Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Cal-State Bakersfield
Wildcats Apply "Acme Defense" To Thwart Roadrunners 74-43 In Ogden
12/18/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
OGDEN, UTAH - After last Friday's 94-84 win at home over Montana-Western, WSU head coach Randy Rahe wasn't pleased with his team's defense and decided to make it a point of emphasis in the three practice sessions leading up to Tuesday's home game with Cal State Bakersfield. He challenged his squad to hold the Roadrunners to less than 50 points. Challenge accepted and completed. The Wildcats held CSUB to just 15-44 shooting from the field (.341) and forced 17 turnovers in a 74-43 win before 2,004 in the Dee Events Center.
It was WSU's largest margin of victory under Coach Randy Rahe's 38-game reign and the largest since the ?Cats beat Montana Tech 82-51 in 2005-06. Cal State Bakersfield (1-10) is in its first season as a full-fledged NCAA Division I member. The Wildcats (4-6) defeated CSUB earlier this season, 61-56, in Bakersfield on November 19. The Wildcats jumped out to an early 7-2 lead with five of those points coming on a three-pointer and two free throws by ARTURAS VALEIKA. CSUB then put together an 11-2 scoring run to take its largest lead of the game at 13-9. But VALEIKA answered with another three-pointer cutting the margin back to one with 11:41. That would be VALEIKA's last points of the game. The Roadrunner's last lead of the game came at the 6:21 mark of the first half (17-14) on two free throws by DEMARCUS HALL. An old fashion three-point play by JUAN PABLO SILVEIRA with 5:56 left ignited a 15-3 scoring run and the Wildcats went into the locker room with a 29-20 half time lead. WSU held CSUB to just 7-23 (.304) shooting in the first half and 0-4 from the three-point line but out rebounded the Wildcats 19-14. The Roadrunners came out and made a brief run at the Wildcats in the first three minutes cutting the margin to five at 34-29 on a three-pointer by ALEX JOHNSON with 16:58 remaining. The Wildcats then put the pedal to the medal. DEZMON HARRIS connected on a three-pointer at the 16:39 mark, followed by a three-pointer by KELLEN McCOY, a slam-dunk by DAVIIN DAVIS and a three-pointer by BRODY VAN BROCKLIN as the ?Cats raced out to a 45-30 lead with 13:03 remaining and never looked back out scoring the ?Runners 29-13 the rest off the way. Weber State hit a sizzling 16-26 (.615) from the floor in the second half including 9-14 (.643) from the three-point line and out rebounded the ?Runners 16-10. The Wildcats held CSUB to 38 percent shooting the second half. HARRIS led the Wildcats with 16 points including a perfect 4-4 from the three-point line and 5-6 overall. Harris came into the game shooting just over 32 percent for the season. DAVIIN DAVIS came off the bench to fire in a WSU career high 13 points hitting 6-8 from the field and added two blocked shots along with two high-flying slam dunks. KELLEN McCOY continued his impressive string of games hitting 4-6 from the field, 3-4 from the three-point line and 2-2 from the free throw line for 13 points. He also added three assists and three rebounds. In WSU's last three games, McCOY, who is 5-6, 175, is 15-20 (.750) from the field including 6-7 (.857) from the three-point line and is a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line. He's averaged 14.7 points and 3.7 rebounds. BRODY VAN BROCKLIN had a career high seven assists and a career high four steals to go along with six points. Cal State Bakersfield was led by TRENT BLAKLEY who was the only player in double figure scoring with 15. Weber State plays at the University of New Mexico this coming Sunday, December 23 at 1:00 p.m. (MST) then returns home on Friday, December 28 at 7:00 for a rematch with the University of San Francisco Dons before beginning Big Sky Conference action on Sunday, January 6 at Northern Colorado.
