Weber State University Athletics
Monday, November 5
Ogden, UT
8:05 PM
Weber State University
96
vs
92
Fort Lewis College (Exh.)
Wildcats Outlast Fort Lewis College 96-92 In Overtime In the Final Exhibition Game of the Season
11/5/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
OGDEN, Utah -- It was scheduled as just another pre-season exhibition game. Bring in a foreign team whose names can't be pronounced or contains too may vowels and beat them up to make the hometown crowd feel good, or a lower division collegiate team from some obscure, small city in somewhere USA, give them a paycheck, let them play in a big arena, beat them, and send them on their way.
Fort Lewis College is in Durango, Colorado. They are an NCAA Division II team which plays in a small gym, travels by van (or bus when they get the big paycheck), and drive for hours upon hours dodging deer and those who are headed for a DUI, just to play a game.
For 45 minutes, the Skyhawks forgot all about being division two, the van ride and the nice big arena and played like team headed for the big dance.
The Weber State Wildcats won the game 96-92 in overtime, but you can rest assured they, and the 2,500 fans who showed up, now know were Fort Lewis is located and know they can play some hoop.
The Skyhawks were led by a long range shooter named Devon Manning. Manning torched the Wildcats for 34 points hitting 10-17 from the field including 7-11 from the three-point arc and 7-8 from the free throw line. His 21 first half points propelled Fort Lewis to a 44-41 halftime lead. Fort Lewis led 37-27 with 5:52 remaining when the Wildcats woke up and 14-7 scoring run.
WSU controlled the action in the second half rolling up a 80-73 lead with 4:42 left on a lay up by Dezmon Harris. Fort Lewis looked to Ryan Johnson who scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half. Johnson's three-pointer with 1:18 left cut Weber's lead to one at 84-83.
Daviin Davis then made one of two free throws with 36 seconds left, but Johnson came right back to drop two free throws of his own 16 seconds later forging a tie at 85-85. Daviin Davis's jumper with one second left rimmed out sending the game into overtime
Fort Lewis jumped out to a quick 88-85 lead just one minute and twenty seconds into the overtime, but the Wildcats quickly erased that margin with a 7-0 scoring run with Arturas Valeika scoring four points and Dezmon Harris, three, during the run.
The Skyhawks answered with a 4-0 run in the span of 40 seconds tying the game at 92-92 with 29 seconds remaining. Weber State guard Kellen McCoy then made 4-4 free throws in the final 27 seconds to seal the win with the final two coming with 18 seconds left. Manning fired up a three-point attempt three seconds later but the miss was rebounded by Brody Van Brocklin and the Skyhawks decided not to foul and the Wildcats ran out the clock.
Harris led the Wildcats with 17 points and Van Brocklin added 15, including 3-4 from the arc. Kellen McCoy, 5-6, 175 Jr., came off the bench to score 14. He was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line giving him a perfect 15-15 from the stripe in the two exhibition games. Davis added 11 points for WSU.
The Wildcats shot a solid 57 percent from the field and 74 percent from the line but committed 22 turnovers which led to 35 Skyhawk points.
Now the fun begins for real as the Wildcats open their 2007-08 season this coming Saturday, November 10 as they host instate rival Utah State at 7:05 p.m. (MST) in the Dee Events Center.
Fort Lewis College is in Durango, Colorado. They are an NCAA Division II team which plays in a small gym, travels by van (or bus when they get the big paycheck), and drive for hours upon hours dodging deer and those who are headed for a DUI, just to play a game.
For 45 minutes, the Skyhawks forgot all about being division two, the van ride and the nice big arena and played like team headed for the big dance.
The Weber State Wildcats won the game 96-92 in overtime, but you can rest assured they, and the 2,500 fans who showed up, now know were Fort Lewis is located and know they can play some hoop.
The Skyhawks were led by a long range shooter named Devon Manning. Manning torched the Wildcats for 34 points hitting 10-17 from the field including 7-11 from the three-point arc and 7-8 from the free throw line. His 21 first half points propelled Fort Lewis to a 44-41 halftime lead. Fort Lewis led 37-27 with 5:52 remaining when the Wildcats woke up and 14-7 scoring run.
WSU controlled the action in the second half rolling up a 80-73 lead with 4:42 left on a lay up by Dezmon Harris. Fort Lewis looked to Ryan Johnson who scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half. Johnson's three-pointer with 1:18 left cut Weber's lead to one at 84-83.
Daviin Davis then made one of two free throws with 36 seconds left, but Johnson came right back to drop two free throws of his own 16 seconds later forging a tie at 85-85. Daviin Davis's jumper with one second left rimmed out sending the game into overtime
Fort Lewis jumped out to a quick 88-85 lead just one minute and twenty seconds into the overtime, but the Wildcats quickly erased that margin with a 7-0 scoring run with Arturas Valeika scoring four points and Dezmon Harris, three, during the run.
The Skyhawks answered with a 4-0 run in the span of 40 seconds tying the game at 92-92 with 29 seconds remaining. Weber State guard Kellen McCoy then made 4-4 free throws in the final 27 seconds to seal the win with the final two coming with 18 seconds left. Manning fired up a three-point attempt three seconds later but the miss was rebounded by Brody Van Brocklin and the Skyhawks decided not to foul and the Wildcats ran out the clock.
Harris led the Wildcats with 17 points and Van Brocklin added 15, including 3-4 from the arc. Kellen McCoy, 5-6, 175 Jr., came off the bench to score 14. He was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line giving him a perfect 15-15 from the stripe in the two exhibition games. Davis added 11 points for WSU.
The Wildcats shot a solid 57 percent from the field and 74 percent from the line but committed 22 turnovers which led to 35 Skyhawk points.
Now the fun begins for real as the Wildcats open their 2007-08 season this coming Saturday, November 10 as they host instate rival Utah State at 7:05 p.m. (MST) in the Dee Events Center.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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