pack. Randy Rahe is 4-1 vs the Griz. Against Weber, UM's last win in Ogden was in 2004 and last win in Missoula was 2007. Weber vs Montana last 7 years 2008-09: WSU won 71-55 (at WSU) 2007-08: WSU won 68-67 (at UM) 2007-08: WSU won 76-67 (at WSU) 2006-07: UM won 90-86 OT (at UM) 2006-07: WSU won 73-67 (at WSU) 2005-06: UM won 71-65 (at UM) 2005-06: WSU won 72-67 (at WSU) 2004-05: UM won 80-72 (at UM) 2004-05: WSU won 76-62 (at WSU) 2003-04: WSU won 74-61 (at UM) 2003-04: UM won 58-55 (at WSU) 2002-03: WSU won 97-73 (at WSU) 2002-03: WSU won 75-72 (at UM) 2001-02: WSU won 90-71 (at UM) 2001-02: UM won 80-73 (at WSU) Weber's conference tournament record: 34-23 (5-3 vs UM) Montana's conference tournament record: 25-23 WSU and UM are the only current Big Sky members with a winning record in the tournament. WSU and UM have the most Big Sky MVP's - tied at 6. Many fans around the conference think this year's MVP award will come down to Kellen McCoy and UM's Anthony Johnson. Montana bio Established: 1893 Undergraduates: 11,799 Graduates: 2,059 Location: Missoula, MT Stadium: Dahlberg Arena (7,500) Colors: Maroon & Silver 2/16/09 Mid-Major Top 25 - 'Cats Move Up The CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 which releases a new poll every Monday has Weber State ranked No. 17. Portland State had previously been ranked No. 13 and in the poll all season long until this week falling out of the rankings. Last week WSU entered the poll at 25th. Portland State is sitting outside of the Top 25 with 32 votes. Also from the Big Sky getting a little notice is Montana with 5 votes. The CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 is now in its tenth season of existence. Weber finished the 2007 season ranked 25th. In 2003, WSU finished the season in the top 10 (No. 30 in the AP Poll). Voting Panel: Mike Adras (Northern Arizona), Randy Bennett (St. Mary's), Will Brown (Albany), Dave Calloway (Monmouth), Kermit Davis (Middle Tennessee), Steve Donahue (Cornell), James Fox (Davidson), Steve Hawkins (Western Michigan), Brad Holland (UC Santa Barbara), Kerry Keating (Santa Clara), Billy Kennedy (Murray State), Tod Kowalczyk (UW-Green Bay), Jim Larranaga (George Mason), Jim Les (Bradley), Mike Lonergan (Vermont), Bart Lundy (High Point), Bob Marlin (Sam Houston State), Gregg Marshall (Wichita State), Ritchie McKay (Liberty), Tom Moore (Quinnipiac), Jimmy Patsos (Loyola MD), Tom Pecora (Hofstra), Vann Pettaway (Alabama A&M), Charles Ramsey (Eastern Michigan), John Shulman (Chattanooga), Brad Stevens (Butler), Gary Stewart (UC Davis), Scott Sutton (Oral Roberts), Scott Wagers (East Tennessee State), James Wilhelmi (Howard), Ralph Willard (Holy Cross). The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit League, Sun Belt, West Coast. 2/15/09 WSU Clinches Semifinals Berth Box Score | Standard.net Video | WeberHoops Video | Game Pics The big snow storm may have kept some Wildcat fans at home and not at the Dee on Saturday night, but the 4,800+ who did make their way through the icy Ogden roads experienced the biggest home win of the season. They also saw the likes of Daviin Davis, Steve Panos & Damian Lillard all throw down crowd pleasing dunks! Weber completed a season sweep of the defending conference champion Portland State Vikings, winning the game 78-68. Saturday night's win puts WSU at 11-1 in conference play and the Wildcats can finish no worse than 2nd place earning the squad an automatic spot in the semifinals of the conference tournament on March 10th. If the 6-0 "Road 'Cats" can get the W in Missoula next Thursday, they will clinch at least a share of the regular-season title and the right to host the Big Sky tournament. WSU earning an 18th Big Sky title this season would be a total no other Big Sky school has ever accomplished. Montana currently has the second most conference championships with 7. With number 18 on its way, Weber State will have won 39% of all titles since the conference started in 1964 (46 seasons), and 1 title ever 2.6 years. The 'Cats are also just 3 wins away from Weber State's 22nd all-time 20 win season. Even though Portland State lost, they became the third school to clinch a spot in the conference tournament because of ISU beating EWU. Weber State is 24-9 all-time against Portland State and 15-1 at home. Coach Rahe is 6-1 against the Vikings and it's also his best record against any Big Sky school. Four Games To Go Feb 19 at Montana Feb 26 Northern Arizona Feb 28 Sacramento State Mar 3 at Montana State The conference tournament quarterfinals begin on Saturday, March 7th. 2/14/09 Weber St. 78, Portland St. 68 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Kellen McCoy scored 16 points, including six free throws in the final 1:11, to lead Weber State to a 78-68 win over Portland State on Saturday night. Damian Lillard added 14 points, while Nick Hansen finished with 12 for the Wildcats (17-8, 11-1 Big Sky). With the score tied at 17-17 midway through the first half, Weber State used a pair of 8-0 runs to take control and go into the break with a 38-29 lead. But the Vikings (17-9, 8-5) got back into the game with an 8-1 run that started and ended with 3-pointers from Jeremiah Dominguez. That brought the Vikings to within 39-37 three minutes into the second half, but they could get no closer. Dominguez led Portland State with a game-high 22 points, followed by Dominic Waters with 12 and Kyle Coston and Julius Thomas with 10 points apiece. The win gave the Wildcats a season sweep over the defending Big Sky Conference champions. Box Score 2/14/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 78-68 Big Sky Scoreboard
Montana 73, NAU 54 Idaho State 75, EWU 70 Montana State 69, Sac State 54 2/12/09 Weber St. 74, E. Washington 57 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Steve Panos scored a career-high 22 points as Weber State defeated Eastern Washington 74-57 on Thursday night, giving the Wildcats their seventh straight Big Sky Conference victory. Daviin Davis finished with 19 points and Damian Lillard scored 15 for the Wildcats (16-8 overall, 10-1 Big Sky). Adris DeLeon led the Eagles (11-14, 5-8 Big Sky Conference) with 15 points, while teammate Brandon Moore scored 11. Panos scored on a three-point play and hit a pair of free throws less than 30 seconds later to give Weber State a 60-41 lead with 8:52 remaining. Davis' 3pointer with a minute left gave the Wildcats their biggest lead of the game, 72-52. Weber State's Josh Cottle hit a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left to complete an 8-0 run. Milan Stanojevic's 3-pointer 30 seconds into the game gave Eastern Washington a 3-0 lead, its only advantage of the game. Box Score 2/12/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 74-57 Big Sky Scoreboard
Idaho State upsets Portland State 78-69 NAU beats Montana State 83-64 Montana 60, Sac State 48 2/9/09 McCoy, Big Sky POTW From the Big Sky Conference's official site by Jon Casper McCoy Named Player of the Week BigSkyConf.com 2/9/09 This Week: EWU/PSU at Weber This week Weber State will be back home after being on the road last week, it seems like the 'Cats only play road games this year. The good news is WSU does get to play at home 4 times out of the remaining 6 games. Thursday night (ralley towl night), WSU will host the 5-7 EWU Eagles who are currently fighting for the last spot in the Big Sky tournament which starts March 7th. Prior to Eastern's 2 wins at home this past week against NAU & Sac, the Eagles had lost 6 straight conference games. The Eagles are led by Benny Valentine, a 5'7" guard that doesn't even start. Valentine averages 30.5 minutes per game off the bench and averages 16 ppg, 3.1 apg and 35% shooting from 3-point range. Against WSU in Cheney, he scored 20 and had 5 assists in the 77-69 loss. Saturday night (wrist band night), WSU will take on the defending Big Sky Champs, Portland State, who were selected in the coaches and media poll to repeat as conference champs. Last season the Vikings went 14-2 in the Big Sky, this season they lost at home to Weber and recently got swept on the Montanas road trip. In the non-conference schedule PSU took down the then No. 7 Gonzaga Bulldogs 77-70 which was the first win for a Big Sky team against a ranked opponent since UM beat Nevada in the 1st Rd of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. PSU is ranked No. 13 in CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Top 25 poll, Weber is ranked No. 25. In the Sagarin Ratings PSU is ranked No. 98 the highest of any Big Sky team and WSU is in second at No. 114. PSU Players Other than the last year's Big Sky MVP as a junior, Jeremiah Dominguez, who averages 12.3 ppg and shoots nearly 43% from the arc, the Vikings have added the following key players to beef up their roster: Dominic Waters (junior, 6'1", 170 lbs), a Portland native transferred from the U of Hawai'i where he played 2 seasons. As a soph, he appeared in 30 games, started 1, averaged 6 ppg, 1.4 rpg and 1.6 assists in 17 minutes per game. Waters had a career-high 18 points & 5 assists against Idaho. He was the WAC Freshman of the Year in 2005-06. He sat out last season and is now eligible. In PSU's quadruple over-time game at NAU, Waters came off the bench and scored 41 points. Phil Nelson (sophomore, 6'7", 220 lbs), transferred to PSU from the U of Washington and is also an Oregon native. Nelson played in 31 games, started 9 and averaged 4.7 ppg & 2 rpg. Jamie Jones (junior, 6'7" 215 lbs), a U of Portland transfer comes to PSU after playing 2 seasons for the Portland Pilots. As a starter prior to sitting out last season, he was the team's 2nd leading scorer and leading rebounder. He averaged 10.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg and blocked a team-high 31 shots. Jones, a current Viking starter, sat out last game due to a strained ligament in his left foot during Thursday's 78-66 victory over Northern Arizona. PSU's Coach Bone his hopeful Jones will be available on Thursday at Idaho State. Jones: "This might be something I just have to suck up and play with. It's pretty painful, but I played the whole game on Thursday with it. If I'm out, it leaves Julius by himself, and we don't want that." Bone: "We need Jamie back in there as soon as we can get him. I would say at this moment it's 50-50 he'll play Thursday." Bone also said, "Three days ago I felt really good about how we were playing until Jamie went down with his ankle. Any type of injury this time of year can hurt you as far as your progress. But it's also not March. It would be a little more devastating if it was March." Earlier this season when Weber traveled to Portland, the Vikings were on a roll with 17 straight Big Sky wins dating back to their last conference loss which was at Weber State the season before. The Viks had also won 15 straight home games dating back to last season. Weber ended that streak and would like to keep a streak of its own alive right now of 6 straight wins. The Big Sky record for the most consecutive wins is held by Weber State. Longest Winning streak: 18 straight games and 24 straight conference games. Longest Road winning streak: 13 conference games from 1968-70 & 8 total road wins in 1969. The 2009 Wildcats have 6 straight road wins with 2 road games to go. EWU Starters F-22 Andy Genao 6-3 205 Sr (7 ppg, 5.9 rpg, .333 3P%) F-42 Mark Dunn 6-8 280 Jr Trafalgar, IN (6.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg) C-45 Brandon Moore 6-9 240 Jr Graham, WA (10.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg) G-30 Milan Stanojevic 6-2 195 Sr Subotica (9.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg, .391 3P%) G-14 Gary Gibson 6-1 175 Jr Windsor, ON (3.1 ppg, 1.6 apg, .292 3P%) PSU Starters F-14 Kyle Coston 6-8 210 Jr Lynden, WA (6.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, .253 3P%) F-21 Phil Nelson 6-7 220 So Keizer, OR (12.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, .357 3P%) C-44 Jamie Jones (injured: questionable for game) 6-7 215 Jr El Segundo, CA (9 ppg, 5.3 rpg) G-10 Jeremiah Dominguez 5-6 150 Sr Salem, OR (11.5 ppg, 3 apg, 2.7 rpg, 2 spg, .429 3P%) G-3 Andre Murray 6-2 200 Sr Los Angeles, CA (10.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, .358 3P%) WSU Starters F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (8.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg, .378 3P%) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 Fr Mountain View, WY (9.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, .407 3P%) C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Jr Salt Lake City, UT (9.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg) G-33 Kellen McCoy 5-6 180 Sr Norman, OK (13.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, .414 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 True Fr Oakland, CA (10.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.6 apg, .348 3P%) EWU Schedule Dec 6 Montana State* W 61-55 Jan 2 at Northern Arizona* L 72-49 Jan 4 at Sacramento State* W 87-74 Jan 8 Idaho State* W 71-65 Jan 11 Weber State* L 77-69 Jan 15 @ Northern Colorado* L 75-68 Jan 21 Montana* L 63-50 Jan 24 @ Portland State* L 83-61 Jan 29 @ Montana State* L 69-65 Jan 31 @ Montana* L 60-52 Feb 5 Sacramento State* W 67-46 Feb 7 Northern Arizona* W 54-50 EWU Bio Established: 1882 Undergraduates: 8,309 Postgraduates: 923 Location Cheney, WA Colors: Red & White Weber vs EWU in football: 13-14 Weber vs EWU in basketball: 34-19 (23-3 in Ogden) EWU's head coach, Kirk Earlywine spent 7 years at Weber as an assistant during the "Cravens era". PSU Schedule Dec 20 Montana* W 72-45 Jan 2 at Sacramento State* W 79-67 Jan 4 at Northern Arizona* W 92-91 4OT Jan 8 Weber State* L 80-66 Jan 10 Idaho State* W 85-58 Jan 18 @ Northern Colorado* W 57-43 Jan 24 Eastern Washington* W 83-61 Jan 29 @ Montana* L 72-65 Feb 1 @ Montana State* L 85-82 Feb 5 Northern Arizona* W 78-66 Last season WSU and PSU split 1-1, they didn't get the chance to meet in the conference tournament where WSU leads 3-0 all-time. The game in Ogden WSU won 73-68 and PSU won the game in Portland 76-73. PSU Bio Established: 1946 Undergraduates: 18,012 Postgraduates: 6,272 Location Portland, OR Colors: Forest Green & White WSU vs PSU, football: 17-12 WSU vs PSU, basketball: 23-9 Weber's all-time record against PSU is 23-9. The 'Cats are an unbelievable 14-1 at home and 9-8 in Portland. Coach Randy Rahe is 5-1 all-time vs PSU. Weber is 34-19 overall against EWU all-time, 23-3 in Ogden, and 11-16 in Cheney. Coach Rahe is 3-2 against the Eagles, 33-13 against the Big Sky, and 51-34 overall thus far in his 3rd season. 2/8/09 Sat/Sun Big Sky Scores Big Sky Scoreboard Montana 78, Montana State 63 Northern Colorado 79, Idaho State 74 Eastern Washington 54, Northern Arizona 50 Portland State 59, Sacramento State 42 2/6/09 6 Straight wins, 6-0 on the Road! Box Score Kellen McCoy led the Wildcats to its 9th win with a career-high 25 points against the Northern Colorado Bears. WSU is now 6-0 on the road for the first time since the historic 16-0 2002-03 season. The 'Cats have also won 6 straight games for the first time since 2002-03. Coach Rahe's previous win streak was 5 in-a-row last season beating PSU, EWU, @ UM, @ MSU & Sac. The UNC game was very typical of this year's team. A close match all the way to the finish being guided by senior leadership for the win. Except since this was a road game its just that much more impressive and significant of a win. As a team the 'Cats had a great night of shooting at 53%, 7 points above the season average of 46%. From the free-throw line they had their worst night of the year shooting just 13-24 (54%). WSU averaged 74% on the season to lead the conference and is now 72%. McCoy not only had the game-high 25 points, he also had 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and made 4 three-pointers. WSU freshman Kyle Bullinger had a solid night with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 three-pointers. McCoy and Bullinger lead the team in 3-point field goal percentage at 41.4% and 40.7% respectively. WSU true freshman Damian Lillard scored 15 points and had 3 steals. Weber had a good inside presence outscoring UNC 38 to 26 in the paint. McCoy & company were not intimidated even though UNC has one of the top big men in the conference in Jabril Banks. WSU bigs off the bench Trevor Morris and Darin Mahoney, with limited minutes contributed in anyway they could. Morris went 3-for-3 from the field scoring 6 points, pulled down 5 rebounds & blocks 2 shots. Morris has the highest field goal percentage on the team at 56.1% and almost 58% in Big Sky games. Darin Mahoney had 4 rebounds and a block. Weber State is now 5-1 all-time vs UNC. Weber will have a week off to rest before its next 2 games which will be at home against EWU and PSU, the Wildcats' combined home record vs the 2 schools is 37-4. 2/5/09 Weber St. 82, N. Colorado 76 Associated Press GREELEY, Colo. -- Kellen McCoy recorded 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists as Weber State bested Northern Colorado 82-76 on Thursday night. Kyle Bullinger tallied 17 points and five rebounds for Weber State (15-8, 9-1 Big Sky Conference), while teammate Damian Lillard scored 15 points and pulled down two rebounds. The Wildcats led by one point, 40-39, at the half. Northern Colorado (9-15, 5-6) was paced by Jabril Banks with 19 points and eight rebounds. Devon Beitzel added 15 points for the Bears, while teammates Mike Proctor and Will Figures tallied 10 points each. Weber State made 54 percent of its field goals for the game, compared with Northern Colorado's 44 percent. The Wildcats have now won nine out of 10 Big Sky games this season. Box Score 2/5/09 Gameday Box Score Final: WSU W 82-76
2/3/09 Hello Students & Purple Pak members! The basketball team will be playing at Northern Colorado on Thursday, February 5th at 7 PM. Purple Pak will be showing the basketball game via Big Sky TV at the Alumni Center. Refreshments will be served. Can't make this game? We will again be showing the team playing at Montana on Thursday, February 19th at the Alumni Center. The team is very excited about the student fans supporting them. They are an awesome team this year so join us in cheering them on to the Big Sky championship! James Miner, President Student Alumni/Purple Pak 2/3/09 Thurs: Weber at Northern Colorado The WSU men's basketball team will make its annual trip to Greeley, Colorado, to take on the 5-5 Northern Colorado Bears. The Wildcats opened up conference play this year at home against Northern Colorado on Jan 3rd. It took until the end of the overtime stanza to get the 88-84 win. In the Big Sky opener, Kellen McCoy had his best 3-point shooting night of the season making 5-of-9 and scoring a season-high 23 points. Damian Lillard also put on a show for the home fans and some might even have considered it his break-out game as a Wildcat scoring a career-high 18 points at the time, career-high 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Lillard also had his first college dunk against the Bears. As a team, Weber made 15-of-26 from beyond the arc which is the new school record for 3-point shots made in a game. Previous to the UNC game the old record was 14 3's in 1994 at Utah State. That game is still the record for attempts at 41. Weber is 4-1 all-time against the Bears, 3-0 in Ogden and 1-1 in Greeley. Last season the 'Cats and Bears split 1-1, each won their home game. The game in Greeley was the first conference game of the year and was featured on the Altitude. The 'Cats lost 55-52 in a close battle that came down to the wire but hot UNC shooting from downtown made sure Weber left with its first ever loss to UNC. With a 2nd chance at the Bears later that season and in Ogden, WSU made sure the Bears would remember the WSU senior class of 2008. UNC got blown out 70-54; WSU senior Dez Harris had 21 points and 4 steals, WSU senior Arturas Valeika had 16 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks, and a steal. This season UNC was picked by the coaches/media polls to finish 6th in the Big Sky. If UNC can finish 6th or better it will make its first ever appearance in the Big Sky tournament. UNC Starters F-22 Jabril Banks 6-7 230 Jr Denver, CO (13.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg) F-44 Taylor Montgomery 6-7 230 So Aurora, CO (3.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg) G-32 Devon Beitzel 6-0 175 So Lafayette, CO (12 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.6 apg, .417 3P%) G-2 Will Figures 5-9 165 Jr Centennial, CO (11.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, .397 3P%) G-23 John Pena 5-10 160 Jr Phoenix, AZ (8.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.4 apg) WSU Starters F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 Fr Mountain View, WY (9.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, .405 3P%) F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (8.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, .380 3P%) C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Jr Salt Lake City, UT (9.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg) G-33 Kellen McCoy 5-6 180 Sr Norman, OK (13.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.6 apg) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 Fr Oakland, CA (10.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.6 apg, .360 3P%) UNC Schedule Nov 14 at Oregon L 66-64 Nov 18 at Colorado State L 85-74 Nov 26 at Denver W 71-66 OT Nov 29 Texas State W 105-93 Dec 3 San Diego State L 73-62 Dec 6 Air Force L 71-64 Dec 13 at Creighton L 85-66 Dec 16 Portland W 76-73 Dec 18 at Fresno State L 70-65 Dec 20 at San Jose State L 89-78 Dec 22 vs Liberty L 75-70 Dec 23 vs Southern University W 76-68 - Big Sky Games - Dec 29 Northern Arizona W 81-79 Jan 1 at Idaho State L 62-61 OT Jan 3 at Weber State L 88-84 OT Jan 6 at Texas State L 82-59 Jan 13 Sacramento State W 91-73 Jan 15 Eastern Washington W 75-68 Jan 18 Portland State L 57-43 7-12 Jan 22 at Montana State W 65-55 Jan 25 at Montana L 68-59 Jan 29 at Sacramento State W 66-59 Bears Bio Established: 1889 Undergraduates: 10,799 Postgraduates: 2,182 Location: Greeley, Colorado Colors: Navy Blue & Gold Home Court: Butler-Hancock, capacity 2,941 UNC's Coach Tad Boyle, 3rd year, Kansas 1985 Boyle, a Greeley native, spent 6 years as an assistant at Wichita State before coming to UNC. In 2006 Witchita State while Boyle was on staff they went 26-9 and advanced to the Sweet 16 by taking down Seton Hall (86-66) & Tennessee (80-73). Witchita eventually lost to Final 4 cinderella George Mason. UNC Extras To date, the Bears have never been to the Big Sky Conference post season or the NCAA Tourament. They haven't had yet an All-Big Sky 1st or 2nd team player. UNC has had 2 Big Sky honorable mentions, both last season - Sean Taibi and Jabril Banks. UNC's 1st Big Sky season, 2006-07 they finished 2-14 and 4-24 overall. Last season they finished 6-10 and 11-19 overall. 2/1/09 Wildcats Sweep Bengals Box Score | Game Pics On Saturday night in front of 7,401 fans, (8-1) Weber State men's basketball team completed a 2-0 sweep of the (4-5) ISU Bengals. The Wildcats had a slow start in the long awaited home game which wasn't much of a surprise to those who have seen most this year's squad's games. The team has played better in the second half all conference season long and they have been playing even better basketball on the road. Even after the game WSU forward Kyle Bullinger said he is looking forward to the game at Northern Colorado next week and ackknowledged that the team has been playing better away from home. They must have taken some notes from this year's football team. As soon at the ball tipped off WSU missed 3 shots and turned the ball over 3 times. With 15 minutes to go in the first half, fans were still on their feet clapping, awaiting the first Weber point of the game. Rahe called a timeout and the score was ISU 6-0. ISU again scored making it 8-0, and a sigh of relief came over the student section as they saw Daviin Davis jog over to the scorers table to enter the game. As soon as Davis walked on the court the game completely changed, he scored the teams first point on a free-throw and 4 minutes later he was shooting more free-throws to tie up the game 13 all, afterwhich, WSU would lead most of the game before winning. Davis led all scores with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 dunks, all in just 23 minutes of play. Kellen McCoy also had a big night with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. All 4 steals were in the second half. McCoy almost even had the play of the game; he was attempting his first dunk as a Wildcat but was called for a travel on the way to the rim, he did touch the rim on the play though. The game was a good example of how this young team will need the leadership of the 2 seniors to keep on winning throughout the remainder of the schedule. Though the seniors had a big part in the win it really was a team effort, Darin Mahoney, a beast, blocked 4 shots, had a steal and 3 rebounds in only 13 minutes of action. Trevor Morris came off the bench and pulled down 7 rebounds and had a block. TJ Benson, the backup point guard nailed a 3 pointer early in the game. Benson was followed up by a Nick Hansen 3 and WSU never trailed again. Also, Marco Ramos entered the game in the final minute and caught a long pass and went in for the dunk before a hard ISU foul kept him away from the rim. He did make both free-throws Idaho State is the tallest team in the conference, the 'Cats were outrebounded by the Bengals on Thursday 35-25. Davis before Saturday night's game: "They outrebounded us, and we knew that was something they were good at. So we're going to try to go out there and try to rebound every basketball." In the rematch game the 'Cats did exactly what Davis wanted to do, they outrebounded the big Bengals 34-25. Davis after the game: "We rebounded better and we defended the drive better, and that's what we wanted to do coming into the game." Rahe: "The crowd was absolutely phenomenal, and was probably the best regular-season crowd we've had since I've been here. Our kids loved it and you could see them feeding off the energy constantly. The student section was terrific, the community support was great. If we keep getting those kinds of crowds then this is going to be an awfully tough place for people to play." The win was #50 overall for Randy Rahe at Weber State and his 20th home Big Sky win. Coach Rahe is 4-2 against ISU and 50-34 overall, in Big Sky games Rahe is 32-12 & 20-3 at home. Weber State is 66-40 all-time vs the Bengals, 40-9 in Ogden. Rahe was asked about Marco Ramos' dunk attempt in the final seconds of the game: "I apologize for that," he said. "The game was over, and we wanted to run out the clock. But the kid who tried to do it, he hasn't been playing much and got excited. He's a wonderful kid, but we never want to do anything to show anyone up." ISU's Chron Tatum: "I don't know what happened there. All teams are gonna get a run, but they really got a run and consistently kept it going." ISU's Amorrow Morgan: "They drove it down our throat. They were a lot tougher than us tonight. We've got to come out in practice and play a lot harder from now on." 1/31/09 Weber St. 75, Idaho St. 61 Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Daviin Davis scored 19 points and Kellen McCoy added 18 to help Weber State to a 75-61 win over Idaho State on Saturday night. Damian Lillard finished with 10 points for the Wildcats (14-8, 8-1 Big Sky), who also beat ISU 76-67 in overtime on Thursday in Pocatello, Idaho. The Bengals (7-16, 4-5) took an early lead, but the Wildcats rallied and took a 19-17 advantage with nine minutes remaining in the first half. WSU never trailed after that, although ISU did tie the score at 37-37 six minutes into the second half. ISU's Matt Stucki hit a 3-pointer with 3:51 remaining to narrow the margin to 55-52, but McCoy answered with a 3-pointer of his own and the Wildcats kept out of reach until the final buzzer. Stucki led the Bengals with 15 points, followed by Chron Tatum with 13 and Amorrow Morgan with 11. Box Score 1/31/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 75-61 Big Sky Scoreboard
UM 60, EWU 52 | NAU 67, UNC 64 1/30/09 'Cats 5-0 On The Road! The Wildcats had a huge comeback win against the Bengals of ISU in overtime on Thursday night in Pocatello winning the game 76-67. WSU is now 5-0 on the road for the first time in 6 years. WSU is also off to its best start since 2003 with a 7-1 Big Sky record. With Portland State losing at Montana, the 'Cats are now a full game ahead in first place. Freshman point guard Damian Lillard stole the show in the overtime session of the game where he scored 9 of his career high 22 points. Lillard alone out scored ISU in OT, 9-4. Before overtime WSU was down by 13 at one point in the second half, the 'Cats played like it was a home game giving the bus of WSU students who made the trip reason after reason to keep on cheering. Weber was down pretty much the entire game and finally caught up after Kellen McCoy drove the lane and made a layup with 1:33 left on the clock. Daviin Davis forced an ISU turnover (1 of 20 in the game), stealing the ball from Amorrow Morgan with barely over a minute remaining. Davis was quickly fouled by Austin Kilpatrick. D-Will knocked in the first FT but missed the second. ISU attempted a 3-pointer with 59 seconds left and missed, McCOY came up with the rebound and finished with 8 on the night. Lillard sunk 4 FT's in the final 40 seconds of the game to put the nail in the coffin, 76-67. Friday morning, the day after the game, ISU's website had a press release about making scoring mistakes on both sides during the game and apologized. ISU article Weber is now 65-40 all-time vs the Bengals, 39-9 in Ogden & 26-31 in Pocatello. Coach Rahe is 3-2 against ISU and 49-34 overall. Rahe's Big Sky record is 31-13 overall, 19-3 at home and 12-10 on the road. Saturday's Games Eastern Washington at Montana | Northern Colorado at Northern Arizona | Idaho State at Weber State Then on Sunday before the Super Bowl, Portland State will play at Montana State on the Altitude at 2 PM. 1/30/09 Weber St. 76, Idaho St. 67 Associated Press POCATELLO, Idaho -- Damian Lillard scored 22 points as Weber State overcame a 13-point second-half deficit and beat Idaho State 76-67 in overtime on Thursday night. Kyle Bullinger, Steve Panos and Daviin Davis each added 13 points for the Wildcats. Idaho State led 49-36 with 13:42 left in the second half before Weber State (13-8, 7-1 Big Sky) mounted its comeback. The game was tied 63-63 at the end of regulation. Idaho State had two chances to end the game in regulation but missed a free throw and a field goal attempt in the last 14 seconds. Weber State dominated overtime, outscoring Idaho State 13-4. Idaho State (7-15, 4-4) was led by guards Matt Stucki with 29 points and Amorrow Morgan with 11. Stucki scored 20 of his points in the second half and two in overtime. The Bengals out-rebounded Weber State 36-30, getting 11 boards from reserve forward Felix Caspari. Box Score 1/29/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 76-67 in overtime Big Sky Scoreboard
1/26/09 Potato Week: WSU To Play ISU Twice Thurs, WSU fans travel to Pocatello Sat, Jazz Bear Night at the Dee Events Center This Thursday WSU's Purple Pak will be taking a bus full of students to Pocatello to see the 6-1 Wildcats take on the 4-3 Bengals of Idaho State. This is the 2nd annual Purple Pak bus trip to ISU. After taking 3 bus trips for football games, Wildcat fans are anxious to get back on the road to cheer on the Purple & White. Some seats are still available for the bus trip, anyone interest should contact Bev Rudd (801-626-6468, 801-663-6135, beverlyrudd@weber.ed) for further details. The bus will leave at 4 PM this Thursday. Saturday's game will also be WSU playing ISU except with a change of venue. The Bengals will head down to Ogden for Jazz Bear Night which tips off at 7 PM. This is the second year in a row that WSU and ISU have played both games in the same week. Overall in the series against the Bengals, WSU is 64-40 and 39-9 at home. The last time ISU won the Big Sky title was in 1994, Weber & ISU were co-champions that year. ISU has 4 regular season Big Sky titles: 1974, 1976, 1977, & 1994. Weber State head coach Randy Rahe is 2-2 against ISU and is 48-34 overall. Rahe's Big Sky record is 30-13 overall, 19-3 at home and 11-10 on the road. ISU Starters G-31 Matt Stucki 6-6 210 Sr Pocatello, ID (11.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.6 apg, .373 3P%) F-25 Chron Tatum 6-8 220 Jr Atlanta, GA (5.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg) C-33 Deividas Busma 7-0 240 Jr Klaipeda, Lithuania (5.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg) G-1 Amorrow Morgan 6-5 210 Jr Memphis, TN (14.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.3 apg, .333 3P%) G-20 Donnie Carson 6-2 195 Jr Detroit, MI (5.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, .278 3P%) WSU Starters F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (8.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, .381 3P%) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 Fr Mountain View, WY (9.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, .417 3P%) C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Jr Salt Lake City, UT (9.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg) G-33 Kellen McCoy 5-6 180 Sr Norman, OK (13.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.6 apg, .432 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 True Fr Oakland, CA (9.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.6 apg, .355 3P%) Bengal basketball season In the non-conference schedule this season ISU went 3-11 beating 2 DI schools - Utah & Idaho. In league play ISU has a much better record being 4-3 thus far. ISU is 3-1 at home and 1-2 on the road. Overall ISU has a 7-14 record and is just 1-11 on the road. Prior to ISU's road win at NAU on Jan 22 the Bengals were 0-10 away from home. Weber State is 12-8 overall, 5-2 at home, 7-6 on the road, in league play the 'Cats are 6-1 overall and 4-0 away from home. WSU fans may be a little skeptical of this year's Bengal squad after they just lost at Sac St who had the nations longest losing streak of 14 losses. ISU was picked to finish 3rd by the coaches/media poll and they beat 2 teams Weber lost to - Montana State and Utah. ISU has a lot of height and talent so WSU will have to be prepared for a hard fought battle. There are no easy wins this year in the Big Sky. Last year in Pocatello Box Score ISU won the game 63-59. The Bengals led almost the entire game and were up 29-24 at the half. The 'Cats were down about 10 for most of the second half and never gave up. They chipped away at ISU's comfortable lead and with just over a minute and a half remaining WSU guard Jamaine Nance sank a 3 from the baseline that got the 'Cats within 2 points. ISU inbounded the ball and WSU guard Juan Pablo Silveira stole the ball but was quickly fouled before he could race down and score the easy layup. He made both FT's which tied things up 56-56 with 1:24 to go. ISU inbounded the ball; this time they held on to it too long so as the shot clock expired, ISU's Kilpatrick launched a desperation long range 3 that went in; 49 seconds left on the clock. With 31 ticks still on the clock and the score 59-56, Nance again attempted another baseline shot from behind the arc but it didn't fall. WSU center Arturas Valeika quickly fouled Kilpatrick as he came down with the rebound to stop the clock, Kilpatrick didn't like the foul and attempted to elbow the big Lithuanian, Art didn't get hit but he was pushed backwards a few feet with his arms flailing in the air as he caught his balance. Apparently the official assumed Art was fighting back so he called a double technical on both players. That sealed the deal for the Bengals and they won the game. Last year in Ogden Box Score The game took place on Jan 31st...the exact same day as this year's matchup in Ogden. When the game started it was snowing heavily outside but that didn't stop the 3,227 faithful of WSU to cheer on their team as the 'Cats beat the ISU Bengals 59-57. Arturas Valeika led all scores and rebounds with 13 points and 13 rebounds (On the season the big man from the greatest basketball country in the world (Lithuania) was one of the best rebounders in the nation). WSU was down most of the first half and took its first lead of the game with just over 5 minutes remaining and headed to the locker room up 7. However, ISU kept it a close one as they came back in the final few minutes and challenged WSU to either win or lose the game by shooting free-throws. The 'Cats hit 6-of-7 in the final 2 minutes. With 38.7 seconds left, Valeika hit 2 free-throws to put Weber ahead 58-57. ISU couldn't get a shot and later fouled Kellen McCoy with 12 seconds left, McCoy hit 1-of-2 free-throws and with 4 ticks to go ISU's Lucas Steijn missed a jumper to send the game to OT, Art pulled down the rebound and the game was over. ISU Schedule Nov 14 Eastern Oregon W 75-70 Nov 18 at Hawaii L 67-64 Nov 22 at Boise State L 92-84 Nov 25 Long Beach State L 88-82 Nov 29 Brigham Young L 85-65 Dec 2 at Washington State L 60-41 Dec 6 Utah W 72-68 Dec 9 at Wisconsin L 60-58 Dec 11 at Wisconsin-Green Bay L 68-53 Dec 20 Utah State L 67-57 Dec 23 at No. 17 Arizona State L 90-55 Dec 27 at Nevada L 68-63 Dec 29 Idaho W 61-59 Jan 1 Northern Colorado W 62-61 Jan 3 at Kansas State L 83-57 Jan 8 at Eastern Washington L 71-65 4-12 Jan 10 at Portland State L 85-58 4-13 Jan 15 Montana W 77-67 5-13 Jan 17 Montana State W 64-43 Jan 22 at Northern Arizona W 60-52 Jan 24 at Sacramento State L 72-69 Bengal Bio Established: 1901 Students: 13,802 Location: Pocatello, ID Colors: Black & Orange Mascot: Benny the Bengal Famous Potatoes ISU alumni: Jerry Graybeal, WSU Athletic Director; Ron Boone, broadcaster for the Utah Jazz; Merril Hoge, ESPN commentator; Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals head coach; William L. Petersen, actor on CSI. 1/24/09 2 Road Trip Sweeps: 1st Time Since 2003 In 2003 the 'Cats finished 16-0 in conference play. Until this season WSU hadn't swept more than one road trip in the same season in 6 years. WSU also hasn't had this great of a start in conference play since 2003. The 2006-07 and 2007-08 teams both started out 5-2. With WSU knocking off NAU 59-54, the 'Cats remain tied with PSU for 1st place. Four Wildcats finished with double figures in scoring. Kellen McCoy had 12 points & 3 steals. Nick Hansen and Damian Lillard both scored 11, Hansen had a game-high 3 3-pointers while Lillard had a game-high 7 rebounds. Lillard's dunk at NAU makes 3 consecutive games with dunks for the freshman point guard. Steve Panos chipped in with 10 points in just 17 minutes of action. Daviin Davis came off of the bench and in 22 minutes of play scored 6 points, blocked 2 shots, had a pair of steals, and 1 dunk. The latest Wildcat stats: This year's squad continues to get better and better...the 'Cats set a new school record for the most 3-point shots in a game with 15 against Northern Colorado. As one of the best shooting teams in the Big Sky, WSU is averaging 46% from the field and 38% from 3-pt land. WSU is the best free-throw shooting team (73%) in the conference which is a big part of the team's game especially when they can get to the line a lot as they have been lately, it doesn't give the opponent much of a chance to win. The only other teams in the Big Sky that are shooting over 70% are UNC and UM. NAU is dead last shooting a just 60%. Big Sky Breakdown Weber and Portland State are in the holeshot with a 6-1 record each. Both teams are undefeated on the road, PSU is 3-0 and WSU is 4-0. The only loss for both was at home oddly. Weber has won 6 of its last 7 games. PSU has won 3 straight which started just after losing at home to Weber. Next week: WSU has a home-and-home with ISU. PSU will travel to the Montanas. Montana has won 4 of its last 6 and will have the next 3 games at home vs UNC, PSU, & EWU. Northern Colorado has won 3 of its last 4 but will have 3 straight road contests starting Sunday at MSU, then at Sac and NAU. Idaho State just lost to Sacramento State to end the nation's longest losing streak. Sac had lost 14 straight before beating the Bengals. Montana State has lost its last 3 games but has a 3 game home stand coming up against EWU, PSU, & UM. Eastern Washington has lost 4 in a row and 6 of its last 8, its next 2 games will be on the road at the Montanas. Northern Arizona has lost 7 of its last 9 games which isn't helping its cause of making the Big Sky Tournament. The last time NAU didn't qualify for the conference tournament was 1996. The top 6 teams in the Big Sky go to the post season, 3 teams will stay home. 1/24/09 Weber St. 59, N. Arizona 54 Associated Press FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Kellen McCoy scored four of his 12 points on free throws in the final minute as Weber State beat Northern Arizona 59-54 Saturday night. The Wildcats (12-8, 6-1 Big Sky) made 24 of 31 free throws in the game, including 9-of-10 down the stretch, to improve their conference road record to 4-0. Northern Arizona (5-14, 2-6) committed 18 turnovers and Weber State scored 22 points of those mistakes. McCoy's free throws with 26.7 seconds remaining gave his team a 56-51 lead. Josh Wilson's 3-pointer cut the Lumberjacks' deficit to two but McCoy was fouled with 9.4 seconds left and made both foul shots to seal the victory. Damian Lillard and Nick Hansen had 11 points apiece for the Wildcats. Cameron Jones led Northern Arizona with 21 points and Wilson had 12. Box Score 1/24/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 59-54 Big Sky Scoreboard
Sac State beats ISU 72-69 Portland State 83-62 over EWU 1/23/09 Weber State's Purple Pak Fans of Big Sky TV Jon Kasper - Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference did a piece on the Purple Pak watching games online at the Alumni Center. Article | Photos 1/23/09 WSU 3-0 On The Road: Next Stop NAU With Weber State starting the conference schedule 3-0 on the road, the Wildcat faithful are hopeful the 'Cats can come home with the 'W' and remain undefeated away from home before heading to ISU next Thursday. Coach Rahe is 3-3 against the Lumberjacks and Weber State is 61-26 all-time against the NAU and 39-6 at home. The 2-5 Lumberjacks beat Sac State and Eastern and lost to ISU, MSU, UM, PSU (4OT), & UNC. The ISU and PSU losses were both at home. NAU in the Big Sky record books A couple of Lumberjacks will be breaking WSU records this season and the Wildcats will bring their best game on Saturday to ensure these records can be delayed for another day. NAU guard Josh Wilson (625 assists) needs just 17 assists to become #2 in Big Sky history for career assists. The current record holder is Kevin Soares, Nevada (1988-92), with 716 assists, #2 is Mark Mattos, Weber State (1976-80), with 642 assists. Also, NAU coach Mike Adras is tied with former WSU coach Joe Cravens for all-time Big Sky conference wins with 79. After NAU's next win, Adras will pass up Cravens and needs just 7 more wins to catch #4, another WSU coach, Ron Abegglen. The most conference wins ever is former Montana State head coach Mick Durham with 123 wins, #2 is Bobby Dye, Boise State, with 102 wins, #3 is former Weber State coach Neil McCarthy with 94 wins. Coach Adras is also #5 all-time for overall wins for a Big Sky coach with 155. The NAU coach needs 5 more wins to pass up WSU coach Joe Cravens. If Adras sticks around a few more years he will have the chance to catch #3 Neil McCarthy with 200 overall wins, #1 is again Mick Durham with 246 wins and #2 is Bobby Dye, Boise State, with 214 wins. Who is NAU? NAU is a school located in Flagstaff, AZ, that has been a member of the Big Sky since 1970. They have 5 conference championships - '87, '97, '98, '06, & '07. NAU and Weber were co-champions in 2007 by both finishing 11-5, however, Weber beat NAU in the conference tournament championship and later went on to the NCAA tournament. Even though the 2 finished as co-champs, WSU swept NAU 3-0. NAU has won the conference tournament 2 times of the 5 times they have hosted. When WSU is hosting the conference tournament, the 'Cats have won it all 7 times out of 8. NAU bio Established: 1899 Undergraduates: 15,569 Postgraduates: 5,783 Location Flagstaff, AZ Colors: Blue, Sage, & Gold Nickname: Lumberjacks Mascot: Louie the Lumberjack NAU Starters G-10 Cameron Jones 6-4 185 So Los Angeles, CA (12.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg .531 3P%) F-40 Shane Johannsen 6-6 230 So Phoenix, AZ (9.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg) C-32 Nick Larson 6-8 225 Jr Ventura, CA (2.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg) G-2 Jermaine Bishop 6-2 220 Sr Del Rio, TX (4.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, .393 3P%) G-21 Josh Wilson 6-2 205 Sr Longview, WA (9.9 ppg, 4.2 apg, .365 3P%) WSU Starters F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (8.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, .370 3P%) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 Fr Mountain View, WY (9.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, .423 3P%) C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Jr Salt Lake City, UT (9.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg) G-33 Kellen McCoy 5-6 180 Sr Norman, OK (13.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.6 apg, .436 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 True Fr Oakland, CA (9.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.6 apg, .377 3P%) NAU Schedule Nov 14 at Utah Valley L 68-62 Nov 17 Haskell W 95-63 Nov 20 at UNLV L 87-71 Nov 22 at UC Riverside L 59-52 Nov 25 North Dakota State L 89-82 Nov 30 at Arizona L 74-57 Dec 6 Utah Valley W 64-63 Dec 14 Northern New Mexico W 80-39 Dec 17 at Stanford L 66-57 Dec 20 at Wichita State L 58-53 Dec 22 at North Dakota State L 90-68 Dec 29 at Northern Colorado L 81-79 Jan 2 Eastern Washington W 72-49 Jan 4 Portland State L 92-91 Jan 8 at Montana L 62-61 Jan 10 at Montana State L 74-68 Jan 18 at Sacramento State W 89-64 Jan 22 Idaho State L 60-52 1/22/09 Weber St. 67, Sacramento St. 59 Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Freshman Kyle Bullinger had 18 points and seven rebounds to lift Weber State 67-59 over Sacramento State on Thursday night. Kellen McCoy had 15 points and Damian Lillard had eight points and six assists for the Weber State Wildcats (11-8, 5-1 Big Sky), who have won five of their last six games. Loren Leath had 19 points in 35 minutes for the Sacramento State Hornets (1-19, 0-7 Big Sky.) The defeat extends the Hornets' losing streak to 14 games. Sacramento led 21-18 on a basket by Alex Ward with 5:11 left in the first half. Despite shooting 35.7 percent from the floor (10 of 28), the Wildcats came back to tie the game up 25-25 by halftime. The Hornets shot 36 percent from the field (9 of 25) in the first half. After Antonio Flaggs turned a steal into a dunk to tie the game at 47-47 with 6:38 left in the second half, the Wildcats went on a 13-5 run to take command of the rest of the game. Bullinger made nine of the Wildcats' points during the pivotal run. Box Score 1/22/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 67-59
Big Sky Scoreboard ISU 60, NAU 52 UNC 65, MSU 55 1/21/09 Thurs: WSU @ Sac St Sacramento State Hornets (0-6, 1-18) aka California State University, Sacramento will be hosting the WSU Wildcats for the 16th ever meeting between the 2 schools on Thursday at 8 PM. Sac is being outscored by an average of 17.4 points per contest this season. The Hornets have only 1 win in Ogden and just 4 wins overall out of the 29 times the 2 teams have met. All 4 of Sac's wins against Weber have come in the last 6 years. Currently Sac has lost all 11 road games this year and 13 straight losses overall dating back to December 3rd when they beat rival UC-Davis 82-70. Weber would like to contribute to this losing streak on Thursday in Sacramento where the 'Cats are 11-3. For those who have been lucky to forget, the '05-'06 season was one of the worst seasons in WSU history. Sac State and Portland State both got their first ever win in Ogden, and after the Hornets won they were so excited they even took the game ball home. Against the Hornets all-time, WSU head coach Randy Rahe is 3-1 and Weber State is 25-4 overall. Sac State first year head coach Brian Katz is 0-0 vs Weber and is a first year DI coach. Katz spent 19 seasons in the JC rankings all in the state of California. He spent the past 15 years at San Joaquin Delta JC in Stockton, CA. At San Joaquin Delta Katz went 348-138. The 4 years prior to San Joaquin Katz was the coach at Lassen JC where he posted a 87-47 record. Overall he is 435-185 before coming to Sac State. Sac Starters G-22 Antonio Flaggs 6-3 180 Jr Pittsburg, CA (8.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg) F-40 Justin Eller 6-8 235 Jr Yreka, CA (10.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg) C-4 Randy Adams 6-8 220 Sr Moreno Valley, CA (6.8 ppg, 4 rpg) G-23 Loren Leath 6-2 190 Sr Oakland, CA (15.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg, .383 3P%) G-14 Mike Marcial 6-1 180 Jr Clovis, CA (1.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, .200 3P%) WSU Starters F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (8.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, .384 3P%) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 Fr Mountain View, WY (9.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, .433 3P%) C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Jr Salt Lake City, UT (10.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg) G-33 Kellen McCoy 5-6 180 Sr Norman, OK (13.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.6 apg, .419 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 True Fr Oakland, CA (9.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, .382 3P%) Sac Schedule Nov 14 at Fresno State L 77-65 Nov 18 at UC Riverside L 61-49 Nov 21 at Washington State L 76-55 Nov 25 at Cal State Bakersfield L 72-62 Dec 1 Idaho L 72-58 Dec 3 UC Davis W 82-70 Dec 6 at Santa Clara L 51-32 Dec 9 Utah Valley L 64-44 Dec 11 at New Mexico State L 76-65 Dec 20 at Wyoming L 93-70 Dec 23 George Washington L 59-47 Dec 27 at Southern Utah L 76-51 Dec 30 Pacific L 70-51 Jan 2 Portland State L 79-67 Jan 4 Eastern Washington L 87-74 Jan 8 at Montana State L 61-42 Jan 10 at Montana L 80-63 Jan 13 at Northern Colorado L 91-73 Jan 18 Northern Arizona L 89-64 Hornet bio Established: 1947 Undergraduates: 22,555 Postgraduates: 5,417 Location: Sacramento, CA Colors: Green & Gold Mascot: Herky the Hornet Series: WSU is 25-4 all-time vs Sac Famous alumni Tom Hanks, Creed Bratton from The Office, Lester Holt anchor of the weekend edition of Today, Joan Lunden & Bobby McFerrin. 1/18/09 WSU - 5th Straight Home Win Against UM Box Score With the 71-55 win at home against the UM Griz in front of 5,022 in attendance, the 'Cats move to 4-1 on the season. Weber dominated UM in every aspect of the game. Rebounds: WSU 41, UM 31, Points off turnovers: WSU 13, UM 8. Points in the paint: WSU 24, UM 10. Bench points: WSU 26, UM 5. Second chance points: WSU 9, UM 4. Fast break points: WSU 6, UM 2. FG%: WSU 39.2%, UM 31.5%. 3P%: WSU 44%, UM 27%. FT Line: WSU 24-30 (80%), UM 15-21 (71.4%). To keep the crowd in the game even though the 'Cats had a comfortable lead most of the way, Daviin Davis threw down 2 dunks and even the freshman point guard Damian Lillard slammed one home for the fans for the second time in the last 3 home games. Randy Rahe is now 4-1 all-time against Montana and has an overall 46-34 record at Weber State. Rahe's Big Sky record is 28-13 and 19-3 in Big Sky home games with an overall home record of 30-6. Weber State overall in its 46th season as a Div I basketball school is 842-493 all-time and 525-112 at home. Against the Griz, Weber is now 62-43 and 38-13 in Ogden. Weber will leave for a 2 game road swing next week at Sacramento State and Northern Arizona. 1/18/09 Wildcats defeat Grizzlies 71-55 Source: Montana Athletics Box Score The Weber State Wildcats had three players score in double figures en route to a 71-55 win over the visiting University of Montana Grizzlies Saturday evening in a Big Sky Conference game in WSU’s Dee Events Center (attendance: 5,022). Montana (3-3/9-9) jumped to an early 9-2 lead on a pair of free throws byu junior guard Anthony Johnson with 15:08 left until intermission. However, WSU (4-1/10-8) battled back, and took a 12-11 lead on a pair of free throws by senior forward Daviin Davis with 10:39 left until halftime, and the Wildcats led the rest of the way. Weber State had a 32-23 lead at the half. The Wildcats took a double-digit lead (34-23) in the opening seconds of the second half on a couple of free throws by freshman forward Kyle Bullinger, and WSU maintained a lead of 10 points or more throughout the rest of the contest. Johnson continued his torrid scoring pace with a game-high 21 points. UM junior forward Jack McGillis added 16 points, while senior forward Jordan Hasquet struggled from the field with just 5 points, but he did have a team-high 8 rebounds. Johnson is now averaging 22.8 points per game in conference. Davis and senior guard Kellen McCoy scored 18 points each for the Wildcats, while freshman guard Damian Lillard added 17. The Grizzlies made just 17-of-54 field goal attempts (31.5%) and were 6-of-22 (27.3%) from three-point range. The Wildcats were 20-of-51 (39.2%) from the field and made 7-of-16 (43.8%) treys. WSU was 24-of-30 from the line for 80.0%, while UM made 15-of-21 (71.4%) charity attempts. The Wildcats had a 41 to 34 advantage on the boards. Montana is at Eastern Washington next Wednesday, Jan. 21 and hosts Northern Colorado on Sunday, Jan. 25. WSU is at Sacramento State and Northern Arizona next week. 1/17/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 71-55 Box Score
Saturday: ISU 64, MSU 43 Sunday: PSU @ UNC | NAU @ Sac 1/15/09 Refs/Bobcats Duo Beat 'Cats Box Score It was a game too close to call...literally. Not only did the 'Cats have to beat the Bobcats they were also up against the Big Sky refs. The game went back and forth on the scoreboard all night with 14 lead changes. Twenty-two WSU fouls resulting in 19-of-25 FT's for MSU courtesy of the Big Sky refs didn't allow the game to be physical at all. It looked like they were officiating a Junior Jazz league. WSU leader and senior, Daviin Davis, was a non-factor with 3 quick first half fouls and picking up an early first half 4th foul kept him out of most of the game. He finished the game only playing 15 minutes while he averages over 26 minutes per game. The MSU Bobcats played a solid game and just kept making shots. They shot 49% on the game and 40% from the 3 PT line. The 19 freebies from the line was killer to the 'Cats. With 1:47 remaining in the game WSU was down 72-60 and got within 2 points with a McCoy 3 point play with 46 seconds remaining. Twenty-two seconds to go Darin Mahoney fouled MSU's Erik Rush who made both free-throws to make the score 74-70. With the ball back in play and WSU needing to make something happen quick the ref called Bullinger for stepping out-of-bounds with 12 ticks left to end WSU's chances of 2 straight last minute comebacks at home. Bobcats won 75-70. WSU shot 47% overall, 40% from the arc, and (12-15) 80% from the line. MSU won the rebounding battle 28-27, on the whole the box score looks very even in each column minus free-throw attempts. Two WSU players finished in double figures. McCoy had 22 points & Kyle Bullinger finished with 11 points going 3-4 from the 3-point line. 1/15/09 Gameday Final: WSU L 75-70 Box Score
1/14/09 Thurs: Montana State @ Weber Weber State takes on the Bobcats of Montana State at 7 PM Thursday night at the Dee Events Center. Last season WSU went 3-0 vs the Bobcats with a regular season sweep followed up by a quarterfinal win in the Big Sky Tournament. Weber hasn't lost at home to MSU since 2004-05. Weber State is 68-32 all-time against Montana State and 43-9 in Ogden. Tomorrow's game will be the 101st meeting between the 2 teams. MSU Stats MSU is #2 in the conference in scoring overall and 7th in conference games only (WSU #1 & #5 respectively). MSU has allowed the least amount of points in the conference overall and in Big Sky games (WSU #7 & #3). The Bobcats are #1 in 3 pt scoring defense .344 (WSU #2 .346), #1 in rebounding 36.6 (WSU #5 32.1), #2 in rebounding margin +2.9 (WSU #6 -0.4), #1 turnover margin with + 0.40 (WSU #9 -3.38). WSU stats worth noting, the 'Cats are #1 in home attendance average, ppg average in conference, FT%, FG% defense, defensive rebounds. Weber is #2 in FG%, 3 pt FG% defense, 3 pt FG's made. MSU Starters G-23 Erik Rush 6-5 200 So San Jose, CA (9.9 ppg, 4 rpg, .400 3P%) F-15 Bobby Howard 6-7 220 So Great Falls, MT (12.4 ppg, 6 rpg, .364 3P%) C-32 Divaldo Mbunga 6-9 240 Sr Luauda (10.7 ppg, 7 rpg, 1.6 bpg) G-20 Will Bynum 6-3 185 Jr Almagordo, NM (11.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.6 apg, .100 3P%) G-3 Marquis Navarre 5-11 165 Jr Oceanside, CA (6.1 ppg, 2.7 apg, .273 3P%) WSU Starters F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (9.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, .386 3P%) F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 Fr Mountain View, WY (9.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, .417 3P%) C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Jr Salt Lake City, UT (11.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg) G-33 Kellen McCoy 5-6 180 Sr Norman, OK (12.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.7 apg, .422 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 True Fr Oakland, CA (9.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, .383 3P%) MSU Schedule Nov 15 Nevada L 72-63 Nov 18 at Colorado W 85-82 Nov 24 at Boise State L 74-61 Nov 26 at Oregon State W 82-79 Dec 1 University of Great Falls W 78-66 Dec 6 at Eastern Washington L 61-55 Dec 9 Cal State Fullerton W 74-60 Dec 13 vs. Washington State* L 70-51 Dec 20 at Long Beach State W 75-61 Dec 22 at Cal State Fullerton L 88-80 Dec 28 Lethbridge W 89-60 Dec 29 Utah Valley W 70-67 Jan 3 at Montana L 73-59 Jan 8 Sacramento State W 61-42 Jan 10 Northern Arizona W 74-68 1/14/09 Beanie Night & Hat Night Thursday night's game against Montana State the first 2,000 fans will receive a free WSU beanie. Then on Saturday night's game against Montana the first 2,000 fans will receive a free WSU hat. Weber State will also have the "Quick Change" halftime show, a popular entertainment act seen around the country. According to Weber State Athletics: "Quick Change is a nationally renowned act that has performed at hundreds of NBA games and has appeared on the television show America's Got Talent. It promises to be one of the best and most exciting halftimes in Weber State basketball history." In addition, fans can receive five tickets, five hot dogs, and five drinks for $30.00. Quick Change video clip 1/13/09 Montanas Week This week WSU will be hosting Montana State and Montana in basketball. Thursday night's game against the Montana State Bobcats will be free beanie night (1st 2,000 fans). Then, Saturday night's game vs the Montana Griz will be free hat night (1st 2,000 fans). The Griz, 3-1 (9-7), were picked to finish 2nd place in the coaches and media polls, the Bobcats 2-2 (9-6), were picked 7th in the media and 8th in the coaches. However, MSU has proven to be a team that likely will be giving everybody trouble in the conference this year after having beaten Colorado, Oregon State, and Long Beach. All 3 games were on the road. The Griz have had an interesting schedule this season. They beat Fresno State on the road which looks impressive but looking at their win/loss column, it shows 2 wins in a row, then 3 straight losses, then 4 wins, then 3 losses, and most recently 3 more wins in a row. The longest current winning streak in the conference is 3 straight by Weber and Montana. MSU is next with 2 straight wins. Montana bio Established: 1893 Undergraduates: 11,799 Graduates: 2,059 Location: Missoula, MT Stadium: Dahlberg Arena (7,500) Colors: Maroon & Silver Grizzly scraps Weber's all-time record against Montana is 61-43 overall, 37-13 in Ogden, and 24-30 at Montana. The last time Montana won the Big Sky in basketball was 2000. The Griz's last NCAA Tournament appearance was 2006. As of late the Griz have been conference tournament spoilers. In 2002 when Montana State hosted, UM ended up going to the Big Dance. In 2005, PSU hosted yet Montana went to the Big Dance again, but this time they beat Weber for the conference tournament championship by 2. Weber's Jamal Jenkins threw up a halfcourt shot with 3 seconds remaining in the game and Weber lost. In 2006, NAU hosted yet UM went to the Big Dance as a 12-seed and beat the WAC champion, Nevada Wolf Pack. Montana State bio Established: 1893 Undergraduates: 10,842 Postgraduates: 1,408 Location: Bozeman, MT Stadium: Worthington Arena (6,378) Colors: Blue & Gold Bobcat tid bits Weber's all-time record against Montana State is 68-32 overall, 43-9 in Ogden, and 25-23 at MSU. Notable alumni of Montana State include Dennis Erickson, current head football coach at Arizona State, Craig Kilborn the actor and former talk show host played basketball for the Bobcats. Also, the Big Sky's only school to ever win a national championship in men's basketball was MSU in 1929. *Randy Rahe is 7-2 against the Montanas, 4-1 vs MSU and 3-1 vs UM. MSU's last win in Ogden was in 2005, UM's last win in Ogden was in 2004. 1/12/09 McCoy, Big Sky POTW From the Big Sky Conference's official site by Jon Casper UM's Johnson, WSU's McCoy Share Weekly Award http://www.bigskyconf.com/Pdfs/mbball/2009/1/12/POTW1-12.pdf OGDEN, Utah (Jan. 12, 2009) - Montana's Anthony Johnson and Weber State's Kellen McCoy have been selected as the Co-Big Sky Conference men's basketball Players of the Week after both players led their teams to two victories last weekend. Johnson, a 6-foot-2 junior guard from Tacoma, Wash., averaged 25 points and three assists per game. He shot 53.6 percent from the field and 95.2 percent (20-of-21) from the free-throw line in leading Montana to home victories over Northern Arizona and Sacramento State. Johnson scored a career-high 32 points as Montana rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit for a 62-61 win over Northern Arizona on Thursday. Johnson made 18-of-19 free throws, made 7-of-14 field goals, and dished out two assists with two steals and a rebound. It was Johnson's second straight 30-point game, as he scored 31 in a win over Montana State on Jan. 3. Johnson netted 18 points with four assists, two rebounds and a steal in Montana's 80-63 win over Sacramento State on Saturday. Johnson has scored in double figures in 11 of his last 12 games. McCoy, a 5-6 senior guard from Norman, Okla., led Weber State to road victories over Portland State and Eastern Washington. McCoy averaged 15.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and one steal per game and shot 85 percent from the free-throw line. McCoy scored 10 points with five rebounds and five assists in Weber State's 80-66 upset of Portland State on Thursday. The victory snapped Portland State's 17-game winning streak against conference teams, as well as the Vikings' 15-game home court winning streak. McCoy went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. McCoy scored 21 points with a career-high 12 rebounds with four assists and a steal in Weber State's 77-69 win over Eastern Washington on Sunday. McCoy hit 9-of-12 from the free-throw line, including four in the final minute. He played 71 of 80 total minutes during road sweep. This is the first Player of the Week honor for both. Others Nominated For Weekly Honor Chron Tatum, F, Idaho State: Averaged 12.5 points and 10 rebounds in two losses. Will Bynum, G, Montana State: Averaged 14.5 points per game in two wins. Cameron Jones, G, Northern Arizona: Averaged 19.5 points per game in two losses. Mike Procter, F, Northern Colorado: Scored 13 points with eight rebounds in a loss. Phil Nelson, F, Portland State: Averaged 15.5 points per game in a win and a loss. 1/12/09 Talk is Cheap Before Thursday night's game in Portland where the Wildcats beat the Big Sky's #1 team 80-66, there was an article in The Oregonian with quotes from the Portland State players commenting about how they would be beating everybody and no one would have much of a chance. It is understandable that they should be a confident team, they did after all beat the #7 team in the nation on December 23rd, upsetting Gonzaga in Spokane 77-70, also, the Vikings had won 17 straight Big Sky games until Weber came to town this past Thursday. Jeremiah Dominguez, PSU Point Guard "We feel like we can't be beat," Dominguez said. "We have to play a certain way, but I think our guys are learning what we need to do to win, and that's the biggest part of our game." "We can win anywhere," said Dominguez, the senior point guard and last season's Big Sky MVP. "It really doesn't matter where we go. I think we know what we need to do. "The only way we could lose is if we beat ourselves because we have the talent and we shouldn't get beat. I think everyone on the team feels that way." Dominic Waters, PSU bench player "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves, though," said Waters, who was named the Big Sky's player of the week after hitting the game-winning free throws with 6.5 seconds left and finishing with 41 points Sunday. "We want to stay confident in what we do, work hard and continue to do what we've been doing, and the games will take care of themselves. "It's just like 'Miah said, if we start playing selfishly, stop moving the ball and stop playing defense, we'll lose. I don't see it happening because we're playing well, and you can't help but play together when you're winning." http://www.oregonlive.com/vikings/index.ssf/2009/01/psu_vikings_lead_big_sky_in_sc.html After Weber beat Portland State on their own court to end their long winning streak, the talking didn't stop; below are more quotes from Waters just after the game. In the article it mentions how Waters felt sick that the Vikings lost to Weber. It said he was adamant that what happened was out of character and he practically guaranteed the Viks would get the win in Ogden in February. "I still can't believe it," Waters said. "I'm disappointed in myself and our team for not pulling this out." "I told them, we're going to be ready when we go up there and we will win when we go up there," Waters said. "We won't lose any more. Not any games. The rest of the season, we will not lose again." http://www.oregonlive.com/vikings/index.ssf/2009/01/vikings_win_at_home.html FYI, there isn't a single player on the PSU roster that has been part of a win in Ogden. PSU has 2 Big Sky Championships - 2004-05 and 2007-08, neither championship team won in Ogden. Portland State is 9-23 all-time against Weber State, they are also just 1-14 in Ogden. PSU's lone win was in the 2005-06 season. 1/11/09 Gameday - on the Altitude Final: WSU W 77-69 Box Score
1/9/09 Sun: WSU @ EWU on the Altitude Watch Live | Listen Live Sunday afternoon Weber State will take on (3-1) Eastern Washington Eagles in Cheney, Washington. Cheney is located just 15 minutes from Spokane. The game will be live on the Altitude Sports Network (Dish 410, DirecTV 644, Comcast 65) at 2 PM MST. EWU's head coach, Kirk Earlywine spent 7 years at Weber as an assistant during the "Cravens era". Weber is 33-19 overall against EWU all-time, 23-3 in Ogden, and 10-16 in Cheney. No player on the current Wildcat roster has been part of a win at EWU, their luck may change on Sunday. Coach Rahe is 2-2 against the Eagles, 26-12 against the Big Sky, and 44-33 overall thus far in his 3rd season. EWU Starters G-30 Milan Stanojevic 6-2 195 Sr Subotica (9.9 ppg, 1.5 apg, .451 3P%) F-42 Mark Dunn 6-8 280 Jr Trafalgar, IN (5.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg) C-45 Brandon Moore 6-9 240 Jr Graham, WA (11.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg) G-10 Adris DeLeon 5-11 Sr Bronx, NY (5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.3 apg) G-14 Gary Gibson 6-1 175 Jr Windsor, ON (3 ppg, 1.3 apg, .286 3P%) WSU Starters F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 Fr Mountain View, WY (9.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, .446 3P%) F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (8.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, .383 3P%) C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Jr Salt Lake City, UT (10.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg) G-33 Kellen McCoy 5-6 180 Sr Norman, OK (12.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.6 apg, .403 3P%) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 True Fr Oakland, CA (9.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, .383 3P%) EWU Schedule Nov 14 at Illinois L 66-50 Nov 19 at UC Irvine W 74-69 Nov 22 Texas-Arlington W 73-70 Nov 24 Idaho W 69-59 Nov 26 at Minnesota L 88-67 Nov 30 UC Irvine W 78-64 Dec 3 at Portland W 63-58 Dec 6 Montana State W 61-55 Dec 14 at Hawaii L 75-55 Dec 18 UMKC L 68-61 Dec 20 at Washington L 83-50 Dec 22 Evergreen State W 90-87 Dec 29 at Boise State L 57-48 Jan 2 at Northern Arizona L 72-49 Jan 4 at Sacramento State W 87-74 Jan 8 Idaho State W 71-65 EWU Bio Established: 1882 Undergraduates: 8,309 Postgraduates: 923 Location Cheney, WA Colors: Red & White Weber vs EWU in football: 13-14 Weber vs EWU in basketball: 33-19 (23-3 in Ogden) 1/9/09 Freshmen & Seniors Help Send Vikings to Valhalla The Wildcats showed the WSU faithful that watched last night's game on BigSkyTv.org what they are capable of when they play a full 40 minutes. What they are capable of is...anything...and beating the defending Big Sky champion Portland State Vikings who have been picked to win it all again this year made a statement to the rest of the conference. WSU could do no wrong and played a great game. If the game had been against maybe any other team in the Big Sky it might have been a 30 point win. As a team WSU shot 46% from the field, 48% from the arc knocking in 11-of-23, more impressive than that was the 19-of-21 from the free-throw line. The 2 seniors alone combined for 12-12 from the line. WSU led in rebounds 30-29, turned the ball over just 9 times to PSU's 16 which was an important stat as WSU averages about 16 TO's per game. For the 'Cats to do some damage in league this year it will not only take great basketball from the 2 seniors but also from the WSU freshman class. The 2 starting freshman looked like seniors out there last night, most of the PSU fans at the game probably didn't know Lillard was just 18 and Bullinger 19 years of age. Kyle Bullinger aka "K-Bull" looked to be having an average game in the first half. He had 1 3-pointer and a total of 5 points, not bad then again he's a frosh. When the second half started both teams came out shooting 3's and were dropping them like they were 10-foot jumpers. Bullinger alone it 4 in a row which not only kept WSU in the game but gave the team a lead that would make things difficult for the Vikings to keep pace. K-Bull finished the night with a career-high 22 points, game-high 8 rebounds, career-high 5-5 from beyond the arc, 8-10 free-throws, and a steal. Damian Lillard also had a great game and its hard to believe he was playing high school basketball just last season. Lillard only played 26 minutes and scored 14 points, had a career-high 6 assists, and 2 steals. Making key plays toward the end of the game and forcing turnovers was the 2 WSU seniors in Kellen McCoy and Daviin Davis. McCoy finished with 10 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, a steal, and 8-of-8 FT's. Davis, off the bench, chipped in with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, a big block, a huge fast-break dunk, and 4-for-4 from the FT line. WSU moves to 23-9 all-time against PSU - 14-1 in Ogden and 9-8 in Portland. Coach Randy Rahe is now 5-1 against the Vikings. 1/8/09 Weber St. 80, Portland St. 66 Box Score Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. -- Kyle Bullinger scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half, lifting Weber State to an 80-66 win over Portland State on Thursday. Damian Lillard added 14 points for Weber State (8-7, 2-1 Big Sky Conference), which snapped Portland State's 18-game conference winning streak. Andre Murray and Dominic Waters had 16 points apiece for Portland State (12-5, 3-1). Jeremiah Dominguez added 11, but shot just 4-of-14 from the field. Weber State broke open a close game with a 6-0 run that put the Wildcats ahead 65-57 with 6:45 left. The Wildcats stifled the Portland offense down the stretch, limiting the Vikings to one field goal in the final 4:37. Bullinger went 5-for-5 from 3-point range and the Wildcats as a team shot 11-of-23 from that distance. Weber State also connected on 19-of-21 free throws and committed only nine turnovers. 1/8/09 Gameday Final: WSU W 80-66
1/5/09 Thurs: WSU @ Portland State Watch Live | Listen Live This Thursday night WSU will take on the defending Big Sky Champs in Portland, Oregon. PSU won the regular season title and the conference tournament to get the automatic bid to the NCAA tourament. The Vikings went on to lose in the 1st Rd to the national champion Kansas Jayhawks. Since the Big Sky Conference started in 1964, 9 times there has been a team win back-to-back regular season titles. Five of these 9 were Weber State. PSU was selected to repeat as champs by the coaches and media polls this season. In the non-conference schedule PSU took down the then No. 7 Gonzaga Bulldogs 77-70 which was the first win for a Big Sky team against a ranked opponent since UM beat Nevada in the 1st Rd of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. PSU is ranked No. 10 in CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Poll. In the Sagarin Ratings PSU is ranked No. 89 the highest of any Big Sky team and WSU is in second at No. 145. Regarding SOS, WSU is No. 50 and PSU is No. 225 of the 340+ Div I schools. Currently the Vikings are 3-0 and 12-4 overall. They beat UM back in December 72-45, then within the past 4 days they handled Sac 79-67 and nearly lost to NAU 4 times in one game yesterday (4 over-times) in Flagstaff, final 92-91. Meanwhile WSU is just 1-0 having only played 1 conference game thus far. Other than the last year's Big Sky MVP as a junior, Jeremiah Dominguez, who averages 12.3 ppg and shoots nearly 43% from the arc, the Vikings have added the following key players to beef up their roster: Dominic Waters (junior, 6'1", 170 lbs), a Portland native transferred from the U of Hawai'i where he played 2 seasons. As a soph, he appeared in 30 games, started 1, averaged 6 ppg, 1.4 rpg and 1.6 assists in 17 minutes per game. Waters had a career-high 18 points & 5 assists against Idaho. He was the WAC Freshman of the Year in 2005-06. He sat out last season and is now eligible. In PSU's quadruple over-time game at NAU, Waters came off the bench and scored 41 points. Phil Nelson (sophomore, 6'7", 220 lbs), transferred to PSU from the U of Washington and is also an Oregon native. Nelson played in 31 games, started 9 and averaged 4.7 ppg & 2 rpg. Currently not practicing due to health reasons but expected to be back on the court soon. He sat out last season and is now eligible. Jamie Jones (junior, 6'7" 215 lbs), a U of Portland transfer comes to PSU after playing 2 seasons for the Portland Pilots. As a starter prior to sitting out last season, he was the team’s 2nd leading scorer and leading rebounder. He averaged 10.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg and blocked a team-high 31 shots. Currently also not practicing due to health reasons but expected to be back on the court soon and is eligible for this season after sitting out last year. Weber's all-time record against PSU is 22-9. The 'Cats are an unbelievable 14-1 at home and 8-8 in Portland. The Wildcats hope to improve this record to 9-8 this week before heading to EWU on Saturday. Coach Randy Rahe is 4-1 all-time vs PSU. The PSU Vikings are on a roll right now with 17 straight Big Sky wins dating back to their last conference loss which was at Weber State last January 10th. The Viks have also won 15 straight home games dating back to last season. They have won 14 straight Big Sky home games and need just one more to tie that record on Jan 8th against Weber. The Big Sky record for the most straight wins is held by Weber State. Longest Winning streak: 18 straight games and 24 straight conference games. Longest Road winning streak: 13 conference games 1968-70 & 8 total road wins 1969. PSU Starters F-14 Kyle Coston 6-8 210 Jr Lynden, WA (6.8 ppg, 4 rpg, 1.8 apg) F-21 Phil Nelson 6-7 220 So Keizer, OR (12 ppg, 3.5 rpg, .325 3P%) C-44 Jamie Jones 6-7 215 Jr El Segundo, CA (10.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg) G-10 Jeremiah Dominguez 5-6 150 Sr Salem, OR (12.3 ppg, 2.6 apg, 2.3 rpg, 2 spg, .429 3P%) G-3 Andre Murray 6-2 200 Sr Los Angeles, CA (10.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.3 apg, .389 3P%) WSU Starters F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 Fr Mountain View, WY (8.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3P% .392) F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (8.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3P% .368) C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Jr Salt Lake City, UT (11.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg) G-33 Kellen McCoy 5-6 180 Sr Norman, OK (12.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 3P% .424) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 True Fr Oakland, CA (9.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 3P% .382) PSU Schedule Nov 15 at Rice W 78-74 Nov 18 Portland W 81-76 Nov 23 CS-Fullerton W 76-75 Nov 27 vs Northern Illinois W 79-58 Nov 28 vs Hampton L 77-71 OT Nov 29 vs Seattle W 81-67 Dec 6 Seattle W 73-68 Dec 9 Lewis & Clark W 77-66 Dec 14 at Washington L 84-83 Dec 17 at Cal Poly L 65-62 Dec 20 Montana W 72-45 8-3 (1-0) Dec 23 at No. 7 Gonzaga W 77-70 Dec 27 at Texas Southern W 63-55 Dec 29 at No. 20 Baylor L 79-66 Jan 2 at Sacramento State W 79-67 (2-0) Jan 4 at Northern Arizona W 92-91 4OT (3-0) Last season WSU and PSU split 1-1, they didn't get the chance to meet in the conference tournament where WSU leads 3-0 all-time. The game in Ogden WSU won 73-68 and PSU won the game in Portland 76-73. The Vikings went 14-2 in the regular season. PSU Bio Established: 1946 Undergraduates: 18,012 Postgraduates: 6,272 Location Portland, OR Colors: Forest Green & White WSU vs PSU, football: 17-12 WSU vs PSU, basketball: 22-9 1/3/09 Weber St. 88, N. Colorado 84 Box Score Courtesy: Associated Press OGDEN, Utah -- Weber State rallied from a 16-point deficit in the second half to beat Northern Colorado 88-84 in overtime Saturday night. Daviin Davis' 3-pointer gave WSU (7-7, 1-0 Big Sky) an 86-84 lead with 18 seconds left in overtime. Davis forced UNC to turn the ball over and Kellen McCoy sealed it with two free throws with 9.3 seconds left. McCoy scored 23 points and Damian Lillard had 18 for WSU, which set a school record with 15 3-pointers. The Bears (5-10, 1-2) opened the second half with a 11-0 run, including two 3-pointers from Will Figures. That gave Northern Colorado a 50-34 lead, its biggest advantage of the game, less than two minutes into the second half. WSU trailed 73-66 with 45 seconds left in regulation but Lillard's 3-pointer with 3 seconds left tied the score at 74 and sent it to overtime. Figures and Jabril Banks each scored 20 for UNC. 1/3/09 Gameday - Mascot Night Final: WSU W 88-84 in OT
1/1/09 Big Sky Play Begins: UNC @ WSU Watch Live | Listen Live Weber State men's hoops will open up conference play this year at home against Northern Colorado this Saturday, Jan 3rd at 7 PM. The game will also be the annual mascot night. On New Year's Day UNC lost at Idaho State 62-61 in over-time. The Bears and Wildcats have met on the court only 4 times in the history of both schools. Weber is 3-1 and Rahe has been the coach for each game. The first 2 meetings were during the 2006-07 season, the 'Cats won both games (61-60 & 76-65), also it was UNC's first year in the Big Sky. Overall as the head coach of Weber State, Randy Rahe is 42-33, 28-5 at home, 24-12 in Big Sky play, 17-2 at home in Big Sky games. Weber State is 2-0 all-time at home vs UNC and 1-1 at UNC. In fact, WSU is 30-2 at home all-time vs UNC, PSU, and Sac St combined. Last season the 'Cats and Bears split 1-1, each won their home game. The game in Greeley was the first conference game of the year and was featured on the Altitude. The 'Cats lost 55-52 in a close battle that came down to the wire but hot UNC shooting from downtown made sure Weber left with its first ever loss to UNC. With a 2nd chance at the Bears later that season and in Ogden, WSU made sure the Bears would remember the WSU senior class of 2008. UNC got blown out 70-54; WSU senior Dez Harris had 21 points and 4 steals, WSU senior Arturas Valeika had 16 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks, and a steal. This season UNC was picked by the coaches/media polls to finish 6th in the Big Sky. So far the Bears are 5-9 overall and 1-1 in conference by having beat NAU at home this past Monday in an impressive come-from-behind 81-79 win after being down by 10 at the half and then lost at ISU on Thursday. UNC Starters F-22 Jabril Banks 6-7 230 Jr Denver, CO (13.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg) F-33 Neal Kingman 6-6 200 Jr Greeley, CO (6.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, .512 3P%) G-32 Devon Beitzel 6-0 175 So Lafayette, CO (15.2 ppg, 2 rpg, 1.3 apg, .508 3P%) G-2 Will Figures 5-9 165 Jr Centennial, CO (10.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.5 apg, .414 3P%) G-23 John Pena 5-10 160 Jr Phoenix, AZ (8.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.1 TO-pg) WSU Starters F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 Fr Mountain View, WY (7.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg) F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (8.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg) C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Jr Salt Lake City, UT (11.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg) G-33 Kellen McCoy 5-6 180 Sr Norman, OK (11.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.3 apg) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 Fr Oakland, CA (8.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.9 apg) UNC Schedule Nov 14 at Oregon L 66-64 Nov 18 at Colorado State L 85-74 Nov 26 at Denver W 71-66 OT Nov 29 Texas State W 105-93 Dec 3 San Diego State L 73-62 Dec 6 Air Force L 71-64 Dec 13 at Creighton L 85-66 Dec 16 Portland W 76-73 Dec 18 at Fresno State L 70-65 Dec 20 at San Jose State L 89-78 Dec 22 vs Liberty L 75-70 Dec 23 vs Southern University W 76-68 Dec 29 Northern Arizona W 81-79 Jan 1 at Idaho State L 62-61 OT Jan 3 at Weber State 7:05 PM Bears Bio Established: 1889 Undergraduates: 10,799 Postgraduates: 2,182 Location: Greeley, Colorado Colors: Navy Blue & Gold Home Court: Butler-Hancock, capacity 2,941 UNC's Coach Tad Boyle, 3rd year, Kansas 1985 Boyle, a Greeley native, spent 6 years as an assistant at Wichita State before coming to UNC. In 2006 Witchita State while Boyle was on staff they went 26-9 and advanced to the Sweet 16 by taking down Seton Hall (86-66) & Tennessee (80-73). Witchita eventually lost to Final 4 cinderella George Mason. UNC Extras To date, the Bears have never been to the Big Sky Conference post season or the NCAA Tourament. They haven't had yet an All-Big Sky 1st or 2nd team player. UNC has had 2 Big Sky honorable mentions, both last season - Sean Taibi and Jabril Banks. UNC's 1st Big Sky season, 2006-07 they finished 2-14 and 4-24 overall. Last season they finished 6-10 and 11-19 overall. 12/30/08 Arizona Rallies to Defeat Weber State 71-65 Courtesy: Arizona Athletics TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Nic Wise scored a career-high 23 points as Arizona overcame a slow start and the absence of leading scorer and rebounder Jordan Hill to beat Weber State 71-65 Monday night. Hill sat out with a lower left leg injury sustained in practice a few days ago but should be ready when Arizona (9-3) plays its Pac-10 Conference opener Jan. 2 at California. Kellen McCoy had 16 points to lead Weber State (6-7) in the battle of the Wildcats. Chase Budinger finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for Arizona, which trailed 36-33 early in the second half. Budinger had only one field goal before dunking a half-court lob pass from Wise to give Arizona a 58-49 lead with 9:30 remaining. McCoy's 3-pointer and his short follow-up with 25 seconds brought Weber State within 69-65 before Jamelle Horne hit two free throws to seal Arizona's win. Box Score 12/29/08 Gameday Final: WSU L 71-65 
12/28/08 Mon: WSU @ Arizona Listen Live After playing a brutal 3 road games in just 4 days (Utah, UT-Pan American, Southern Miss), the 'Cats have had about a week off to recover. Now, WSU will be traveling down to Tucson, AZ, to take on the Arizona Wildcats on Monday, Dec 29th at 7 PM. Currently the AZ Wildcats are in the nation's top 50 and #38 in the Sagarin Ratings. Weber is currently 2-14 against the Pac 10 having played all but Stanford and USC, and the last time they played Arizona was in 1969-70. WSU Pac 10 wins: 59-57 at Arizona State in 1969-70 and a 61-49 win against Oregon State in 1976-77 in Portland in the Old Far West Classic. Monday's matchup is the 4th ever meeting between the Wildcats and Wildcats. U of A leads 3-0 and all 3 games have been played in Tucson: 1966-67, L 62-57; 1967-68, L 73-67; 1969-70, L 72-68. Arizona Basketball Success U of A's basketball team has been one of the nation's most successful programs since the legendary Lute Olson was hired as head coach (1983-2007). Last season the Wildcats finshed 19-15, prior to that they had had 20 consecutive 20-win seasons, and reached the NCAA Tournament 23 straight years. With Olson they went to the Final Four in '88, '94, '97, & '01. In '97, Arizona beat Kentucky to win the national title. They were also the 1st and only team in NCAA history to beat 3 #1 seeds to win a national title (Kansas, North Carolina, & Kentucky). Arizona Starters F-34 Chase Budinger 6-7 218 Jr Encinitas, CA (17.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.9 apg) F-43 Jordan Hill 6-10 235 Jr Atlanta, GA (18.9 ppg, 11.8 rpg) G-2 Zane Johnson 6-5 204 So Phoenix, AZ (3.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1.2 apg) G-13 Nic Wise 5-10 177 Jr Houston, TX (13.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 5.5 apg) G-21 Kyle Fogg 6-2 175 Fr Brea, CA (5.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.3 apg) WSU Starters F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 Fr Mountain View, WY (8.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg) F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (9.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg) C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Jr Salt Lake City, UT (11.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg) G-33 Kellen McCoy 5-6 180 Sr Norman, OK (12.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.1 apg) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 Fr Oakland, CA (7.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.1 apg) U of A Schedule Nov 17 Florida Atlantic W 75-62 Nov 18 UAB L 72-71 Nov 24 Mississippi Valley State W 86-52 Nov 25 Santa Clara W 69-66 Nov 30 Northern Arizona W 74-57 Dec 2 Loyola Marymount W 84-57 Dec 5 at Texas A&M L 67-66 Dec 10 San Diego State W 69-56 Dec 14 No. 4 Gonzaga W 69-64 Dec 20 at UNLV L 79-64 Dec 23 Kansas W 84-67 Arizona Bio Location: Tucson, AZ Established: 1885 Undergraduates: 29,070 Graduates: 6,870 Nickname: Wildcats Colors: Cardinal Red & Navy Blue Conference: PAC 10 Arizona Wildcats in the NBA Gilbert Arenas, Richard Jefferson, Mike Bibby, Jason Terry, Sean Elliott, Damon Stoudamire, Luke Walton, Hassan Adams, Salim Stoudamire, Andre Iguodala, Channing Frye, Brian Williams, Sean Rooks, Jud Buechler, Michael Dickerson and Steve Kerr. 12/23/08 Gameday Final: WSU L 68-49 Box Score 
12/22/08 Gameday Final: WSU W 61-54 Box Score 
12/21/08 Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic Watch Live | Listen Live On Monday (4:30 PM) and Tuesday (6:30 PM) Weber State will be competing in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic. The games will take place at Gulfport High School (2,500). Teams in the Tournament are Spring Hill, Southern Miss, Texas-Pan American, and Weber State. On Monday, Weber will play its 2nd ever game against the Texas-Pan American Broncs, then the following evening the 'Cats will take on the host Golden Eagles of Southern Miss. The last time Weber played UTPA the price of gas was 34 cents per gallon and minimum wage was $1.60. The year was 1968, it was the first year Weber made it to the NCAA Tournament. That season the 'Cats won the Big Sky and finished the season 21-6 and 12-3 in conference play. In a non-conference game Weber beat UTPA 85-79 in Ogden. At the time UTPA was led by 6'11" All-American Otto Moore who was later drafted in the 1st round of the NBA draft to the Detroit Pistons. Moore spent 8 years in the NBA and even played 2 seasons ('75-'77) for the New Orleans Jazz. Also, Roger Reid, SUU head coach was on that Weber '68 team. Southern Miss is led by head coach Larry Eustachy the former Idaho and Utah State basketball coach. With Idaho from 1990-93 back when they were in the Big Sky, Eustachy went 3-4 against Weber and 61-33 overall. At USU from 1993-98 he went 2-2 against WSU and 98-53 overall. He left "the land where the sagebrush grows" in '98 for Iowa State where he compiled a record of 101-59 before becoming the USM coach. At USM he is 66-67. Weber's game vs USM will be the first ever meeting between the 2 schools. Probable UT-Pan American Starters F-10 Emmanuel Jones 6-7 215 Sr Washington DC (18.1 ppg, 8.5 rpg) F-2 Nathan Hawkins 6-6 250 Jr San Antonio, TX (9.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg) G-11 Jared Maree 6-2 185 Fr Houston, TX (3.7 ppg 2.1 rpg, 1.1 apg) G-33 Ben Smith 6-3 175 Jr Pharr, TX (8.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.6 apg) G-12 Nick Weiermiller 6-1 185 So Elmira, NY (10.2 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 6.5 apg) Probable Southern Miss Starters F-32 Andre Stephens 6-8 235 Jr Paulding, MS (6.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg) F-1 Courtne Beasley 6-3 210 Sr Huntsville, AL (12.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg) G-3 Jeremy Wise 6-2 165 Jr Jackson, MS (19.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.5 apg) G-15 RL Horton 6-0 175 So Jackson, MS (11.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.0 apg) G-23 Craig Craft 6-3 190 Sr Raleigh, MS (8.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 0.7 apg) Probable WSU Starters F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 Fr Mountain View, WY (8.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg) F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (9.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg) C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Jr Salt Lake City, UT (11.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg) G-33 Kellen McCoy 5-6 180 Sr Norman, OK (12.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.1 apg) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 Fr Oakland, CA (7.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.1 apg) UTPA Bio Location: Edinburg, TX Established: 1927 Students: 17,048 Nickname: Broncs Colors: Burnt Orange & Green Conference: Independent USM Bio Location: Hattiesburg, MS Established: 1910 Students: 16,050 Nickname: Golden Eagles Colors: Black & Gold Conference: Conference USA UTPA Schedule Nov 15 Sul Ross W 84-59 Nov 18 at UNLV L 73-48 Nov 20 at California L 85-58 Nov 22 vs Wofford L 75-70 Nov 23 vs UCCS W 87-78 Nov 28 vs North Carolina A&T L 67-60 Nov 29 vs Western Illinois L 62-60 Dec 5 at Drake L 59-57 Dec 7 vs, North Carolina Central W 56-50 Dec 13 at Air Force L 71-50 Dec 18 Texas-San Antonio W 74-72 USM Schedule Nov 15 Loyola NO W 75-51 Nov 18 Alabama State W 74-61 Nov 21 vs No. 16 Miami FL L 70-60 Nov 22 vs La Salle W 76-72 Nov 24 vs Iona W 64-63 Dec 2 South Alabama L 76-73 Dec 6 at New Mexico L 60-58 Dec 11 at Kansas State L 74-55 Dec 15 William Carey W 69-44 Dec 18 McNeese State W 69-50 12/21/08 Utah 74, Weber State 64 Associated Press: SALT LAKE CITY -- Tyler Kepkay scored 21 points, including 10 in a row late in the game, to lift Utah to a 74-64 victory over Weber State. The Utes snapped a three-game losing streak with Saturday's win. Carlon Brown added a career-high 19 points and season-high 10 rebounds for the Utes (6-4), who beat the Wildcats (5-5) for the eighth straight time. The Utes had blown a 14-point lead in the second half when Kepkay began his game-breaking streak with barely five minutes left. He scored back-to-back 3-pointers and then hit two free throws and scored a scooping layup, giving the Utes a 68-59 lead that Weber State never recovered from. Damian Lillard and Steve Panos led four Wildcats in double-figures with 13 points each, but WSU committed 17 turnovers and scored only eight points in the final seven minutes. Box Score 12/20/08 Gameday Final: WSU L 74-64
12/18/08 Sat: WSU @ Utah Weber State is 12-24 all-time against Utah and 9-8 at home. The Utes have won 7 straight meetings against Weber which is the 'Cats longest in-state losing streak. WSU's last victory over the Utes (79-77) was in Salt Lake in 2000-01. This year's Utes are 5-4 overall (8th in the Mtn West) and are on a 3 game losing streak. The 3 losses were to Idaho State, Cal, & Oklahoma. In the Oklahoma game Utah junior Luka Drca tripped an opposing player which resulted in Utah suspending him for 2 games (Weber State & USU). Drca is averaging almost 9 points per game and has started every game but 1 due to an injury. Probable Utah Starters F-14 Kim Tillie 6-10 215 Jr France (4.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg C-50 Luke Nevill 7-2 265 Sr Perth, Australia (17.2 ppg, 8 rpg) G-11 Lawrence Borha 6-3 205 Sr Staten Island, NY (10.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg) G-15 Carlon Brown 6-5 205 So Riverside, CA (8.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.6 apg) G-2 Jace Tavita 6-4 190 Fr Brighton, UT (0.3 ppg, 0.3 rpg, 0.9 apg) Probable WSU Starters F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 Fr Mountain View, WY (8.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg) F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (10.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg) C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Jr Salt Lake City, UT (11.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg) G-33 Kellen McCoy 5-6 180 Sr Norman, OK (12.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.1 apg) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 Fr Oakland, CA (6.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.0 apg) Utes Bio Established: 1850 Undergraduates: 28,619 Postgraduates: 6,531 Nickname: Utes Colors: Red & White Conference: Mountain West Utes Schedule (5-4) Nov 15 Southwest Baptist L 80-79 Nov 18 Wisconsin-Green Bay W 79-60 Nov 21 vs Mississippi W 83-72 Nov 22 vs Morgan State W 66-37 Nov 28 at Missouri State W 71-58 Dec 3 Oregon W 95-81 Dec 6 at Idaho State L 72-68 Dec 10 California L 72-69 Dec 13 at No. 5 Oklahoma L 70-52 12/17/08 Gauchos Drop Road Contest to Weber State, 70-63 Courtesy: UCSB Athletics OGDEN, Utah (AP) -- Steve Panos scored a career-high 21 points to help Weber State defeat UC Santa Barbara 70-63 on Wednesday night. Panos was 8-of-11 from the field and 5-of-7 from the free throw line as the Wildcats (5-4) won their third straight game. Daviin Davis and Nick Hansen added 13 points apiece, while Kellen McCoy finished with 12. Weber State went on an 11-1 run near the end of the first half and went into the break with a 37-29 lead. Chris Devine hit back-to-back jumpers for the Gauchos (5-5) to cut the Wildcats' lead to 65-60 with 1:34 remaining, and then converted on a three-point play to bring Santa Barbara to within 67-63 with 34 seconds left. But McCoy made three free throws in the final 32 seconds to seal the win. Jesse Byrd scored 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Gauchos. Box Score Davis: 13 pts, 5 asts, 2 stls Hansen: 13 pts, 4 rebs, 3 3's, stl Panos: 21 pts, 8-11 FG's, 5 rebs, blk McCoy: 12 pts, 3 asts, stl 12/17/08 Gameday Final: WSU W 70-63
12/16/08 Wed: UC-Santa Barbara @ WSU Listen live on the Internet at KLO 1430 AM Weber State will host the UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos on Wednesday, December 17th at the Dee Events Center in Ogden. Tipoff will be at 7:05 PM and the game will also be "Ball Night". Currently the Gauchos are 5-4 overall and in 3rd place in the Big West Conference. The Wednesday night matchup is just the 2nd ever meeting between the Gauchos and Wildcats. The first meeting was in 2003 at the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska. Weber won 91-82, WSU went on to finish that season 26-6 overall and undefeated in Big Sky play (16-0). Weber will head to UCSB next season to complete the home-and-home deal. This season's UCSB team has had issues with turnovers which is good news for WSU. In the first 6 games of the year, UCSB averaged over 19 turnovers per game. Since then they have turned things around averaging 13.3 per game (last 3 games). Overall they are averaging 17.3 TO's per game. In those first 6 games they had 4 games with 20+ TO's. Probable UCSB Starters G-1 D.J. Posley - 5.3 ppg, 3.2 apg G-20 Will Brew, Jr. - 2 career starts (last 2 games) G-42 James Powell - 12.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg F-10 Chris Devine - 12.9 ppg, 6 rpg; 10th in school history with 1,246 career points F-44 Jesse Byrd - 8.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg Probable WSU Starters F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 Fr Mountain View, WY (9.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg) F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (9.9 ppg) C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Jr Salt Lake City, UT (10.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg) G-33 Kellen McCoy 5-6 180 Sr Norman, OK (12.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.0 apg) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 Fr Oakland, CA (7.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.0 apg) Gauchos Bio Established: 1905 Location: Santa Barbara, CA Undergraduates: 17,726 Postgraduates: 2,833 Nickname: Gauchos Colors: Blue & Gold Conference: Big West UCSB Schedule (5-4) November 14 Cal State-Los Angeles W 64-55 November 17 Utah State L 61-59 November 21 #1 North Carolina L 84-67 November 24 at San Francisco L 73-72 November 28 vs, Winston-Salem W 71-58 November 29 vs. Nicholls State W 57-38 November 30 at Illinois State L 87-59 December 4 at Utah Valley W 62-57 December 13 Loyola Marymount W 81-61 12/16/08 Davis - Big Sky POTW Daviin Davis was selected as Player of the Week by the Big Sky Conference for leading WSU to 2 victories last week against SUU and Long Beach St. Davis doesn't even start for the Wildcats yet he still ends up being POTW. Davis, the WSU senior says he is more comfortable coming off the bench and is more effective that way. He can get a good look at the opposing team and watch the flow of the game. Last week Davis averaged 15.5 points, 4 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks. He shot 53.8 percent from the field, and 80 percent from the line. Long Beach In just 24 minutes of play, Davis scored 14 points, pulled down 5 rebs, and blocked a shot. Two rough LBSU fouls kept Davis dunkless in the game. Davis' lone block in the game was on a fast break to stop what would have been the game's only dunk. SUU He scored a team-high 17 points, 4 blocks, a steal and one assist, 5-of-8 field goals, 7-of-9 from the free-throw line (5-of-6 free throws in the final 40 seconds). Wildcats Cool Off Thunderbirds, 66-62 (Dec 13) Courtesy: Southern Utah Athletics CEDAR CITY, Utah, Dec. 13 - Weber State got double-figure scoring performances from four players and held Southern Utah to a season-low 38.6 percent shooting night Saturday in claiming a 66-62 win over the Thunderbirds in non-conference men's basketball action. Daviin Davis came off the bench to score 17 points and block four shots while Nick Hansesn added 13 points, Damian Lillard scored 11 and Steve Panos finished with 10 for the Wildcats to offset a 28 point performance by Davis Baker and 18 from Tyler Quinney. Southern Utah led 26-24 at halftime despite shooting just 31.8 percent in the opening frame but the Wildcats opened the second half with a 3-pointer by Hansen and never trailed again. Panos scored on a layup after a missed Southern Utah shot to push the WSU margin to three, then after the teams exchanged baskets Weber State went on an 11-2 run to push its advantage to 42-32. Southern Utah went on a run of its own in the final three minutes, cutting a 59-49 deficit to 59-54 on a Baker 3-pointer and a Quinney layup with 1:43 to play. Quinney had an opportunity to cut further into the lead after being fouled on the shot but missed his free throw. Both teams misfired on their subsequent possessions, then Baker brought the Thunderbirds within 59-56 with a pair of free throws. After Davis hit two free throws to extend the Wildcat advantage to 61-56 Dave Marek hit a three to pull SUU within two but the Wildcats hit five of six free throws the rest of the way to hold off the Thunderbird comeback. "Weber State outplayed us tonight," SUU Coach Roger Reid said. "It's about that simple. They defended better than we did, they shot the ball better than we did, they rebounded better than we did and they took advantage of opportunities better than we did. "It's a disappointing loss because we had been playing so well the last couple of weeks, but we can learn from this game and move on," he added. "We've got another big in-state game next week against Utah State and we'll go to work on that one." Weber State out-rebounded SUU 32-to-25, marking the first time the Thunderbirds have come up short on the glass since the Florida game back on Nov. 20 and only the second time all season. Weber State also shot an even 50 percent from the floor, including .583 in the second half. SUU held a significant advantage at the free throw line, where the Thunderbirds hit 25-of-31 attempts (.806), while the Wildcats connected on 17-of-23 (.739). WSU had four players foul out of the game while SUU lost one to fouls and had two more with four when the game ended. SUU saw its record dip to 3-6 with the loss while Weber State evened its mark at 4-4. -- SUU -- Box Score Davis: 17 pts, 4 blks, stl Hansen: 13 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts, 3 3's Lillard: 11 pts Panos: 10 pts, 5 rebs, blk, stl Mahoney: 6 pts, 7 rebs, 2 blks 12/13/08 Gameday Final: WSU W 66-62
12/12/08 Sat: Weber @ SUU The Weber State Wilcats and the Southern Utah Thunderbirds have met on the court 24 times since 1982. Weber leads the series with a record of 18-6. In Ogden WSU is 14-2 and just 4-4 in Cedar. Tomorrow's game will be the first meeting since 2006-07. Weber will get the chance for a win at the Centrum after having lost the last 2 down South. In 2006-07 WSU lost 75-63 and in 2005-06 WSU lost 68-47, in '06 WSU won just 10 games all year. The only overtime game in the series was also SUU’s first ever 'W' over the 'Cats, winning 92-90 in 1986-87 in Ogden. Of the last 5 meetings between the 2 teams SUU has won 3 of them. Probable SUU Starters F-50 Tyler Quinney 6-7 210 Sr Sandy, UT (14 ppg, 5.5 rpg) C-44 John Clifford 6-10 210 Sr South Jordan, UT (10.9 ppg, 7.3 rpg) G-10 Dave Marek 6-2 180 Sr Benesov, CZECH (7.3 ppg, 3.5 apg) G-12 Mike Josserand 5-11 165 So Las Vegas, NV (4.1 ppg, 4.3 apg) G-25 Davis Baker 6-4 195 Jr Coto de Caza, CA (17.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg) Probable WSU Starters F-3 Kyle Bullinger 6-6 210 Fr Mountain View, WY (10.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg) F-12 Nick Hansen 6-4 200 Jr Pocatello, ID (9.4 ppg) C-40 Steve Panos 6-8 240 Jr Salt Lake City, UT (10.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg) G-33 Kellen McCoy 5-6 180 Sr Norman, OK (12.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.2 apg) G-1 Damian Lillard 6-2 180 Fr Oakland, CA (6.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.0 apg) T-Bird Bio Established: 1897 Location: Cedar City, UT Nickname: Thunderbirds Colors: Red & White Undergraduates: 6,490 Postgraduates: 567 Conference: Summit League SUU Schedule Nov 15 Mesa College W 85-73 Nov 20 at No. 19 Florida L 64-50 Nov 22 at Tennessee Tech L 69-68 Nov 25 Seattle Pacific L 75-65 Nov 29 at Boise State L 62-59 Dec 2 Oakland W 82-66 2-4 Dec 4 IPFW W 78-62 3-4 Dec 6 at UC Riverside L 67-63 12/11/08 The Davis Show Continues! 'Cats beat Beach On Thursday night the Wildcats beat the Long Beach State 49ers 72-63. Five WSU players scored in double figures most noticeably was Daviin Davis. Davis scored 14 points, 5 rebounds, and a monster block near the end of the game to stop what would have been the game's only dunk. Davis had at least 3 opportunities for his usual big-time crowd pleasing dunks but the 49ers stopped him no matter how borderline flagrant the fouls appeared to be. The night was also the break out game for true freshman Damien Lillard, the 18 year-old from Oakland finished the game with multiple career highes - 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 three-pointers (2 of which were from way back behind the arc), 2 steals, and a block. WSU fans should be excited to see him for the next 3 years to come. Unlike what Wildcat fans had seen lately...the 'Cats were able to continue playing consistently after the half-time break. The score was 27-27 but as soon as the ball was inbounded for the final 20 minutes of play the Purple & White pounced on the 49ers early on building up a comfy lead. In the first 7 minutes McCoy made a layup and Panos knocked in a 2 point jumper, then it began to rain. The 'Cats made five 3-pointers: 3 by Hansen and one a piece from Bullinger and Lillard. With 12:32 left in the game WSU was up by 14 which was the biggest lead of the game. With a minute and a half left Beach got back within 5 and looked like they maybe had a chance, but the best WSU free throw shooting of the year for the 'Cats put the nail in the coffin for the win. Weber shot (24-52) 46% from the field, (11-24) 46% from beyond the arc, and (13-15) 87% from the line. Box Score Lillard: 15 pts, 5 rebs, 5 asts, 2 stls, 3 3's, blk McCoy: 15 pts, 2 stls Davis: 14 pts, 5 rebs, blk Hansen: 12 pts, 4 rebs, 4 3's Bullinger: 10 pts, 8 rebs Gameday (Dec 11) Final: WSU W 72-63 
Thurs: Long Beach @ Weber (Dec 10) Long Beach State is 4-3 so far with its first win of the season being against Weber State. The game was at Long Beach and Weber lost in overtime. The 'Cats were up 32-21 at the half and it looked like the 49ers weren't gonna be much of a challenge. Even in the 2nd half Weber got up to a 23 point lead. The 49ers slowly were catching up and finally took the lead with a few minutes remaining in the game. WSU went 10 minutes without a FG. With 1 second left in the game, McCoy made a half court shot to tie it up 63 all to send the game in OT. In the 2nd half Long Beach outscored WSU 42-31. Too many 2nd half turnovers made it too difficult for WSU to win. In the 1st half Weber scored 14 points off of TO's, Beach scored 0. Then in the 2nd half Long Beach scored 18 to WSU's 9 off of TO's. Weber outrebounded the 49ers 38-36, out shot them 44% to 41%, FT's 64% to 50%, but the scoring drought was too devistating to the 'Cats. In overtime Weber was outscored 10-6 for the loss. LBSU Schedule Nov 14 at Brigham Young L 75-65 Nov 16 at No. 21 Wisconsin L 68-61 Nov 22 Weber State W 73-69 Nov 25 at Idaho State W 88-82 Nov 30 New Mexico State W 82-77 Dec 3 Pepperdine W 80-61 Dec 6 at San Francisco L 78-74 Weber and Long Beach have a little history together in basketball. Long Beach was the first ever opponent at the Dee Events Center in 1977 which WSU won in overtime. The 2 schools have also met in the NCAA post season. Weber has made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, the 'Cats have 6 all-time wins and 15 all-time losses. Three of the 15 losses were to Long Beach State. In 1970, WSU lost to the 49ers 92-73; in 1971 WSU lost 77-66; in 1973 WSU lost 88-75. The early 70's 49ers were coached by Jerry Tarkanian aka Tark the Shark. 49ers Bio Established: 1949 Location: Long Beach, CA Undergraduates: 30,607 Graduates: 6,263 Conference: Big West Nickname: 49ers, Dirtbags, The Beach Mascot: Prospector Pete Colors: Black & Gold 'Cats Lose to Other Cats (Dec 3) Final: WSU L 92-62
Box Score Bullinger: 16 pts, 5 rebs, 3 three's. Panos: 12 pts Davis: 10 pts, 2 blks, dunk 'Cats Beat 'Diggers (Nov 29) Final: WSU W 77-62
Box Score Panos: 12 pts, 8 rebs Davis: 11 pts, 4 blks, 4 asts, 2 stls McCoy: 11 pts, 4 asts Lillard: 10 pts, 3 stls Hansen: 10 pts Sat: Montana Tech @ Weber - Magnet Night (Nov 28) Tip off 7 PM There will be no radio coverage for Saturday's game with Montana Tech. The football game at Cal Poly will be carried live on KLO 1430 instead. The football game can also be viewed online at cbssports.com: http://all-access.cbssports.com...html Montana Tech Bio Nickname: Orediggers Location: Butte, MT Established: 1889 Enrollment: 2,320 Colors: Green & Copper NCAA Classification: Division II Saturday's basketball game will be the 4th ever meeting between the Wildcats and Orediggers. Weber leads the series 3-0. All three games have been played in Ogden. The first meeting was during the 2002-03 season, the 'Cats won 94-58 (26-6 overall on the season). In 2005-06 the 'Cats won 81-51 (10-18 overall) and two years ago in 2006-07 WSU won 81-53 (20-12 overall). The Orediggers have faced one Div I opponent so far this year. They lost at Idaho State 73-55 earlier this month. Dirk Anderson, Tech's leading scorer, led the team with 10 points in the game. They had 11 steals and shot 9-19 (47%) from 3-point range. Box Score - MT Tech / ISU Also, Kelvin Sampson, former Indiana head coach, was the Montana Tech coach from 1981-85. According to Wikipedia, despite his storied off-court issues, Sampson has an open invitation to return to Butte to coach again. Montana Tech named it's new basketball court after Sampson. Athletic Director Joe McClafferty: "Sampson is a great man who did a tremendous amount for the school." Recap: Weber @ Utah State (Nov 26) Box Score On Tuesday, Weber made its 28th appearance at the Smith Spectrum in Logan and it was also the 60th overall meeting between the 2 schools. Knowing the 'Cats hadn't had a win in Logan since 1993, the fans new it would be a battle. From the tipoff, the Wildcats played the Aggies tough and five minutes into the game the Purple & White took the lead. With 7:22 remaining in the first half, Nick Hansen stole the ball and made a quick layup that put Weber up 24-13. Then a trey by Kellen McCoy made it 27-15, 6 minutes to go. Finally at the half the score was 35-28 with WSU in the lead. The refs made sure to call as many ticky-tack fouls as possible since the game after all was in Logan. USU was 14-18 from the line at half time keeping them in the game, otherwise the game could have gotten out of hand with a lopsided score. Weber had 14 fouls to USU's 7. Utah State shot just 7-21 from the field and 0-6 from downtown. Weber shot near 50% (13-27) from the field, (4-7) 57% from the arc, and 5-5 from the line. The 'Cats also had just 4 TO's, with the first one not happening until 8 minutes into the game. It was the best half of basketball Weber had played all year. At the same time it was the worst half of Aggie basketball all year. As soon as the 2nd half started Weber began to struggle to keep the lead. In the first 4 minutes WSU scored 3 buckets which would be the only FG's they would make in the entire 20 minute half. In the final 16:20 the only points were from FT's. Ten 2nd half turnovers didn't make things any easier for Weber. Meanwhile USU was on fire, in the last 16 minutes of the game the Aggies played their best half of basketball all year and Weber played their worst half of the year. Weber couldn't get anything going, in the 2nd half WSU's shooting percentage had dropped to 38% by shooting 3-15, 0-4 from 3's, 8-11 from FT's. USU shot 65% to improve its shooting percentage to 52% on the game, they even starting making 3's, hitting 5 of 7, they could do no wrong. The final score of 75-49 was the biggest loss to USU in the history of the series. The 49 points was the lowest point total ever by a Weber team against USU. USU's 5 turnovers in the game was a school record (program is over 100 years old). Weber's 14 2nd half points was the 2nd lowest scoring half in school history. The lowest was last year at New Mexico, Weber scored 12 points in the first half at The Pit. Weber had its best TO game with just 14, and best night of FT shooting 13-16 (81.3%) thus far in the 2008-09 season. Next game: Montana Tech @ Weber State, November 29th, 7 PM. 'Cats lose to Aggies in 60th All-Time Meeting (Nov 25) Final: WSU L 75-49
Box Score Panos: 17 pts, 8 rebs McCoy: 16 pts Hansen: 10 pts Tues: Weber State @ Utah State (Nov 24) Tip-off: 7 PM Nov 25 Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan. Currently the 'Cats have a 1 game winning streak vs USU and look attempt to win 2 in a row for the first time since 2002. The overall series is, WSU 25 wins & USU 34 wins, this year's game is the 60th all-time meeting. Against the Ag's, the 'Cats are 15-13 at home and 2-1 on neutral courts, and 8-19 in Logan. The first 2 games ever played between WSU & USU was 1971 & 1972, both in Logan and both won by Weber. There has been 5 overtime games and WSU has taken 3 of them. The lowest scoring game between the 2 was 1971, WSU won 63-62. The highest scoring game was 1988, USU won 107-93. The series has gone back and forth and WSU has led in wins up until 1988 where the series came to a 17-17 tie. Since '89 the Aggies have led the series and the 'Cats kept within 4 games until USU's recent 6 game win streak that put them 10 ahead until and currently 9 ahead. Stew Morrill is in his 11th season as USU's head coach, he is 7-4 against Weber. His 1st year was 1999 and his Aggies lost by 20 points to the 'Cats at the Delta Center. Stew would lose 3 of his first 4 competitions. Stew Morrill is the winningest coach in USU history with 200+ wins and 9 straight 20 win seasons. This season USU has 18 home games and a possible home ESPN Bracket Buster game which will help in securing another 20 win season. Coach Rahe spent 13 seasons as an assistant to Stew Morrill (Colorado State & Utah State). Rahe is 1-2 vs Stew. Long Beach Wins in Overtime (Nov 22) Final: WSU L 73-69
Box Score Panos: 15 pts, 10 rebs McCoy: 13 pts, 6 stls Davis: 12 pts, 2 stls, blk Signing Day Commitments (Nov 21) Two high school seniors just signed their national letters of intent to play for the 'Cats in 2009-10 along with one junior college transfer. Byron Fulton, 6'7", 230 lb forward/center from (Saint Mary's High) Phoenix, AZ, has signed letter of intent to come to Weber State. Fulton is rated as a 74 on espn.com. Many of last years new recruits to the Big Sky Conference were rated as 40's. AZcentral.com article Blake Davis, 6'5", 205 lb small forward also from (Saint Mary's High) Phoenix, AZ, has signed letter of intent to come to Weber State. Davis is rated as a 73 on espn.com. Davis plays on the same high school team as Fulton and maintains a 3.62 GPA. AZcentral.com article Lindsey Hughey, 6'3", 194 lb shooting guard has signed letter of intent to come to Weber State. This season he will play his sophomore season for Seminol State College in Oklahoma. Last season as a 2nd team JUCO All-American he averaged 12.8 ppg, 51.3% from the field, & 40.7% from beyond the arc. He played his high school ball at South Grand Prairie in Grand Prairie, TX. At Grand Prairie, Lindsey was a McDonald All American nominee, District 6-5 MVP, 2005-2006 Offensive Player of the Year, first team All District. Coach Rahe's comments: "Blake is a tough, hard-nosed, competitive kid. He plays extremely hard everyday and just knows how to play on both ends of the court. Byron is a 240 pound post player who is really skilled, has great hands plus he has the arm span of a 7'1" player, so he plays much bigger in the post." "Lindsey has a high skill level. He competes every single possession whether in a game or in practice. He was just what we were looking for at the two guard spot." "We are really excited about have these three players coming into our program. First off, they are each good students and work hard in the classroom. They are all high character individuals, good citizens and will be good teammates. Each of them has a bright future ahead of them here at Weber State."
(Nov 12) Final: WSU W 78-68 vs 
'Cats lose to Redhawks (Nov 12) Final: WSU L 70-66 vs 
Box Score McCoy: 16 pts, 5 rebs, 4 asts Bullinger: 13 pts Wed: WSU vs Miami (OH) 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer (Nov 11) Nov 10-13 | Regional Rounds at campus sites Nov 20-21 | Championship Rounds | Madison Square Garden Bracket Tournament Game Schedule Los Angeles Regional 11/12/08 Miami (Ohio) vs. Weber State 5:15 pm 11/12/08 Prairie View A&M vs. UCLA 8:00 pm (ESPNU) 11/13/08 Consolation Game 6:15 pm 11/13/08 Championship Game 9:00 pm Wednesday, Nov 12, WSU Wildcats vs Miami (OH) RedHawks. The winner will face either UCLA or Prairie View A&M on Thursday and the losers will play in the consolation game. The winner of the Thursday night championship game on ESPNU will go on and advance to Madison Square Garden in NYC on Nov 20-21 for the championship rounds. Miami of Ohio Undergraduates: 18,863 Postgraduates: 1,642 Location: Oxford, OH Conference: Mid-American Conference Colors: Red & White Wednesday night's game will be the season opener for both the Widlcats and RedHawks. Weber has played Miami just once and the 'Cats posted an 86-83 overtime loss in Ogden during the 1986-87 season. Steve Panos played with one of the Miami Redhawks this past summer. Miami senior forward Michael Bramos along with Panos spent 10 days in Greece on a trip sponsored by the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association. UCLA is ranked #4 in the preseason AP Poll. The Bruins bring back 2 starters from last year's team which posted a 35-4 record and won the PAC-10 regular-season and tournament titles, and a Final Four appearance. UCLA looks to make it to a 4th straight Final Four appearance this season. Weber is 0-2 all-time vs UCLA and both games were in the NCAA Tournament (1971 & 2007). UCLA's head coach, Ben Howland, played basketball for Weber State and graduated in 1981. Video of Ben Howland's Monday news conference: http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=ucla&media=89085 Prairie View A&M is located in Prairie View, Texas, and is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Last season A&M posted an 8-22 overall record (6-12 in conference). WSU Wins Final Exhibition Game (Nov 8) Final: WSU W 96-81 vs Davis: 19 pts, 6 asts, 3 dunks Morris: 13 pts Bullinger: 14 pts Lillard: 13 pts Carson: 12 pts Standard-Examiner: Rahe likes way WSU shares Mid-Major Top 25 (Nov 5) CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Top 25 released its first weekly poll of the new basketball season. No Big Sky teams are in the top 25 but 3 of our schools have received points. Portland State is on the verge of being ranked, the Vikings have 91 points. The 25th ranked school is CS-Northridge (former Big Sky member 1995-2001) with 118 points. Also from the Big Sky getting a little notice is Northern Arizona and Montana. NAU has 20 points and UM is near the bottom with 4 points. The only non Big Sky school in the rankings or receiving points to be ranked that WSU will play this season is UC-Santa Barbara with 23 points. Weber will host Santa Barbara in Ogden on Dec 17th. The CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 is now in its tenth season of existence. Weber finished the 2007 season ranked 25th. In 2003, WSU finished the season in the top 10 (and #30 in the AP Poll). Voting Panel: Mike Adras (Northern Arizona), Randy Bennett (St. Mary's), Will Brown (Albany), Dave Calloway (Monmouth), Kermit Davis (Middle Tennessee), Steve Donahue (Cornell), James Fox (Davidson), Steve Hawkins (Western Michigan), Brad Holland (UC Santa Barbara), Kerry Keating (Santa Clara), Billy Kennedy (Murray State), Tod Kowalczyk (UW-Green Bay), Jim Larranaga (George Mason), Jim Les (Bradley), Mike Lonergan (Vermont), Bart Lundy (High Point), Bob Marlin (Sam Houston State), Gregg Marshall (Wichita State), Ritchie McKay (Liberty), Tom Moore (Quinnipiac), Jimmy Patsos (Loyola MD), Tom Pecora (Hofstra), Vann Pettaway (Alabama A&M), Charles Ramsey (Eastern Michigan), John Shulman (Chattanooga), Brad Stevens (Butler), Gary Stewart (UC Davis), Scott Sutton (Oral Roberts), Scott Wagers (East Tennessee State), James Wilhelmi (Howard), Ralph Willard (Holy Cross). The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit League, Sun Belt, West Coast. Sat: UCCS @ WSU 5 PM (Nov 4) The Weber State men's basketball team will complete its exhibition schedule this Saturday with another home game at the Dee. The 'Cats will host the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Mountain Lions. The last time the 2 teams met was also at the Dee 2 years ago and the 'Cats were victorious winning with the final score of 86-67. Much like WSU, UCCS is an institution of higher learning with a slightly higher ratio of female students to male students. UCCS - 58% female students, and 42% male students. The U.S. News & World Report college and university rankings put UCCS' College of Engineering and Applied Science as ranked fourth-best among public universities and No. 16 overall among bachelor and master's degree engineering schools. UCCS recently hosted 2008 Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama, and now currently President Elect Barack Obama. The Mtn Lion bball squad finished last season with an overall record of 10-19, it is noteworthy that 1 of these 10 wins was against SUU. The T-Birds lost at home in Cedar 79-78. Currently the Lions are 1-0 with a win against Johnson & Wales. UCCS will get the opportunity to play against 3 Div I opponents this year (WSU, Air Force & Texas-Pan American). Mountain Lion Bio Public School Undergraduates: 6,150 Postgraduates: 1,500 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Conference: Rocky Mtn Athletic Conference NCAA Classification: Division II Colors: Black & Gold WSU Gobbles Up Guelph (Nov3) Final: WSU W 81-36 vs  Box Score Davis: 17 pts, 9 rebs, dunk Bullinger: 17 pts, 15 min Hansen: 10 pts Lillard: 10 pts, 5 rebs, 4 asts Mon: Guelph @ WSU 8 PM (Nov 2) Weber State men's basketball team will play its first exhibition game of the 2008-09 season Monday night at 8 PM at the Dee Events Center. The 'Cats will take on the U of Guelph Gryphons. This will be the first ever meeting between the 2 teams. Who and where is Guelph? The University of Guelph is a university located in Eastern Canada - Guelph, Ontario. The U of G was established in 1964 and is well known in Canada as a university which focuses on life sciences, Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine, Fine Art and Music. Overall it is known as the 4th best university in Canada. Guelph is also home to the only veterinary school in the country of Canada, Ontario Veterinary College. Currently the Gryphon basketball squad is 3-5 with 3 of the games being against schools from the United States and all resulted in losses. On Aug 30th Guelph lost to East Tennesse State 88-60. On Aug 31st they lost to North Carolina State 87-47. The last game Guelph played was Nov 1st at Boise State where they lost 87-42. Gryphon Bio Public School Undergraduates: 17,332 Postgraduates: 2,076 Location: Guelph, Ontario, Canada Conference: West Coast Conference Colors: Red, Gold & Black For info about how the Purple and White game went last Wednesday, see the below link. http://www.weberstatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml... Purple and White Box Score Purple & White Game 7 PM (Oct 29) The annual WSU Purple and White game is tonight at 7pm. This will be an opportunity for the fans to meet the 2008-09 men's and women's basketball teams. The 2 teams will each have an intra-squad scrimmage after they are introduced to the fans. Each game will have 10 minute halves. Preseason Polls Released (Oct 22) Tuesday, October 22nd, official announcement of the Big Sky Coaches and Media Poll. Men's Basketball Coaches/Media Poll Last season's regular season and Big Sky Tournament champion, Portland State (who by the way was picked to finish 3rd in both polls) has been picked to repeat this season as Big Sky Champs. In the coaches poll the PSU Vikings received 7 of the 9 votes (no coach can vote for his own team). In the media poll the Vikings also received most of the first place votes with 23 of the 26 votes. PSU joined the Big Sky in 1996-97 and this is the first time they have ever been picked to finish first. They will feature the 2007-08 Big Sky MVP, Jeremiah Dominguez. He was also the only Big Sky 1st teamer that didn't graduate. PSU has tranfers from Hawaii, Washington, and Portland that are expected to produce immediately and make up for the graduation of Deonte Huff and Scott Morrison. Montana was picked 2nd in both polls because of forward Jordan Hasquet (2007-08 honorable mention), and junior guard Ryan Staudacher, Oregon State transfer Jack McGillis, and Michael Taylor from Eastern Washington. They are expected to make a big impact on this year's Griz team. Last year's UM team was picked 1st in the media and 2nd in the coaches yet they finished with a losing season. Many people might be surprised to see Idaho State picked third, but those that remember last season knew they would have a chance to contend this year bringing back 4 starters. ISU will also have 6 players on the roster standing 6'8" and taller. The Bengals were picked 3rd in both polls and even had one 1st place vote from the media. Back in the Bengal lineup will be Matt Stucki (2007-08 Big SKy 2nd Team), and Amorrow Morgan (2007-08 Honorable Mention). Weber State was picked last season to finish 1st by the coaches and 2nd by the media but the 'Cats finished 3rd. This year WSU was picked 5th and 4th by the 2 polls. WSU has a new young team this year but will be lead by 2 seniors with lots of experience and leadership to guide the 'Cats to another successful season - Daviin Davis & Kellen McCoy. Opposite of Weber's 2 picks is NAU also picked to finish 4th in one poll and 5th in the other. Never count out the Lumberjacks, they've played in 3 consecutive Big Sky Tournament Championship games. The 'Jacks will be lead by potential first team player Josh Wilson. The senior point guard Wilson will be 1 of 5 seniors on the NAU roster that could do some damage in the Big Sky regular season once again. Picked to finish in bottom four spots are UNC, EWU, MSU, and Sac State. Only 3 schools won't qualify for the Big Sky Tournament in March. Who will they be this year? Purple & White Game - Oct 29 (Oct 21) 
PSU Vikings #1? (Oct 20) Since the Big Sky Conference started in 1964, 9 times there has been a team win back-to-back regular season titles. Five of these 9 were Weber State. Can Portland State beef up their roster for a repeat run at another conference title & a 2nd straight trip to the NCAA Tournament? What have the Vikings done to fill holes in the lineup to replace the likes of 6'11" Scott Morrision and shooting guard Deonte Huff? Notable additions Dominic Waters (junior, 6'1", 170 lbs), a Portland native transferred from the U of Hawai'i where he played 2 seasons. As a soph, he appeared in 30 games, started 1, averaged 6 ppg, 1.4 rpg and 1.6 assists in 17 minutes per game. Waters had a career-high 18 points & 5 assists against Idaho. He was the WAC Freshman of the Year in 2005-06. He sat out last season and is now eligible. Phil Nelson (sophomore, 6'7", 220 lbs), transferred to PSU from the U of Washington and is also an Oregon native. Nelson played in 31 games, started 9 and averaged 4.7 ppg & 2 rpg. Currently not practicing due to health reasons but expected to be back on the court soon. He sat out last season and is now eligible. Jamie Jones (junior, 6'7" 215 lbs), a U of Portland transfer comes to PSU after playing 2 seasons for the Portland Pilots. As a starter prior to sitting out last season, he was the team’s 2nd leading scorer and leading rebounder. He averaged 10.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg and blocked a team-high 31 shots. Currently also not practicing due to health reasons but expected to be back on the court soon and is eligible for this season after sitting out last year. Paul Guede (sophomore, 6'5", 205 lbs), redshirted his freshman year at Valparaiso before transferring to Tallahassee CC last season. At Tallahassee he started 20 of 27 games and averaged 8.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, and shot 39.7% from three-point range. Guede had a stress fracture during the first week of practice and is expected to be ready in a week. Donatas Visockis (junior, 6'10" 235lbs), transfers from Southern Miss where he played one season after transferring from Butte JC. He is a native of Siauliai, Lithuania. Wendell Wright, (freshman, 6'5" 180 lbs) a small forward from Lakewood, CA, was rated as a 76 by ESPN's recruiting scale. Wright is a promising young player who could see playing time as a frosh. They even say he's still growing. He's a good slasher to the basket and can convert on a regular basis. Outlook of New Basketball Squad (Oct 15) The Weber State basketball team begins official practice sessions this week. Outlook of the new team: http://www.weberstatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=99544&SPID=3470&temp_site=NO&DB_OEM_ID=8600&ATCLID=1604480 Walk-on Tryouts Today (Oct 15) Today, the WSU coaching staff held a tryout for walk-on's for this year's squad. The tryouts took place at 2:00 p.m. in the Stromberg HPHP Complex. Students that qualified for the tryout needed proof of health insurance, a physical and the necessary paperwork to accompany it, and of course be enrolled with 12 credit hours. 2008 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer (Oct 15) Nov 10-13 | Regional Rounds at campus sites Nov 20-21 | Championship Rounds | Madison Square Garden Bracket Tournament Game Schedule Los Angeles Regional 11/12/08 Miami (Ohio) vs. Weber State 7:15 p.m. ET 11/12/08 Prairie View A&M vs. UCLA 10:00 p.m. ET (ESPNU) 11/13/08 Consolation Game 8:15 p.m. ET 11/13/08 Championship Game 11:00 p.m. ET 2K Sports Classic outlook on teams Weber State Wildcats – Head Coach: Randy Rahe - Big Sky The Wildcats of Weber State have a lot to look forward to this season with three starters returning to the team. After a fantastic showing and experience in Greece, Steve Panos looks to hone his skills and show his ability to score as he did over the summer in Greece. Coach Rahe recruited PG Damian Lillard who some consider “the steal of the year.” Lillard will add much needed depth to this Wildcats and will most likely have a chance to start throughout the season. UCLA Bruins – Head Coach: Ben Howland - Pacific 10 Although UCLA will only be returning two starters, no one from their frontcourt, and only four with more than 15 minutes per game logged, the Bruins have little to worry about. Seniors Darren Collison and Josh Shipp chose to back out of the NBA draft and return to LA for their final year and one last chance at a National Championship. Joining the team will be an incredible freshman class that includes Jrue Holiday (#2 SG), Drew Gordon (#9 PF), J’Mison Morgan (#4 C), Malcolm Lee (#4 PG) and Jerime Anderson (#5 PG) (according to scout.com). Ben Howland will add a brand new frontcourt, implement the incoming freshman and once again be a major contender for the NCAA National Championship. Miami (Oh.) Redhawks – Head Coach: Charlie Coles - Mid-American Conference While Miami will have big shoes to fill with the graduation of Tim Pollitz, a three-time all-MAC honoree and one of the most prolific players in program history, the RedHawks return a wealth of talent and nearly all their starters from 2007-08. The RedHawks return four starters in senior forward Michael Bramos, senior guard Kenny Hayes, senior center/forward Tyler Dierkers and senior guard/forward Eric Pollitz. Bramos was the RedHawks' top scorer a season ago, averaging 16.3 ppg, and has big-game potential, amassing 30 or more points four times last season. Prairie View A&M Panthers – Head Coach: Bryon Rimm II - Southwestern Athletic Conference With only one regular starter returning this season, PVAMU will depend on its backcourt to lead this team. Senior Derek Johnson, who led the team in average minutes last season will welcome JUCO transfer Chris Jones to the starting line-up in effort to move up the ranks in the SWAC. According to Coach Rimm, “with [Chris] and Derek in our backcourt [this] season we fell like we will have one of the stronger guard tandems in the SWAC.” ESPN: If I were the Big Sky commish (Oct 15) By Andy Katz ESPN.com http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/notebook?page=notebook/shootaround/bigsky According to Montana coach Wayne Tinkle, the Big Sky has a $10,000 fine for member teams if they play nonconference opponents with an RPI worse than 160. The Big Sky isn't going to get multiple teams in the NCAA tournament, so the harsh penalty might be excessive. I'm not sure how that will help the situation, as Big Sky teams have trouble scheduling quality nonconference games. Some of the better rivalries in the league -- notably the Montana-Montana State rivalry -- should be highlighted as much as possible. The game should also be held in each city only when the students are in school. This season, Montana will host Montana State when the students are away on winter break. Add your comment ESPN: 2008-09 Team Capsules (Oct 13) Kyle Whelliston ESPN.com Big Sky http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/notebook?page=notebook/shootaround/bigsky EWU For the second straight season, the Eagles fell short of the six-team Big Sky tournament, finishing 6-10 in league play. But fans were probably too busy watching early exit Rodney Stuckey excel for the Detroit Pistons as a rookie, or getting "Rick Rolled" while watching the EWU women play. Second-year coach Kirk Earlywine wishes he could tell Kellen Williams he was "never gonna give you up," but the 6-4 guard has moved on, along with nearly 20 percent of the team's shots and 27 percent of the rebounds. In come eight new faces, as the rebuilding begins in earnest. ISU Donnie Carson, a 6-2 junior guard from Detroit, has the potential of developing into the Bengals' heart and soul in the next two seasons. Folks in Pocatello credit his fearless, explosive dunk in a blowout loss against then-No. 6 Washington State as the wake-up call that turned the season around. After losing 10 of their 11 Division I games, Idaho State went 9-9 the rest of the way and reached the Big Sky semifinals. Carson cracked the starting lineup in January, quadrupled his scoring output to 6.2 ppg and contributed double-figure scoring in four of the team's last six games. UM Shawn Stockton isn't the only newcomer hoping to make an instant impact for the Griz. Big Sky fans should get used to pronouncing the name Nyandigisi Moikobu (in-DIG'-ih-see MOY'-koh-boo), unless they just want to call him "Digs." The wiry 6-7 forward drew interest from mid-major powers San Diego and Old Dominion, but he decided to make his home in Missoula. Also arriving is thick-armed, 6-7 Mathias Ward, who put up 56 points and 23 rebounds in a high school game this January. All three are from the state of Washington. MSU In Brad Huse's second season at the helm, the Bobcats reached an important progress milestone in 2007-08. Montana State compiled a 15-15 overall record, its first .500 campaign since 2004-05. The upcoming season might mark a very uncelebrated anniversary: The team hasn't won a conference tournament game since March of 1999. Three of the team's four top scorers walked this past spring, but 6-9 senior Divaldo Mbunga (12.0 ppg, team-leading 5.5 rpg) will do everything he can to make sure the March losing streak stops at 10. NAU The Lumberjacks will miss the 17.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg and 58 percent shooting of 6-9 graduate Kyle Landry. This season's team will likely be a return to the fast, guard-heavy, 3-point-shooting look of previous years, as Mike Adras has signed two touted prospects at the 2-guard position. Zack Zaragosa brings his outside shot in from Orange County, and Shayar Lee is a Phoenix-area product who occasionally goes by the And 1 streetball-style nickname of "Lord of the Rings." UNC As the Bears enter their third season in the Big Sky, they'll do so without guard Sean Taibi, who was the team's best all-around player during the program's tough transition years. The torch is passed to 6-7 senior Jabril Banks, who joined the team as a junior college transfer last year and made an instant impact with 13.2 ppg and 5.8 rpg, both team highs. Coach Tad Boyle's commitment to discovering skilled size continues with the addition of prep power forward Michael Proctor, a 6-8 Arizona native. PSU Ken Bone has pulled in some talented transfers from the higher conferences. Phil Nelson, a 6-7 small forward, was stuck on Washington's bench as a freshman before transferring and sitting out last season. Local-product shooting Dominic Waters came back home to play for PSU after two seasons at Hawaii, averaging 6.3 ppg as a sophomore. Also, incoming freshman Wendell Wright is a 6-5 wing from L.A. who was on the radar of schools such as UNLV and Gonzaga. He was released from a commitment to Loyola Marymount after this spring's coaching change there, and now he'll venture up Interstate 5 to play for the Vikings. Sac Brian Katz, like Idaho State coach Joe O'Brien, was a highly successful junior college coach before taking flight to the Big Sky. And his familiarity with the Golden State juco circuit should pay off with a six-man influx, all chosen from two-year schools. Any and all types of college-level experience are welcome for a program that won just two conference tilts last season, ended its season with an eight-game losing streak and dropped 24 games by an average of 14 points. WSU A season after the school earned its 14th NCAA autobid since 1968, Weber took several steps back, finishing with a 16-14 (10-6 Big Sky) record and bowing out in the semis. Turned out the 2007-08 version really missed the likes of rangy shooter and 2007 league POY David Patten, while shooting guard Juan Pablo Silveira's output shrank from 11.1 ppg to 6.1 ppg as a sophomore. Look for freshman point guard Damian Lillard to make immediate contributions to the Wildcats' offense. The Bay Area native was ranked as the 33rd best point guard in the national class by Scouts Inc. Prestige Rankings: The conferences (Oct 11) By Harold Shelton, Nick Loucks and Chris Fallica ESPN Research http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3500721 With the Prestige Rankings, we've found out which teams are the best since the 1984-85 seasons. So how do the conferences stack up one another? Here are the conferences' average Prestige Rankings for each current team that has been in Division I for at least 15 seasons: 1. Big East -- 68 2. Big Ten -- 69 3. ACC -- 74 4. SEC -- 81 5. Big 12 -- 98 6. Mountain West -- 113 7. Pac-10 -- 118 8. Atlantic 10 -- 126 9. WAC -- 129 10. Sun Belt -- 143 11. Missouri Valley -- 143 12. Colonial -- 145 13. Conference USA -- 145 14. Horizon -- 155 15. West Coast -- 156 16. Southern -- 156 17. MAC -- 159 18. MAAC -- 166 19. Patriot -- 173 20. Big Sky -- 177 21. Big West -- 181 22. SWAC -- 194 23. Big South -- 195 24. Ohio Valley -- 200 25. Northeast -- 207 26. Ivy League -- 208 27. Southland -- 217 28. Summit -- 224 29. MEAC -- 225 30. America East -- 228 31. Atlantic Sun -- 231 In-State 24. Utah 46. BYU 61. Utah State 89. Weber State 210. Southern Utah Big Sky 76. Montana 89. Weber State 136. Northern Arizona 155. Montana State 233. Eastern Washington 274. Idaho State 278. Sacramento State JC guard verbals to WSU (Oct 6) Lindsey Hughey, 6'3", 194 lb shooting guard has committed to play at Weber State next year. This season he will play his sophomore season for Seminol State College in Oklahoma. Last season as a 2nd team JUCO All-American he averaged 12.8 ppg, 51.3% from the field, & 40.7% from beyond the arc. He played his high school ball at South Grand Prairie in Grand Prairie, TX. At Grand Prairie, Lindsey was a McDonald All American nominee, District 6-5 MVP, 2005-2006 Offensive Player of the Year, first team All District. Two Solid Verbals from Phx, AZ (Sep 9) Byron Fulton, 6'7", 230 lb forward/center from (Saint Mary's High) Phoenix, AZ, has given a solid verbal committment to Weber State. Fulton is rated as a 65 on espn.com. Many of last years new recruits to the Big Sky Conference were rated as 40's. AZcentral.com article Schools of Interest: Weber State Blake Davis, 6'5", 205 lb small forward also from (Saint Mary's High) Phoenix, AZ, has given a solid verbal committment to Weber State. Davis plays on the same high school team as Fulton and maintains a 3.62 GPA. AZcentral.com article Schools of Interest: Buffalo, Liberty, Pepperdine, Portland, Utah State, & Weber State. Welcome to WeberHoops.com (Sep 6) As of Saturday, September 6th, wsubball.com has officially changed its name to easier to remember - weberhoops.com. The former name - wsubball, will still work for the next year. With the new name, weberhoops, we are excited to cover the 2008-09 WSU basketball season which will be our third season of operation. Wsubball/weberhoops was started by the fans in January of 2007 to give the fans more Weber State basketball news coverage. For the upcoming 2008-09 season we will have players/coaches interviews, video clips, and pics of all the games. weberhoops.com | wsubball.com Also note the WSU Football page under Links in the left column highlighted in yellow. Currently we have been discussing starting a Weber Football fans site but as of yet there are no concrete plans. If there is anyone interested in running/maintaining a football fans site contact us. Big Sky TV is Free (Sep 5) From bigskyconf.com: Big Sky TV, the league's video streaming website, will enter its third season of existence in 2008-09. During the past two seasons, Big Sky TV has brought fans nearly 1,000 events ranging from press conference to championship events. Big Sky TV features some of the most advanced technology in the video streaming world, and it's only getting better. This season, all schools will be required to provide a two-camera shoot to Big Sky TV. Once again, the league plans to video stream all football, volleyball and men’s and women's basketball games held in Big Sky arenas. Broadcast International of Salt Lake City, Utah, will provide the state-of-the-art video streaming equipment, technical expertise and web infrastructure, while the member institutions provide audio and video feeds. Big Sky TV debuted in August of 2006 with an exhibition soccer match between Northern Arizona and Arizona State. Fans from all 50 states, several foreign countries, as well as U.S. Military stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan have logged on and enjoyed Big Sky sporting events. Viewers can enjoy events either live or on-demand. How Big Sky TV got its start: In 2006, Fullerton and the Big Sky Conference unveiled Big Sky TV, a video streaming website that features all football, men's and women's basketball, and volleyball games held in Big Sky venues. Fullerton was instrumental in the formation of this project, one of the most comprehensive of any video streaming site by an NCAA conference. http://www.bigskytv.org Altitude TV Big Sky Schedule (Sep 4) 2008-09 Men's Basketball Schedule (Aug 19) The Purple & White will begin the '08-'09 season at the 2008 2K Sports Classic held at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in Westwood, California on November 12-13. The first round opponent on Nov 12th is yet to be announced but a win in that game would likely result in a Nov 13th matchup against the UCLA Bruins who are coached by Weber State alumnus and former basketball player Ben Howland. Howland, WSU class of 1981, was awarded last year in Ogden with the 2007 Distinguished Alumni Award. As head coach at UCLA he has taken his Bruins to the past 3 Final Four's. In-state opponents on this year's schedule include a road trip to Logan to face Utah State on Nov 25th, Dec 3rd in Cedar City to taken on the T-Birds of SUU, and at Utah in Salt Lake on Dec 20th. Weber will host BYU on Dec 3rd for the only home in-state game. WSU will have 2 home-and-home games against Big West schools - Long Beach State and UC-Santa Barbara. The 'Cats will face the Long Beach 49ers twice this season and host UCSB on Dec 17th and then travel to Santa Barbara to take on the Gauchos next season. The Santa Barbara game will be the Gauchos' first ever trip to the Dee Events Center. Weber has made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, the 'Cats have 6 all-time wins and 15 all-time losses. Three of the 15 losses were to Long Beach State. In 1970, WSU lost to the 49ers 92-73; in 1971 WSU lost 77-66; in 1973 WSU lost 88-75. The early 70's 49ers were coached by Jerry Tarkanian aka Tark the Shark. Long Beach was also the first ever opponent at the Dee Events Center in 1977 which WSU won in overtime. Just a few days before Christmas, the 'Cats will travel to Biloxi, Mississippi to play Southern Miss and Texas-Pan American at the Southern Mississippi Tournament. Game one will be against UT-Pan American and game two the following night will be a first ever meeting between the Wildcats and Golden Eagles of Southern Miss. Southern Miss is coached by former Utah State head coach, Larry Eustachy. WSU's record against Eustachy's Aggies from 1993-1998 was 3-2. The nonconference schedule will conclude with a road game at the University of Arizona in Tucson on Dec 29th. Rahe: "Our goal every year is to put together a challenging schedule, and this year we have done just that. Like always, we are excited about our in-state games with BYU, Southern Utah, Utah and Utah State. These are great games, against great teams, and great for our fans." "Every game will be tough, but this presents a good challenge for our team to prepare them for Big Sky Conference play. I really believe this schedule will help our young team grow and mature as long as we find a way to have some success." Lance puts on Cav's jersey for the first time (Mar 23) Lance Bio | Lance pics The below link is a video clip of former WSU center Lance Allred in the Cleveland Cavaliers locker room putting on his NBA jersey for the first time. The game was on March 13th at the Washington Wizards. Lance NBA video clip This second video clip is an interview with Lance about his journey to the NBA when he was on the NBA D-League's Idaho Stampede. Lance D-League clip Weber State players in the NBA (Mar 15) Lance Allred called up by Cleveland Cav's (Mar 13) Yesterday the Cleveland Cavaliers called up former Weber State center Lance Allred from the NBA D-League's Idaho Stampede. He will join the Cavaliers for tonight's game against the Wizards on TNT at 6pm. Allred graduated from WSU in 2005 after completing 2 years of basketball for the Purple & White. He played his freshman and sophomore years at the University of Utah. Where has Lance been since WSU? Since playing for Weber, Allred competed at the 2005 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, he played with the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2005 Reebok Vegas Summer League, he played overseas in Spain, France and Puerto Rico. Last summer he played for the Boston Celtics in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. This past Fall before the D-League season started, Lance played for the EA Sports team where they traveled around the U.S. playing colleges. They made a stop at USU where they beat the Aggies 86-81 which pleased many of the WSU faithful. Lance: "It's been a long three years since college. I've been a lot of places that would have made a lot of people quit." Allred was born in Montana and moved to Salt Lake City, Utah when he was 15. He attended East High School where he was teammates with Talmadge Eyre. Eyre also played basketball for Weber State (2001-03). The 6-foot-11, 260-pound Ivan Drago look-a-like was up to 275 at WSU where he dominated the Big Sky. Lance's red-shirt year WSU won the Big Sky title and went 16-0. His junior year WSU lost in the semifinals to the eventual champion EWU. His senior year, he led WSU to the conference champioship game where the 'Cats ended up losing because Jamal Jenkins took the final shot of the game to win at half court with almost 3 seconds remaining in the game. Before spending the last two years in the D-League, Allred played in France. He suffered a knee injury that required surgery. He didn't play much for the Stampede last season, but started all 38 games this year before getting the call. Achievements with the Idaho Stampede Lance started all 38 games this season. His 16 and 10 helped guide the Stampede to a record-setting 18-game winning streak. He was an All-Star this year and won the inaugural H.O.R.S.E competition at the D-League’s Dream Factory Friday Night during NBA All-Star Weekend. Lance's College Stats: 17.7 ppg, 12 rpg, 51% from the field, and 60% 3-pointers. His senior year for the Wildcats he scored a season high 32 points and his best rebounding game was 21. He was the 3rd leading rebounder in the nation, only Paul Milsap (12.4) and Andrew Bogut (12.3) had more boards. Lance made the WSU record books for most rebounds in a season. WSU Single Season Rebounds 1. Willie Sojourner 411 1970 2. Willie Sojourner 392 1969 3. Dan Sparks 370 1968 4. Gene Visscher 358 1965 5. Lance Allred 348 2005 PSU wins Big Sky Championship game (Mar 12) Associated Press: PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Deonte Huff scored 17 points to lead Portland State to a 67-51 victory over Northern Arizona, and its first trip to the NCAA tournament, in the championship game of the Big Sky Conference on Wednesday night. Kyle Coston added 14 points for PSU (23-9), which won its 14th straight Big Sky game, and Andre Murray had 13 points. Jeremiah Dominguez chipped in nine points and six assists. Nate Geiser led Northern Arizona (21-11) with 13 points and Kyle Landry had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Lumberjacks. Portland State, the top seed as regular season Big Sky champions, closed the first half with an 18-4 run that put the Vikings ahead 34-20. They maintained their lead in the second half and led by as many as 17 points late in the game. Northern Arizona closed to within nine but did not challenge down the stretch. PSU shot 44 percent and held NAU to 34 percent from the field. The Lumberjacks outrebounded the Vikings 39-30. Portland State came out of the blocks strong and made six of its first nine shots. After Coston connected on a 3-pointer with 16:01 left in the first half, the Vikings were up 14-8. Northern Arizona pulled even at 16-16 when Matt Johnson hit a 3-pointer and was fouled with 12:02 left in the first half. The tide then turned heavily in PSU's favor. Portland State went on its 18-4 run at the end of the first half that included Huff's break-away dunk, Dominguez's steal and jumper, and back-to-back 3-pointers by Brian Curtis and Dupree Lucas. While PSU's offense was in full gear, Northern Arizona made just one field goal in the last 12 minutes of the first half. 'Cats lose to NAU in semifinal game (Mar 11) Associated Press: PORTLAND, Ore. (A) -Kyle Landry scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Northern Arizona to a 75-70 over Weber State on Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference tournament. Nate Geiser and Nick Larson each added nine points for the Lumberjacks (21-10). Josh Wilson chipped in eight points. Daviin Davis led Weber State (16-14) with 19 points. Dezmon Harris scored 15 points for the Wildcats and Arturas Valeika had 12 points and 11 rebounds. NAU's Larson hit a 3-pointer with 2:56 left in the game that broke a 66-66 tie and gave the Lumberjacks a 69-66 lead. Two key inside buckets by Landry extended Northern Arizona's lead to 73-68 with 1:12 remaining to play. Weber State failed to convert on its last three possessions and Wilson sealed the win for NAU with two free throws with eight seconds left to play. Northern Arizona shot 58 percent from the floor and held Weber State to just 44 percent shooting on the night. The Lumberjacks advance to the Big Sky Conference tournament championship game on Wednesday night. Leading 36-34 at halftime, Northern Arizona extended its lead with a 10-4 run to open the second half. Zach Filzen's 3-pointer with 15:38 left to play put the Lumberjacks up 46-38. NAU's offense then went dry and did not score a field goal for the next five minutes. Meanwhile, a 10-3 Weber State run closed the gap to 49-48 with 12:14 remaining in the game. The Wildcats eventually tied the game on a 3-pointer by Juan Pablo Silveira at the 11:02 mark and grabbed their first lead of the second half when two free throws by Steve Panos put them ahead 58-56. The two teams exchanged leads over the next eight minutes before Larson's 3-pointer put the Lumberjacks ahead for good. Northern Arizona fell behind 13-7 in the opening six minutes of the game before its offense finally kicked in. The Lumberjacks rattled off a 14-0 run over the next six minutes and led 21-13 when Jermaine Bishop hit a lay-in with 8:25 left before halftime. Weber State immediately answered with a 9-0 run of its own and reclaimed the lead at 22-21 after Davis connected on an off-balance jumper with 5:58 left in the half. The lead went back and forth in the final minutes of the first half before NAU's Matt Johnson drilled two 3-pointers in the last two minutes to give the Lumberjacks a 36-34 advantage at the break. Box Score Daviin Davis: 19 pts, 2 stls, dunk Dez Harris: 15 pts, 4 asts, stl Arturas Valeika: 12 pts, 13 rebs, 2 stls Tues: Semifinals, 3-WSU vs 2-NAU (Mar 8) WSU/NAU 6:30pm, PSU/ISU 9pm TV: Dish Network 9411, DirecTV 661 RADIO: On the Internet at KLO 1430 AM WSU vs NAU once again! Last season Weber swept NAU 3-0, 2 of the wins were in the regular season and the 3rd was the Big Sky Championship where WSU won 88-80. The 'Cats then went on to the NCAA Tournament to take on 2-seed UCLA. This year WSU is 0-2 against NAU and get one more chance in the conference semifinals to avenge the 2 regular season losses. Tipoff will be at 6:30pm MDT. The Wildcat Carl Arky and Dutch Belnap will be covering the game on the radio with the pre-game show starting at 6pm. The game will also be on TV live on the Altitude. The WSU/NAU game will be shown live in its entirety on Altitude 2 (Dish Network 9411, DirecTV 661). At 9pm the Portland State/Idaho State game will be on Altitude 1 (Dish Network 410, DirecTV 644, Comcast 65). Also, on Altitude 1 the end of the WSU/NAU game will be on as soon as the Colorado Avalanche game ends. The Wildcats are 61-25 all-time against the Lumberjacks, 39-6 in Ogden, and in the conference tournament 4-0 when playing the Blue, Sage, & Gold. WSU/NAU Tournament History 1976: Weber State 63, Northern Arizona 58 (semifinals) 1979: Weber State 92, Northern Arizona 70 (championship) 1999: Weber State 82, Northern Arizona 75 (championship) 2007: Weber State 88, Northern Arizona 80 (championship) Results between WSU/NAU this season Jan 25 - WSU 78, MSU 76 Associated Press: OGDEN, Utah (AP) -- Zarko Comagic scored 18 points to help Northern Arizona beat Weber State 69-56 on Friday night in a battle of the two top teams in the Big Sky Conference. Josh Wilson added 14 for the Lumberjacks (14-6, 6-1), who avenged their three losses to the Wildcats last season including one in the league tournament championship game. After Comagic's three-point play gave NAU a 53-41 lead with 5:36 left in the game, the Wildcats (10-9, 5-2 Big Sky Conference) made a late surge and cut NAU's lead to 58-53 with 2:17 left following a three-point play from Jamaine Nance. But Nate Geiser hit a 3-pointer on NAU's next trip down the court and the Lumberjacks made eight free throws in the final 1:05 to secure the win. Kellen McCoy led WSU with 17, while Steve Panos had 13 and Dezmon Harris had 11. Nick Larson started a 12-3 run for the Lumberjacks that eventually gave them a 20-10 lead with 7:28 left in the first half. The Wildcats cut the lead to 23-18 with 3:44 left in the half after Panos scored four straight points but NAU took a 33-23 lead into the locker room at halftime. Jan 28 - WSU 78, MSU 76 Associated Press: FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) -- Kyle Landry had 24 points and 10 rebounds as Northern Arizona used a late rally to beat Weber State 74-71 Thursday night and clinch second place in the Big Sky plus a first-round bye in the upcoming conference tournament. Josh Wilson finished with 15 points for the Lumberjacks (19-10, 10-5 Big Sky) as they won for the fifth time in the last six games and completed a season sweep of the Wildcats. Weber State (14-13, 9-6) got 12 points apiece from Juan Pablo Silveira and Trevor Morris while Brody Van Brocklin scored 11 points and Kellen McCoy 10. Northern Arizona led by 11 with 11:25 to play, but the Wildcats rallied behind the hot shooting of McCoy and Jamaine Nance. Weber State took a 66-64 lead on Dezmon Harris' layup in traffic with 2:26 left. Landry converted a 3-point play on the next possession and the Lumberjacks went on an 8-2 run over the next 2:12 to clinch the win. 'Cats win 1st rounder and sweep MSU 3-0 (Mar 8) Associated Press: OGDEN, Utah (AP) -- Arturas Valeika scored 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season as No. 3 seed Weber State defeated No. 6 Montana State 65-49 on Saturday in a quarterfinal game of the Big Sky Conference postseason tournament. With the win the Wildcats (16-13) move on to face No. 2 seed Northern Arizona in the semifinals on Tuesday in Portland, OR. Valeika scored nine of WSU's first 10 points during a 26-3 run that put the Wildcats ahead 30-7 with 6:13 left in the first half. The Bobcats made just three of their first 21 shot attempts, but hit their final five shots in the half during a 12-4 run to trail 36-21 at the break. The Bobcats (15-15) cut WSU's lead to 38-25 on a free throw from Divaldo Mbunga with 16:16 left in the game, but the 13-point deficit was as close as they would come during the rest of the game. Kellen McCoy's pair of free throws with 7:12 left in the game gave WSU a 61-36 lead, its biggest advantage of the night. Brody Van Brocklin also scored 10 points for the Wildcats. Carlos Taylor led MSU with 14 points. Box Score Arturas: 11 pts, 12 rebs, blk, stl Van Brocklin: 10 pts, 2 3-pointers, 0 TO's Harris: 9 pts, 4 asts, stl Davis: 5 pts, 6 rebs, blk, stl, dunk Van Brocklin's last game at the Dee (Mar 7) Q&A with wsubball.com 1. The Sacramento State game was a great one to hear on the radio. We blew 'em out in the second half and every one on the roster got some playing time. At half time we were down by 2 and then we won the game by 20. What happened in the locker room at half-time or in the second half? We picked up our intensity on defense and rebounded the ball well. I think our intensity on defense led to easy baskets on offense. 2. Realizing we would have loved to have beatdown NAU on the road, as a senior how does it feel to get another home game? It feels great. I love playing in the Dee and to get another opportunity to come out and play at home, in front of our crowd, is something I am very excited about! 3. Last time Montana State was in town (Senior Night) which was just a few weeks ago, you had a big night. To my knowledge it was one of the best Van Brocklin games I can remember. You hit a 3-pointer with 5:39 left to give WSU a 59-58 lead, the Wildcats' first lead since going up 2-0 early in the game. You had 12 points, 2-3 3-pointers, a steal, a block, and 0 turnovers. How did it feel at the time knowing that was your last performance at the Dee or so you thought? That was a very bittersweet night, I was happy that I was able to perform well and help our team get the win in what was supposedly my last game in the Dee. But at the same time it was kind of sad to think it was my last home game. So as I said earlier I am excited to get to play at home one more time. 4. Last question, how is your hand doing? You cut it while cutting the net down after winning the conference tournament last year. Didn't you get stitches as well? Ha ha, my hand is fine. I hate to admit it but yes I did cut it while cutting the nets down last year, and yes I had to get stitches, but it is totally fine now and hasn't bothered me at all this year. Sat: Montana State vs Weber State (Mar 6) Listen live on the Internet at KLO 1430 AM Live at the Dee Events Center on Saturday, March 8th, WSU (3-seed) will host Montana State (6-seed) in the opening round of the Big Sky Tournament in Ogden. The winner will take on either NAU or PSU in Portland, OR in the semifinals March 11th. Saturday's opening rounder will be Weber's first time to host a first round only game. The conference tournament started in 1976; 2003 was the first year the Big Sky started having the first round at the 3rd and 4th seeds' home courts. From 1976 to 2002 all tournament games were played at the conference champions home court. The Wildcats are 67-32 all-time against the Fighting Bobcats, 42-9 in Ogden, and in the conference tournament 4-2 when playing the Blue & Gold. WSU/MSU Tournament History 1980: Weber State 93, Montana State 70 (semifinals) 1987: Weber State 106, Montana State 101 (1st rd) 1993: Weber State 91, Montana State 72 (1st rd) 1996: Montana State 81, Weber State 70 (championship) 1998: Montana State 69, Weber State 64 (semifinals) 1999: Weber State 93, Montana State 73 (semifinals) Results between WSU/MSU this season Jan 17 - WSU 78, MSU 76 Associated Press: BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) -- Dezmon Harris scored 25 points and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds to help Weber State escape with a 78-76 win over Montana State on Thursday night. Carlos Taylor hit a 3-pointer to bring Montana State within a point with 22 seconds remaining. But Weber State's Tyler Billings and Juan Pablo Silveira hit two free throws apiece in the final seconds to put the Wildcats (8-8, 3-1 Big Sky) ahead by five. James Hennessy's 3-pointer put Montana State within two points with one second remaining, but a long inbound as time expired secured the Wildcat win. Arturas Valeika, after coming up empty in the last 10 games, hit his sixth double-double of the season for the Wildcats. He scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Steve Panos hit a career-high 17 points. Taylor led the Bobcats (9-8, 1-3) with 26 points, while Phil Friesen scored 13. Feb 23 - WSU 73, MSU 63 Associated Press: OGDEN, Utah (AP) -- Daviin Davis scored 17 points and grabbed four steals as Weber State defeated Montana State 73-63 on Saturday night to complete the season sweep. Arturas Valeika scored 11 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season for the Wildcats (14-12, 9-5 Big Sky Conference), who move into a tie for second place in the Big Sky Conference with Northern Arizona. WSU also clinched a spot in the league's six-team postseason tournament. Carlos Taylor led the Bobcats (15-12, 7-7 Big Sky Conference) with 22 points while Mecklen Davis had 11 and Divaldo Mbunga finished with 10. Brody Van Brocklin, who finished with 12 points, hit a 3-pointer with 5:39 to give WSU a 59-58 lead, the Wildcats' first lead since going up 2-0 early in the game. Casey Durham's 3-pointer gave the Bobcats a 63-62 lead a few minutes later, and then Van Brocklin scored four straight as WSU scored the game's final 11 points. Mbunga capped off a 10-2 run in the first half that gave the Bobcats a 20-12 lead with 8:22 remaining in the first half. The Wildcats fought back and eventually pulled to within 24-23 on a jumper from Davis less than four minutes later. However, Taylor helped the Bobcats pull away again with a pair of 3-pointers, followed by one from Mecklen Davis. Taylor hit a pair of free throws to give MSU a 35-25 lead at the half. The Big Sky Awards - 3 WSU players honored (Mar 5) Today the Big Sky Conference announced the selections for 1st & 2nd teams and the honorable mention list. From 1963 (the inaugural year of the Big Sky) until 1990, the conference named a 1st & 2nd team. From 1991 to 2006 they only named a 1st team. In 2007 the 2nd team award was reinstated as well as adding the honorable mention list. Big Sky Conference voters show no love for Valeika for Defensive Player of the Year. PSU's Morrison won the award with a season average of 6.1 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and 0.7 steals. Valeika averaged 10 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, and 0.7 steals. Morrison's & Valeika's season-high for blocks in a game was 6, for rebounds Valeika had 20 rebounds (twice) and 11 for Morrison.
(Mar 5) Below are the all-time wins and losses in the Big Sky Tournament which started in 1976. Weber is 11-2 between Montana State, NAU, and Portland State, who WSU will likely play if they go all the way. The 'Cats have never lost in the conference tournament to NAU or Portland State. Big Sky Tournament Win/Loss Records Boise State 11-10 Cal State Northridge 7-4 Eastern Washington 7-9 Gonzaga 0-1 Idaho 15-13 Idaho State 14-18 Montana 25-22 Montana State 13-20 Nevada 11-9 Northern Arizona 12-16 Northern Colorado 0-0 Portland State 2-6 Sacramento State 2-4 Weber State 33-22 Weber State's Tournament Record vs Current Members (25-11) Eastern Washington 1-3 Idaho State 5-3 Montana 5-3 Montana State 4-2 Northern Arizona 4-0 Northern Colorado 0-0 Portland State 3-0 Sacramento State 3-0 Weber State's Tournament Record vs Former Members (8-11) Boise State 2-4 Cal State Northridge 0-2 Gonzaga 1-0 Idaho 1-2 Nevada 4-3 Big Sky Tournament Championships Boise State 4 Cal State Northridge 1 Eastern Washington 1 Gonzaga 0 Idaho 4 Idaho State 2 Montana 4 Montana State 2 Nevada 2 Northern Arizona 2 Northern Colorado 0 Portland State 0 Sacramento State 0 Weber State 7 Championship Results Valeika-Davis Show in Sac Town (Mar 4) Associated Press: Daviin Davis scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half and Arturas Valeika had 20 rebounds in Weber State's 89-69 victory over Sacramento State on Monday night. Steve Panos added 17 points and five rebounds and Valeika also had 10 points and six blocked shots in 31 minutes for the Wildcats (15-13, 10-6 Big Sky). Jason Davis had 17 points and three steals and Clark Woods added 16 points and three steals for the Hornets (4-24, 2-14 Big Sky), who ended the season with an eight-game losing streak and a 0-18 record on the road. While the Hornets missed 16 of 17 shots from the floor to open up the second half, the Wildcats went on a 25-3 run, completed by two free throws from Steve Panos to give Weber State a 60-40 lead. The Wildcats got their biggest margin of the game on a 3-point basket by Juan Pablo Silveira that made the score 75-51 with 5:15 remaining. Jason Davis' layup put the Hornets up by 10 points with 7:17 left to play in the second half, but the Wildcats came back to trail 37-35 at halftime. Box Score Davis: 22 pts, 5 rebs, 2 blks, 2 dunks, stl Arturas: 10 pts, 20 rebs, 6 blks Panos: 17 pts, 5 rebs Harris: 9 pts, 6 asts Morris: 9 pts, 5 rebs 2008 Big Sky Tournament (Mar 2) 2008 Intel Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Championship Saturday, March 8 - Quarterfinals 6-seed Montana State @ 3-seed Weber State - 7pm MST 5-seed Montana @ 4-seed Idaho State - 7pm MST Tuesday, March 11 - Semifinals on the Altitude At the Rose Garden, Portland, OR 2-seed Northern Arizona vs Highest remaining seed - 6:30pm MST 1-seed Portland State vs Lowest remaining seed - 9pm MST Wednesday, March 12 - Big Sky Championship on ESPN2 At the Rose Garden, Portland, OR Semifinal Winners - 7pm MST Tournament Bracket Regular season finale at Sac on Monday (Feb 29) Listen live on the Internet at KLO 1430 AM Weber State will finish out the regular season on Monday night at Sacramento State. WSU is 24-4 all-time against the Hornets, 10-3 at Sacramento, and 14-1 in Ogden. Last year's season finale ended the same way, on the road, and at Sac. It was also the last time Weber lost to the Hornets. The last 2 seasons WSU has split with Sac. With a win on Monday this season will end with a 2-0 sweep against Green & Gold. Last season's final road game ended with Weber committing 29 turnovers and losing big, 105-83. The Hornets had a 20 point lead at half-time and there was nothing Weber could do to catch up. The 'Cats were led by Dez Harris scoring 28 points and 6 assists, Van Brocklin and Silveira combined for 22 points and 4-5 from the 3-point line. Sac State had 5 players score in double figures. Haron Hargrave, Roderick Adams, and Kris Groce combined for 66 points, 15 assists, 11 steals, and 7-14 from the arc. Both teams shot over 53% on the game. The game however was decided in the turnover column: 29 to 10. This year in Ogden, Weber soundly beat Sac State to avenge last year's loss by beating them 69-56. On the Hornet roster they are led by senior guards Loren Leath (13.4 ppg) and Vinnie McGhee (12.1 ppg & 5 apg). Sac is currently on a 6 game losing streak. They have 4 wins but over the coarse of the season they suffered through three 5 game losing streaks and the 4th 5 game losing streak is turning out to be 6 and counting. Wildcats lose but get one more home game at the Dee (Feb 28) Weber loses to NAU. Big Sky 1st Rd game at the Dee will be Saturday, March 8th. 3-seed WSU vs 6-seed opponent to be determined. Associated Press: Kyle Landry had 24 points and 10 rebounds as Northern Arizona used a late rally to beat Weber State 74-71 Thursday night and clinch second place in the Big Sky plus a first-round bye in the upcoming conference tournament. Josh Wilson finished with 15 points for the Lumberjacks (19-10, 10-5 Big Sky) as they won for the fifth time in the last six games and completed a season sweep of the Wildcats. Weber State (14-13, 9-6) got 12 points apiece from Juan Pablo Silveira and Trevor Morris while Brody Van Brocklin scored 11 points and Kellen McCoy 10. Northern Arizona led by 11 with 11:25 to play, but the Wildcats rallied behind the hot shooting of McCoy and Jamaine Nance. Weber State took a 66-64 lead on Dezmon Harris' layup in traffic with 2:26 left. Landry converted a 3-point play on the next possession and the Lumberjacks went on an 8-2 run over the next 2:12 to clinch the win. Box Score Silveira: 12 pts, blk Morris: 12 pts, 4 rebs, blk Van Brocklin: 11 pts, 4 rebs, 3 3-pointers, played 40 min McCoy: 10 pts Nance: 8 min, 7 pts, 3 rebs, blk McCoy's injuries (Feb 26) Q&A with wsubball.com Kellen, what exactly happened at center court on Saturday against Montana State when everyone was fighting for the ball when the refs called the jump ball? It looked like maybe you took a shot to the nose? What exactly happened? It was just a loose ball and I dove on it and took a few shots in the face as I was on the ground, I got knee'd in the face and elbowed in the eye. I had to get stitches in my nose after the game and got a pretty bad burn on my hand that took me out of the game for a bit too. But I'm ok. What happened to your hand later on as the game went on? I went back in and hit the floor again and all the skin from the floor burn came off my hand and it was pretty ugly. Any thoughts on the next game being at NAU who we are tied with for 2nd place? It looks like there is a very good chance that if we win we will get 2nd place with a 1st round bye in the Big Sky Tournament and if we lose we get another home game finishing 3rd. Yeah we are excited to get another shot at them, they stole one from us at home and we need to go in there and steal one from them. It will be a good game, right now we are trying to just focus on Thursday's game, and if we take care of business there we should be in great position for the conference tournament. Thurs: #2 'Cats @ #2 'Jacks (Feb 25) Listen live on the Internet at KLO 1430 AM The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks will be hosting Weber State and Idaho State this week. WSU is 61-24 overall vs the 'Jacks and 22-18 in Flagstaff. The Wildcat faithful are hopeful to get win #62 overall as well secure a 2-seed in the conference tournament. Last season the Wildcats went 3-0 against the Lumberjacks. Last year's game in Flagstaff was an exciting one Weber fans would love to hear again on KLO, the 'Cats were down 33-32 at the half but went on to outscore the 'Jacks 49-40 in the 2nd half and Weber won the game 81-73. All scores were led by NAU's Ruben Boykin Jr with 24. Dez Harris scored 21 which included 11-12 FT's; Patten had 19 points, 10 rebounds & 2 blocks. JP Silveira chipped in with 16 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and went 4-6 from beyond the arc. Tyler Billings had 12 points to go along with 6 rebounds. NAU is a school located in Flagstaff, AZ, that has been a member of the Big Sky since 1970. They have 5 conference championships - '87, '97, '98, '06, & '07. NAU and Weber were co-champions in 2007 by both finishing 11-5, however, Weber beat NAU in the conference tournament championship and later went on to the NCAA tournament. The 'Jacks have 2 NCAA tournament appearances - 1998 & 2000. NAU is 2-5 when hosting the conference tournament and Weber is 7-8 when hosting. WSU has 17 overall Big Sky titles but the conference tournament didn't start until 1979 which was the same year as the start of the 64 team era for the NCAA tournament. NAU bio Established: 1899 Undergraduates: 15,569 Postgraduates: 5,783 Location Flagstaff, AZ Colors: Blue, Sage, and Gold Nickname: Lumberjacks Mascot: Louie the Lumberjack Valeika: Big Sky Player of the Week (Feb 25) Last week against Montana and Montana State, the big Lithuanian wonder, Arturas Valeika scored 27 points and with his magnetic hands pulled down 36 rebounds. To add to this spectacular week, he even swatted 4 shots and dunked 4 times for the fans! Art vs Montana: 11 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks, a steal, and 1 dunk. Art vs Montana State: 16 points, 20 rebounds, 3 dunks, a block, and 2-2 from 3-point land. Campaign for Big Sky 1st team On the season Art is shooting 50% from the field, 36% from the arc, 70% from the line. He is averaging 9.8 rebounds per game (11 in league play), 10.2 points per game and he's recorded 26 blocks. Valeika has 10 double-doubles so far and he has 9 or more rebounds in 17 games and an amazing 15 or more rebounds in 3 games. Art has 2 regualar season games left to pad his stats before the conference tournament starts. Seniors win last home game: WSU 73-63 (Feb 24) WSU's 4 seniors played their last game at the Dee Events Center on Saturday night in front of 6,061 fans. The Purple & White beat the Montana State Bobcats which completed a season sweep over both Montana schools. Weber has a combined home record of 79-22 against the Montanas. Associated Press: Daviin Davis scored 17 points and grabbed four steals as Weber State defeated Montana State 73-63 on Saturday night to complete the season sweep. Arturas Valeika scored 11 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season for the Wildcats (14-12, 9-5 Big Sky Conference), who move into a tie for second place in the Big Sky Conference with Northern Arizona. WSU also clinched a spot in the league's six-team postseason tournament. Carlos Taylor led the Bobcats (15-12, 7-7 Big Sky Conference) with 22 points while Mecklen Davis had 11 and Divaldo Mbunga finished with 10. Brody Van Brocklin, who finished with 12 points, hit a 3-pointer with 5:39 to give WSU a 59-58 lead, the Wildcats' first lead since going up 2-0 early in the game. Casey Durham's 3-pointer gave the Bobcats a 63-62 lead a few minutes later, and then Van Brocklin scored four straight as WSU scored the game's final 11 points. Mbunga capped off a 10-2 run in the first half that gave the Bobcats a 20-12 lead with 8:22 remaining in the first half. The Wildcats fought back and eventually pulled to within 24-23 on a jumper from Davis less than four minutes later. However, Taylor helped the Bobcats pull away again with a pair of 3-pointers, followed by one from Mecklen Davis. Taylor hit a pair of free throws to give MSU a 35-25 lead at the half. Box Score Arturas: 11 pts, 16 rebs, 3 blks, stl, dunk Davis: 17 pts, 4 stls, 2 dunks Van Brocklin: 12 pts, blk, stl McCoy: 9 pts, stl Silveira: 8 pts, 6-6 FT's 5 dunks between Art & D-Will: 'Cats win 76-67 (Feb 21) Associated Press: Arturas Valeika and Dezmon Harris each scored 16 points for Weber State as the Wildcats defeated the Montana Grizzlies 76-67 on Thursday night. Valeika also grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds to record his ninth double-double of the season for the Wildcats (13-12, 8-5 Big Sky Conference). After trailing 39-20 at the half, the Grizzlies (12-14, 6-7 Big Sky) chipped away at Weber State's lead and cut it to 61-52 on a dunk from Andrew Strait with 4:30 left in the game. The closest Montana came after that was when Kyle Sharp converted a three-point play to pull within 74-68 with 32 seconds left. However, Harris made two free throws after that and the Grizzlies couldn't score on their next possession. Steve Panos finished with 13 for Weber State while Daviin Davis and Brody Van Brocklin each had 10. The Wildcats used a 30-3 run in the first half, started by a 3-pointer from Van Brocklin, to take control of the game. Weber State ended the stretch with 19 consecutive points to lead 32-12 with 6:50 left in the first half. Ceylon Elgin-Taylor led Montana with 14 points while Jordan Hasquet and Strait each had 13. The Grizzlies started the game with a pair of free throws from Hasquet before the opening tip after the officials assessed a technical foul on the Wildcats for dunking during the warm-ups. Montana took a 9-2 lead before the Wildcats went on their big run. Box Score Arturas: 16 pts, 20 rebs, 3 dunks, blk, 2-2 3-pointers Dez: 16 pts, 2-2 3-pointers Panos: 13 pts, 6 rebs Davis: 10 pts, 7 asts, 2 dunks, stl Van Brocklin: 10 pts McCoy: 9 pts, 5 rebs, 16 min Phil Beckner, Director of Basketball Operations (Feb 18) Q&A with wsubball.com 1. Where are you from? Where did you go to school? Did you play basketball? Age? I am from Buckeye, AZ and went college at Kansas Wesleyan University. I played 4 years of basketball there (NAIA). I'm 25. 2. When was the first time you heard of Weber State? No clue...a while back. 3. How did you become the director of basketball operations? Why did you come to WSU? Do you have a day job and what did you do before you came to WSU? I was able to get this position after coaching high school and AAU basketball in AZ the past 2 years. I also taught High School PE the last 2 years. I was able to get to know some of the coaches here at Weber through the AAU program I coached for. It has been my goal to coach at the college level, and when Coach Rahe gave me the opportunity I gladly accepted. It's a great opportunity that most young coaches don't have, and it was something I could not pass up. 4. What are your job duties, what do you do? I help handle various administrative duties around the office, and am involved with the day to day operations of our basketball program. I organize our film exchange and handle all of our video editing. I will also help w/ organizing team travel and planning team meals for our guys. I am also involved in monitoring our players' academics and assisting with on-campus recruiting visits. I try to do a lot of the little things so the other coaches don't have to worry about them and can concentrate more on what our team needs. Some of these tasks aren't always fun and can be very time consuming but every college coach has done them when he started out...it's hard work a lot of the time, but it's what you have to do if you want to be successful at this level. 5. What are your thoughts on this year's team? We have a great group of guys that work extremely hard. They have a great mindset going into conference play, and have the potential to be one of the better teams in the Big Sky. We just have to keep getting better every practice and every game. Each week we are taking strides in the right direction to become the best team that we can be. Our team always has one constant goal, and that is to win our next game. As long as we focus on that and stick together we will have a great conference season. 6. How do you like Weber State/Ogden/Utah? I really enjoy being at Weber State because I have the opportunity to coach at the college level. Utah is a lot different from Arizona in a lot ways, but basketball keeps the staff so busy you hardly have the time to realize it. 7. What is your favorite professional sports team? Probably the Phoenix Suns---Steve Nash is the best player in the NBA 8. Movie? Hoosiers, Glory Road, or Casino 9. Something interesting about you or something you've done that WSU fans wouldn’t know? I dunked on both D-will and Arturas in a pick up game once this fall! ;) Thurs/Sat: Montanas at Weber (Feb 17) This week WSU will be hosting Montana and Montana State in basketball. Thursday night's game will feature 2-for-1 ticket vouchers available on weberstatesports.com to 'Pack the Dee' for the game. Also, Saturday night's game vs the Fighting Bobcats of Montana State will be the annual Mascot Night. The Griz, picked to finish 1st place in the media poll had a slow start in league play losing 4 of their first 5 games. Since then UM has won 5 of their last 7 games. Currently at 6-6 with 4 games to go, the Griz are now fighting for the chance to have one of the tops seeds in the conference tournament. The Maroon and Silver are led by 6'9" junior Jordan Hasquet (ppg 14.3, rpg 7.4) and 6'8" senior Andrew Strait (ppg 13, rpg 6.3). Strait has scored 20 points or more in their last three games. Hasquet hasn't fouled out of a game this season and Strait has only fouled once. Neither of the 2 are much of a blocking threat, they combine for 21 all season. The Bobcats, similar to the Griz, got off to a slow start losing 3 of their first 4 conference games. Since then they have won 8 of their last 10. Although the Bobcats were only picked to finish 5th in the media poll and 6th in the coaches, they are turning out to be one of the toughest teams in the conference this year. Sitting at 7-5 tied with Weber, the Bobcats are hopeful that the experience of their 4 seniors and 2 juniors will help them finish near the top of the conference. MSU is led by Big Sky MVP candidate 6'1" senior guard Carlos Taylor. Taylor is averaging 19.1 ppg, 2 apg, & 4 rpg. He is shooting 80% from the line and 43% from the arc. Also he has knocked in 4 or more three-pointers in 4 games this year. He has had 7 games so far with 25 or more points. Against ISU this 6'1" guard scored 19 points and pulled down 11 boards. Montana bio Established: 1893 Undergraduates: 11,841 Graduates: 2,120 Location: Missoula, MT Stadium: Dahlberg Arena (7,500) Colors: Maroon & Silver Grizzly scraps Weber's all-time record against Montana is 60-43 overall, 36-13 in Ogden, and 24-30 at Montana. The last time Montana won the Big Sky in basketball was 2000. The Griz's last NCAA Tournament appearance was 2006. As of late the Griz have been conference tournament spoilers. In 2002 when Montana State hosted, UM ended up going to the Big Dance. In 2005, PSU hosted yet Montana went to the Big Dance again, but this time they beat Weber for the conference tournament championship by 2. Weber's Jamal Jenkins threw up a halfcourt shot with 3 seconds remaining in the game and Weber lost. In 2006, NAU hosted yet UM went to the Big Dance as a 12-seed and beat the WAC champion, Nevada Wolf Pack. Montana State bio Established: 1893 Undergraduates: 10,842 Postgraduates: 1,408 Location: Bozeman, MT Colors: Blue and Gold Random tid bits Weber's all-time record against Montana State is 66-32 overall, 41-9 in Ogden, and 25-23 at MSU. Notable alumni of Montana State include Dennis Erickson, current head football coach at Arizona State, Craig Kilborn the actor and former talk show host graduated from MSU as well he played basketball for the Bobcats. Also, the Big Sky's only school to ever win a national championship in men's basketball was MSU in 1929. 'Cats split with Vikings 1-1 (Feb 17) Associated Press: Jeremiah Dominguez scored 17 points, including the final eight points of the game for Portland State, to lead the Vikings to a 76-73 win over Weber State on Saturday night. Andre Murray and Scott Morrison each scored 14 points for Portland State (17-8, 10-2 Big Sky Conference), which won its eighth straight game and padded their first-place position in the league race. Deonte Huff added 12 points. Kellen McCoy came off the bench to lead Weber State (12-12, 7-5 Big Sky) with 21 points. Daviin Davis added 20 points for the Wildcats. After a back-and-forth game that saw 20 lead changes, Dominguez broke a 68-68 tie with a running jumper with 2:10 left to play to give Portland State a 70-68 advantage. Down the stretch, Dominguez connected on six straight free throws to hold off the Wildcats' run. A last-second shot to tie by Weber State's Juan Pablo Silveira hit the back of the rim and secured the Vikings victory. Portland State shot 41 percent from the field and outscored Weber State in the paint 28-24. Box Score McCoy: 21 pts, 15-19 FT's, 6 rebs Davis: 20 pts, 8-8 FT's, 3 blks, 2 stls, 2 dunks Dez: 12 pts, 2 stls Van Brock: 9 pts, 3 3-pointers, stl Next game: Montana at Weber State, Thursday, Feb 21st. Sat: #2 Wildcats vs #1 Vikings (Feb 15) Weber lost on Thursday night in Cheney, WA, to the EWU Eagles 69-57. On that same night Portland State sliced and diced some 'taters to go along with a big caldron of Bengal Stew as PSU beatdown the Bengals of ISU 81-58. This weeks "Game of the Week" won't be on the Altitude Sports Network. Altitude will be televising its usual Sunday afternoon game but it won't be in Portland. The real game of the week will be Weber State at Portland State Saturday night at the Stott Center in Portland located on SW 10th and Hall. The Viking fans are planning a "blackout" in that all fans need to wear black to the game. They hope to pack the Stott with enough fans to cheer their team on to victory over the Purple and White. Weber's all-time record against PSU is 22-8. The 'Cats are an unbelievable 14-1 at home and an impressive 8-7 in Portland. The Wildcats hope to improve this record to 9-7 to complete a regular season sweep over the Vikings. If they can pull off the W, the 'Cats will still be in it to get the chance to host the Big Sky Tournament. Currently the Vikings have won 7 straight games and they hope to continue their juggernaut like momentum on through Saturday night. Leading up to 1-vs-2 Weber State The 'Cats had big wins in sweeping the Montanas on the road, and home wins against Portland State and Idaho State. Also the 'Cats had a 5 game winning streak before losing at ISU. Not so good - losing on the road to UNC and EWU. Portland State Seven straight wins, 3 of which were on the road. A season sweep over NAU will benefit the Vik's down the stretch. Not so good - a lone loss at EWU is the only chink in the armor of the power house from the North.
Discuss this game on the fans forum - WSUFans. Earlywine's Eagles get past 'Cats (Feb 15) Associated Press: Brandon Moore scored a season-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Eastern Washington knocked off Weber State 69-57 on Thursday night. Marcus Hinton added 12 points and Adris DeLeon 11 for the Eagles (10-17 overall, 5-8 Big Sky). Daviin Davis led the Wildcats (12-11, 7-4) with 16 points. Eastern Washington led 60-51 with 5 minutes left when Hinton scored seven straight points, capped by a three-point play with 2:16 left to put the Eagles up 67-51. Weber State jumped up 6-0 to start the game and led 18-14 on a 3-pointer by Jamaine Nance midway through the first half. But Eastern Washington responded with a 19-3 run to close the half and grab a 33-21 lead. Kellen Williams scored all nine of his points during the run for the Eagles. The Wildcats never got closer than eight points the rest of the way. Moore made 8 of 10 shots for Eastern Washington. Dezmon Harris scored all 13 of his points in the second half for Weber State, which made just 3 of 21 3-point attempts. Kellen McCoy added 11 points and Arturas Valeika had nine rebounds for the Wildcats. Box Score Davis: 16 pts, 3 blks, stl, dunk Dez: 13 pts McCoy: 11 pts Arturas: 9 rebs, blk 'Cats roadtrip to Northwest (Feb 11) Thursday: Eastern Washington EWU is 4-8 so far with with a big home-opening win over Portland State but the Eag's haven't done much since. Two of their 4 wins were against Sac and the other against UNC. WSU's all-time record vs EWU: 33-18; 23-3 in Ogden, 10-15 in Cheney. High soaring Eagles Kellen Williams is a 6'4" senior forward who is averaging 13.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg and has registered 10 double-double games this season. Adris DeLeon a 5'11" junior guard is averaging 12.1 ppg and has scored 20 or more points in a game 4 times this season. DeLeon scored a career-high 42 points against UNC on Jan 17th and got his name in the EWU record books. Saturday: Portland State Six straight wins keeps the Portland State Vikings in first place in the Big Sky and 1 game ahead of the Wildcats in the standings. WSU's all-time record vs PSU: 22-8; 14-1 in Ogden, 8-7 in Portland. Weber's last loss to the Vikings was in 2006, since then the 'Cats are 4-0. The next 5 of PSU's remaining 6 league games will show what kind of team the Vikings really are. They will host ISU and WSU this week and next week travel to Northern Colorado where the Bears beat WSU and NAU in Greeley earlier this season. Then the Vikings will make the Montanas swing which is usually considered the toughest road trip in the conference. Viking vanguard Jeremiah Dominquez a 5'6" sophomore guard is averaging 13.9 ppg and 4 apg. Dominques has 4 games this season with 7 assists. He had a career best game against San Jose State back in December scoring 27 points and knocking down 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. Deonte Huff a 6'4" guard is one of 2 senior leaders on the court for the Vik's, the other is Scott Morrison. Huff averages 12.7 ppg & 5.8 rpg. Scott Morrison the big 6'11" senior center and 4 year starter is averaging 11.3 ppg & 6 rpg. Morrison was last weeks Big Sky Player of the Week. Between the Vikings 2 wins (Sac State & NAU), he averaged 15 points,7 rebounds, and 4 blocks. He also shot 85% from the field and surpassed a milestone that only 15 other Vikings have ever done in PSU history. Morrison joins the Viking 1,000/600 club for points and rebounds as well he helped his team to its 5th and 6th straight win. Wildcats beat Bears (Feb 10) 3,509 Wildcat fans watched Weber get win #7 in league play on what was supposed to be Jake's Over the Top/Taco Maker Night but it turned out to be Dez Harris/Art Valeika Night. Dez shot 5-5 from the 3-point line and led all scores with 21 points; Art scored 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. The night turned out to be a typical WSU home game, the 'Cats won, the Big Sky refs made some...well many terrible calls for both teams and the Fazoli's time-out competition was a failure, the fan missed the lay-up. Beating Northern Colorado makes WSU 2-0 all-time against the Bears at home and 3-1 overall. Weber didn't have a great shooting night (40%) but they made up for it from beyond the arc and the charity stripe shooting (7-15) 47% and (27-33) 82% respectively. Box Score Dez: 21 pts, 4 stls, 5-5 three-pointers Arturas: 16 pts, 14 rebs, 3 blks, stl McCoy: 12 pts, 7-7 FT's, 3 rebs, 2 stls Silveira: 8 pts, 4-4 FT's, 2 stls Davis: 8 pts, 6 rebs, 5 asts, blk, stl First place Portland State beat Sac State so the 'Cats are still a game back in 2nd. Weber will play the Vikings next Saturday in Portland after a stop in Cheney to play EWU on Thursday. WSU beat PSU in Ogden last month 73-68. Defending the home-court 2007 style (Feb 8) Free game tickets for Saturday night's game at all Jake's Over the Tops and Taco Makers Last season WSU lost only 2 home games and just 1 in league play. That lone league loss was to the ISU Bengals; with just 3 home games left can the 'Cats do it again? Currently the Rahe Administration is 21-4 at home and 13-2 at home against Big Sky schools. Saturday at the Dee Events Center at 7pm the 6-3 'Cats will host the 4-7 Northern Colorado Bears. WSU is 2-1 all-time vs UNC and 1-0 at home. UNC is the only school Weber is undefeated at home against. Jan 6th, 2007 It took a decade before both Sac State and Portland State got their first ever win in Ogden. But at the same time it was nearly a decade before either of them beat WSU on their own turf and UNC has already done that in their second year in the Big Sky. WSU lost to UNC 55-52 in Greeley, CO. Between the lack of getting to the free throw line and poor shooting beyond the arc, WSU couldn't finish off the Bears. Kellen McCoy led the team with 13 points and 3 three-pointers; as a team on that Sunday afternoon, Weber only made 8 of 26 three's. Rahe about free throw shooting: "They go 27 and you go six, that's not enough. We've got to do a better job of getting there; we usually do. It's very hard to overcome that on someone else's court." Last year in Ogden The last and only time WSU has played UNC in Ogden was last February and it was a night many Weber fans feared would be David Patten's last game. Before 'Dunkin Dave' even attempted his first FG of the game he took an elbow to the face which broke his cheekbone and sent him to the hospital just 6 minutes into the game. WSU went on without the General and won the game 76-65. Luckily the 2007 Big Sky MVP didn't even miss a game and made it back 2 days later to play NAU. He scored 22 points in the game which became a regular season sweep against the 'Jacks. Two days after the NAU game, The General underwent surgery on his face and never even missed a minute of Big Sky action thereafter. Bears Bio Established: 1889 Undergraduates: 10,799 Postgraduates: 2,182 Location: Greeley, Colorado Colors: Navy blue & Gold Home court: Butler-Hancock, capacity 2,941 UNC's Coach Tad Boyle, 2nd year, Kansas graduate 1985 Boyle, a Greeley native, spent 6 years as an assistant at Wichita State before coming to UNC. In 2006 Witchita State went 26-9 and advanced to the Sweet 16 by taking down Seton Hall (86-66) & Tennessee (80-73). WSU eventually lost to Final 4 cinderella George Mason. Top of the 'Sky (Feb 7) Five staight wins for Portland State keeps them 1 game ahead of the rest of the pack to stay in first place and they've won 7 of their last 8 games. The Vikings had a huge win at NAU to complete a sweep over the 'Jacks. Northern Arizona has lost 3 straight (@ ISU, @ UNC, PSU). Idaho State has lost 2 of their last 3 games and will face PSU & EWU on the road next week. Since losing at home to WSU, Montana State went on to win 4 in a row and just recently lost to PSU. The Bobcats next will face the Griz in Missoula and then come home to take on NAU & Sac next week. Weber sitting 1 game back from first place will host UNC on Saturday then head for the Northwest to play at EWU & PSU. Berger's Blog (Feb 7) Attention fans, Berger's Blog which started back in December is a fan blog by a long time Weber State sports fan. Berger will be posting weekly his thoughts and comments on what he sees each week at the games. The link to his blog is under Links to the left. To contact him - mark@wsubball.com. U of Northern Colorado (Feb 6) WSU men's hoops will be hosting the Bears of Northern Colorado this Saturday at the Dee Events Center, Feb 9th. WSU leads the all-time series 2-1 which only started last season. Before Saturday's game, the 3-7 UNC Bears will make a stop in Pocatello to try and avenge an 11 point loss earlier this season to the Bengals back in Greeley. 'Cats split with Bengals 1-1 (Jan 31) With 100+ Wildcat fans in attendance to see their team attempt to win for the second straight year in Pocatello, ISU pulled off the win 63-59. WSU beat Idaho State 59-57 on the previous Thursday, however, scoring 59 points on Saturday wasn't enough to sweep the Bengals this year. The Bengals led almost the entire game and were up 29-24 at the half. The 'Cats were down about 10 for most of the second half and never gave up. They chipped away at ISU's comfortable lead and with just over a minute and a half left Jamaine Nance sank a 3 from the baseline that got the 'Cats within 2 points. ISU inbounded the ball and JP Silveira stole the ball but was quickly fouled before he could race down and score the easy layup. He made both FT's which tied things up 56-56 with 1:24 left. ISU inbounded the ball again; this time they held on to the ball too long so as the shot clock expired, Kilpatrick of the Black and Orange launched a desperation long range 3 that went in with 49 seconds left. With 31 seconds remaining and the score 59-56, Nance again attempted another baseline shot from behind the arc but it didn't fall. Arturas quickly fouled Kilpatrick as he came down with the rebound to stop the clock, Kilpatrick didn't like the foul and attempted to elbow the big Lithuanian, Art didn't get hit but he was pushed backwards a few feet with his arms flailing in the air as he caught his balance. Apparently the ref assumed Art was fighting back so he called a double technical on both players. That sealed the deal for the Bengals and they won the game. The moral of the story for the Wildcats is don't get behind and make a comeback with less than a minute remaining in the game with Big Sky referees on the court. Box Score Arturas: 14 pts, 6 rebs, 4-4 FT's, 4 asts, blk McCoy: 11 pts, 4-4 FT's D-Will: 10 pts, 2 stls, blk, dunk 'Cats topple 'taters (Jan 31) WSU wins at home 59-57. When the game started it was snowing outside but that didn't stop the 3,227 faithful of WSU to cheer on their team as the 'Cats beat the ISU Bengals 59-57. This victory makes WSU's home record vs ISU 39-9 all-time and 64-39 overall. Arturas Valeika led all scores and rebounds with 13 & 13. The big Lithuanian will continue his campaign for Big Sky player of the week this Saturday night in Pocatello as the 'Cats take on ISU again for the second time this week. The last time WSU swept the Bengals in a season was in 2003. Interestingly, 2003 was also the last year WSU and ISU played twice in the same week. Unlike the disaster against NAU, not one Wildcat player had any foul trouble against the big ISU team. Also unlike the NAU game, WSU had a 7 point lead at the half. However, ISU would make it a close one as they came back in the final few minutes of the game. With 38.7 seconds left Valeika hit 2 free-throws to put Weber ahead 58-57. ISU couldn't get a shot and later fouled McCoy with 12 seconds left, McCoy hit one of two free throws and with 4 seconds left ISU's Lucas Steijn missed a jumper and Art pulled down rebound number 13 and the game ended. Box Score Arturas: 13 pts, 13 rebs, blk, stl McCoy: 12 pts, 3 stls, 3 rebs Dez: 11 pts, 5-5 FT's Davis: 6 asts, 4 rebs, 3 blks, stl Thurs: Jazz Bear night, ISU @ WSU (Jan 27) This Thursday on Jan 31st the 5-2 Wildcats will be hosting the 5-2 Idaho State Bengals. The night will also be Jazz Bear night live on KJZZ at 7 pm. Then on Saturday, WSU as well as 2 buses full of Wildcat fans will travel to the land of the potato where ISU will host the Wildcats at Holt Arena. The last time WSU played ISU twice in the same week was in 2003, Weber beat the Bengals both times, once in Pocatello 82-76 and the other in Ogden 87-70. 2003 was also the last year WSU swept the bengals in a season. From 2001-03, WSU went 4-0 vs the Bengals and from 2004-07 the 'Cats are 3-5. Overall in the series against the Bengals, WSU is 63-39 all-time and 38-9 at home. The last time ISU won the Big Sky title was in 1994, Weber & ISU were co-champions that year. ISU's Big Sky titles: 1974, 1976, 1977, & 1994. Bengal bball season In the preseason ISU went 3-10 beating only 1 division I school which was the U of Idaho in overtime. The Idaho Vandals are currently ranked 306th in the nation out of the 341 teams. Since league play started ISU has gone 5-2 which is shocking considering the way they played in the preseason as well in the coaches and media poll for the Big Sky the Beng's were picked to finish 5th & 6th respectively. ISU bio Established: 1901 Students: 13,802 Location: Pocatello, ID Colors: Black and Orange Mascot: Benny the Bengal Famous Potatoes Famous ISU alumni: Jerry Graybeal, WSU Athletic Director, Ron Boone, broadcaster for the Utah Jazz; Merril Hoge, ESPN commentator; Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals head coach; William L. Petersen, actor on CSI. Sixth Man t-shirt $6 (Jan 26) Get your Sixth Man shirt now for only $6. The Sixth Man t-shirt which is sponsored by the Purple Pak is a new Weber State basketball fans tee that recently came out at the start of this year. At only $6, this shirt is currently the lowest price WSU shirt on campus. It is for sale at all Weber State home games at the Dee Events Center, also, it can be purchased at the WSU bookstore, and at the Davis Campus. More shirt pics For WSU fans who would like to purchase this shirt who live outside of the area or the United States, let us know at admin@wsubball.com and we can make special arrangements to ship you a shirt. Final: NAU 69, WSU 56 (Jan 24) The referees had a goal before the game started to beat Weber and NAU, they were somewhat successful in handing out 55 fouls between the 2 teams and fouling out 4 players as well has ending the game with 4 other players with 4 fouls. Sadly the officials were unaware that only WSU or NAU could win the game. WSU jumped out to an early lead but at the 14:50 mark in the first half NAU took the lead and never gave it up for the rest of the game. This game was a good example of the "quality" Big Sky officiating that the fans have enjoyed so much over the years and apparently Doug Fullerton approves. The nail in the coffin for the 'Cats was at the 5:43 mark in the 2nd half when Arturas Valeika "committed" his 5th foul after being in foul trouble much of the game. Art headed over to the bench having only played 11 minutes as the NAU bench erupted with cheers and from there the game was over. As for the Lumberjack threats, Landry played just 14 minutes and scored 4 points and pulled down 2 rebounds. He averages over 16 ppg and 8.9 rpg. Josh Wilson scored 14 and 7 assists, Nathan Geiser one of the best 3-point shooters in the league hit 3-8 from the arc and ended the game with 9 points and 3 rebounds. The season is still looking very good for the Wildcats especially when they get another chance at the 'Jacks. WSU will go down to NAU to attempt another win against the Lumberjacks on Feb 28th which will be the second to last game of the season. If that 'Cats can continue to win they will hopefully get another chance to get win #40 at home against NAU by hosting the Big Sky tournament. Box Score McCoy: 17 pts, stl Panos: 13 pts, 9 rebs, 2 blks Dez: 11 pts Art: 7 rebs in just 11 minutes played Next game: Thurs, Jan 31st Idaho State (4-2) @ WSU (5-2) Dez Harris - Big Sky POTW (Jan 24) Dezmon Harris was selected as the Big Sky Conference men's basketball Player of the Week for Jan 15-21. Dez was chosen as player of the week after his audition for 2007-08 Big Sky first team candidate by helping his team sweep the Montanas for the first time in 5 years. During the 2 games this past week he averaged 22 ppg and shot 67% from the arc. During the Montana game on Sunday he hit 5 three-pointers in a row. On the Thursday night game at Montana State Dez scored a career-high 27 points. In conference play after 6 games, Dez is averaging 16 ppg, 51% FG shooting, 53% from the arc, & 86% from the free-throw line. Watch out Lumberjacks! Fri: #1 'Cats vs #1 'Jacks (Jan 24) Listen on the Internet at KLO 1430 AM The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks will be coming to town Friday for the 45th ever meeting against WSU in Ogden. WSU is 39-5 at home vs the 'Jacks and 61-23 in the series overall. The Wildcat faithful are hopeful to get win #40 as well as a 6th straight win! The last time Weber had 6 straight wins was 2003. 2003 was also the last time 'Cat fans saw a sweep at the Montanas. NAU along with Portland State are the only 2 teams left in the conference that Coach Randy Rahe hasn't lost to. Who is NAU? NAU is a school located in Flagstaff, AZ, that has been a member of the Big Sky since 1970. They have 5 conference championships - '87, '97, '98, '06, & '07. NAU and Weber were co-champions in 2007 by both finishing 11-5, however, Weber beat NAU in the conference tournament championship and later went on to the NCAA tournament. Even though the 2 finished as co-champs, WSU swept NAU 3-0. The 'Jacks also have 2 NCAA tournament appearances - 1998 & 2000. NAU is 2-5 when hosting the conference tournament and Weber is 7-8 when hosting. WSU has 17 overall Big Sky titles but the conference tournament didn't start until 1979 which was the same year as the start of the 64 team era for the NCAA tournament. Lumberjack season NAU lost to #17 Arizona in a close one that went down to the wire. NAU lost to Utah State by 16 in Logan. Their only loss in league play was at Portland State where the 'Jacks got jacked up in a 14 point loss. The Vikings were up 14 at the half and never let up. WSU on the other hand is just 1 lucky three-pointer from UNC away from being 6-0. NAU's top players are: Kyle Landry - 16.9 ppg, 8.9 rpg; Josh Wilson - 12 ppg, 5.7 apg; Nathan Geiser - 10 ppg. Geiser can be deadly from the arc, he has had 4 games this season with 4 three-pointers, 1 game with 5, and 1 game with 7. NAU bio Established: 1899 Undergraduates: 15,569 Postgraduates: 5,783 Location Flagstaff, AZ Colors: Blue, Sage, and Gold Nickname: Lumberjacks Mascot: Louie the Lumberjack Bigs lead 'Cats to 5th straight win (Jan 23) The big men of WSU namely Arturas Valeika & Steve Panos contributed to Weber's 44 points in the paint to lead the Wildcats to victory over the Hornets of Sac State 69-56. Sac only had 14 points in the paint. It was yet again another sparse crowd (2,640) in Ogden at the Dee Events Center but that didn't prove to be any advantage for the Hornets. Weber is now 14-1 all-time at home against Sac and 24-4 overall. All scores were led by Steve Panos with 16 points and a career high 9 rebounds. Also, the Big Sky's leading rebounder Arturas Valeika had 9 rebounds to go along with 11 points. Valeika's last shot of the game was at the 4:37 mark when he put in a layup and got fouled. He went on to miss the free-throw which would have given the 'Cats a 20 point lead. This missed shot didn't go over well with the student section who has desperately waiting for quite some to time to chant "up by 20". The fans weren't mad at the big Lithuanian and look forward to the chance to yell their favorite chant this Friday when NAU comes to town. Box Score Panos: 16 pts, 9 rebs Arturas: 11 pts, 9 rebs, 3 stls Dez: 13 pts Next game: Fri, Jan 25th Northern Arizona @ WSU Wed: Sac State at Weber, 7 pm (Jan 21) Listen on the Internet at KLO 1430 AM Sacramento State Hornets (1-5) aka California State University, Sacramento will be coming to Ogden for the 15th time in the schools history to take on the 4-1 Wildcats. The Hornets have only 1 win in Ogden and just 4 wins overall out of the 27 times the 2 teams have met. All 4 of Sac's wins against Weber have come in the last 5 years. Currently Sac has lost all 9 road games this year and 16 straight dating back to last season. Weber would like to contribute to this losing streak and especially to avoid anything resembling the disaster of 2006. For those who have been lucky to forget, the '05-'06 season was one of the worst seasons in WSU history. Sac State and Portland State both got their first ever win in Ogden, and after the Hornets won they were so excited they even took the game ball home. Sac preseason Notable non conference wins for the Hornets include: none. They went 2-10, and both wins were against non division I schools. Sac had their last preseason home game on December 4th and didn't have another home game until January 10th. Many of the Hornet faithful were under the impression that the season was over. Finally on Jan 10th, Sac had another home game which was against Montana State and the Hornet team was so excited to play they even won the game! League play Much like the Wildcats the Hornets started the season losing to Northern Colorado on the road. Unlike WSU, Sac went on to lose to EWU & PSU by large margins. Then when Jan 10th rolled around they beat MSU by 1 and then lost to Montana by 7 to start another losing streak. Currently they have lost 3 straight (UM, CS-Bakersfield, & NAU). Hornet bio Established: 1947 Undergraduates: 22,555 Postgraduates: 5,417 Location: Sacramento, CA Colors: Green and Gold Mascot: Herky the Hornet Famous alumni Tom Hanks, Creed Bratton from The Office, Lester Holt anchor of the weekend edition of Today, Joan Lunden & Bobby McFerrin. The Wig's on fire! WSU sweeps the Montanas! (Jan 20) 4 straight wins for WSU Dezmon Harris' new due aka "The Wig" helped him score 17 points, and 2 free throws with 17 seconds left to help WSU beat Montana for the 60th time in Weber State's 46 year history of division I basketball. Similar to how Pootie's belt helped him fight crime, Dez's hair will help him lead the 'Cats to victory. During the Montanas road trip, The Wig scored 44 points, 8 rebounds, 8-12 from the arc. Bring on Sac State! After Dez's 2 FT's, UM's Staudacher hit a 3 to get the Griz within 1 point with 8.7 seconds left to play. UM quickly fouled Tyler Billings who ended up missing the first of a 1-and-1, UM got the ball and just like last Thursday against MSU, they were unable to take a final shot to win the game. The 'Cats shot (12-15) 80% from the line and only Billings missed free-throws - 0-3. The Griz weren't so lucky with the freebies. While the Griz outrebounded the 'Cats and had only 15 turnovers to Weber's 12, similar to Portland State, UM is having some issues this year trying to get some points from the line and thus didn't take the opportunity converting on 25 free points Weber gave them. Montana made just 11 of the 25 free throws. Box Score Harris: 17 pts, 5-6 three-pointers Arturas: 14 pts, 9 rebs, 2 stls, 2 dunks Davis: 11 pts, blk, 2 dunks Next game: Wed, Jan 23rd Sacramento State @ Weber State 'Cats attempt win #60 Tip-off: Sunday, 2 pm Altitude TV - Comcast 65, DirecTV 644, & Dish Network 410 Listen on the Internet at KLO 1430 AM (Jan 19) Sunday's game on the altitude will be the 102nd all-time meeting between the 2 schools. WSU currently leads the series 59-43. With a win over the Griz, UM would become the 4th school in the Big Sky to have at least 60 losses to Weber State in basketball. Of the 4 remaining charter members of the Big Sky, UM is the only school to have at least 40 wins against the Wildcats and less than 60 losses. Last season Weber got win #59, #60, & #61 against NAU, can the 'Cats do the same with the Griz this year? The last time WSU won in Missoula was the 2003-04 season. From the 2004-05 season to the 2005-06 season Weber went 0-4 in the state of Montana. Weber State's record vs Big Sky charter members WSU 52, Idaho 19 WSU 63, Idaho State 39 WSU 29, Gonzaga 14 WSU 59, Montana 43 WSU 66, Montana State 32 Sun: WSU (3-1) @ Montana (1-3) Tip-off: Sunday, 2 pm Altitude TV - Comcast 65, DirecTV 644, & Dish Network 410 Listen on the Internet at KLO 1430 AM (Jan 18) Live from Missoula, Weber will attempt to go 4-1 and sweep the Montanas with a win over the Griz of Montana this Sunday. Weber's last 2 sweeps at the Montanas was 1999 & 2003. Sunday's game will be on the Altitude Sports Network at 2 pm MST (Comcast 65, DirecTV 644, & Dish Network 410). Last year at Montana, Weber lost 90-86 in overtime. JP Silveira led WSU with 23 points, Patten had 19, 14 for Dez, Billings 12, and Henry knocked in 11. Overall it was a great game and both teams shot over 50% from the field, really it all came down to 5 overtime minutes. Montana scored 9 and Weber just 5 points. The 'Cats look to avenge that loss this year by exploiting a media poll favorite Griz team that is definitely in a slump by winning just 1-of-4 games in league play. With Weber playing like they did against Montana State, UM won't have much of a chance. WSU's momentum is building and the Wildcat fans won't be mad if the men's hoops team turns into the juggernaut they were in 2003 when they won 17 straight games. Griz preseason Notable UM preseason wins were 2 victories vs the Mountain West Conference. Montana blew out Colorado State 75-39 and at the Hispanic Invitational in Spokane, WA, they beat Air Force 69-57. Griz in league play Montana started Big Sky play at MSU where they lost 74-58, then they took a week off to prepare for NAU which they ended up losing 72-64. At 0-2 they got their first W at Sac State 76-69. Then they again lost but this time it was to Idaho State 56-54. Right now UM is in the middle of a 3 game home stand, after WSU, UM will take on EWU then head out for 3 road games (@ UNC, @ PSU, & @ EWU). Montana bio Established: 1893 Undergraduates: 11,841 Graduates: 2,120 Location: Missoula, MT Stadium: Dahlberg Arena (7,500) Colors: Maroon & Silver Grizzly scraps Weber's record all-time against Montana is 59-43 overall, 36-13 in Ogden, and 23-30 in the state Montana. The last time Montana won the Big Sky in basketball was 2000. Their last NCAA Tournament appearance was 2006. As of late the Griz have been conference tournament spoilers. In 2002 when Montana State hosted, UM ended up going to the Big Dance. In 2005, PSU hosted yet Montana went to the Big Dance again, but this time they beat Weber for the conference tournament championship by 2. Weber's Jamal Jenkins threw up a halfcourt shot with 3 seconds remaining in the game and lost. In 2006, NAU hosted yet UM went to the Big Dance as a 12-seed and beat the WAC champion, Nevada Wolf pack. Break out win for 'Cats (Jan 18) Wildcat fans were hoping just for a split as the team travels to the Montanas and now they are looking at maybe a sweep! Having a 10 point lead at the half (WSU 42, MSU 32) was a bit of a surprise not that the Wildcat fans don't believe in their team, but WSU hasn't won at Montana State since 2003 when Weber went 16-0. The 2003 win in Bozeman was Weber's 12 straight win. This year's win (78-76) was win number 3 in a row with the next stop in Missoula to take on the Grizz on the Altitude at 2 pm on Sunday. Montana (1-3) just lost to Idaho State (3-1) 56-54. In the first half WSU was shooting over 50% from the field and 3-point land, the Bobcats could do nothing to stop the Purple & White. MSU's leading scorer Carlos Taylor who scored 34 points the game before was just 1-of-4 with 6 points at intermission. By the end of the game the 'Cats accomplished many goals, low turnovers (12), shutting down MSU's 2 best players, Mbunga (wasn't even a factor with 9 pts & 5 rebs) and Taylor, and crashing the boards. Rebounds: WSU 32, MSU 26. The Fighting Bobcats made a late run to comeback to win the game with Taylor finishing with 26 points but they didn't take a 3 to tie it up with 12 seconds remaining. Instead, MSU went in for a layup and missed, Juan Pablo got the rebound and got fouled and it was all over. Weber is now 65-32 all-time against MSU. Box Score Harris: 27 pts, 8 rebs, 3 three-pointers, 6-6 FT's Panos: 17 pts, 7-10 FG's Arturas: 12 pts, 12 rebs, 2 blks McCoy: 10 pts Thurs: WSU @ Montana State (Jan 15) Weber will be heading north for the Montanas this week, with the first stop in Bozeman, MT, this Thursday to play the Fighting Bobcats. Weber is 65-32 overall against MSU and 41-9 in Ogden. In Bozeman the 'Cats are 24-23 and look to make it win number 25. Then Sunday, Weber will head to Missoula to play the Montana Grizzlies on Sunday's Altitude game of the week. Bobcat preseason Noteable MSU preseason wins include: Long Beach State (W 74-56), Boise State (W 86-84), Pepperdine (W 95-89), @ Wyoming (W 79-72), & @ Oregon State (W 60-59). They even lost a close one at Arizona State (L 66-62). Bobcats in league play Montana State started out league play hot by beating the media poll favorite Montana Griz at home 74-58. Riding a 4 game winning streak they would go on to lose this past Thursday at Sacramento State 78-77. This win for the Hornets of Sac State was their first win against a division I team this year. To make things worse they lost at NAU on Saturday by 20 (78-58). Montana State bio Established: 1893 Undergraduates: 10,842 Postgraduates: 1,408 Location: Bozeman, MT Colors: Blue and Gold Random tid bits Notable alumni of Montana State include Dennis Erickson, current head football coach at Arizona State and former MSU basketball player Craig Kilborn the actor and former talk show host. Also, the Big Sky's only school to ever win a national championship in men's basketball was MSU in 1929. David Patten returns (Jan 13) wsubball: What is your major and when do you think you will finish school? Patten: I am a broadcast news major and plan on graduating as soon as possible. Hopefully in the summer, maybe in the fall. wsubball: Can we expect you to be back on the Weber State News any time soon like you were last year? Patten: I will not be a part of Weber State News. That was a tremendous group to be a part of, but my time has come and passed. 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