Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Northern Colorado
WSU Drops Big Sky Opener at Northern Colorado
1/6/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Weber State began its 2006-07 Big Sky Conference title defense in the same place it started last season but this time with a different result. Led by newcomer JABRIL BANKS' 18 points and 10 rebounds, the Northern Colorado Bears defeated the Wildcats 55-52 in a Sunday afternoon battle on Altitude TV.
Last year, the Wildcats also began league play at Northern Colorado pulling out a 61-60 victory. WSU went on to post an 11-5 mark overall to capture the regular season Big Sky Conference title.
Weber State put up 18 more shots than the Bears and out scored UNCO by 11 from the field but only managed a 6-6 performance from the free throw line while the Bears connected on 20-27 from the charity stripe.
The Wildcats led at halftime 27-24 behind seven points from DEZMON HARRIS. WSU held the Bears to just 6-20 shooting from the field and had a 16-12 advantage on the boards.
The ?Cat came out strong at the start of the second half to take a 34-27l lead with 16:30 remaining on a three-pointer by BRODY VAN BROCKLIN.
UNCO countered with an 8-0 scoring run which ended with a three-pointer by TAYLOR MONTGOMERY at the 12:51 mark. From that point the game teetered back and forth.
Weber State took its last lead with 1:19 left (49-47) on a jumper by HARRIS but THANASI PANAGIOTAKOPOULOS answered with a long three-pointer with 52 seconds left giving the Bears the lead for good.
The Wildcats came down looking to regain the lead by a turnover by DAVIIN DAVIS with 39 seconds remaining gave the ball back to the Bears. PANAGIOTAKOPOULOS was fouled by ARTURAS VALEIKA with 30 seconds left. He made both shots putting his team up 52-49.
On the inbounds play, HARRIS drove the length of the court but his running jumper missed and JABRIL BANKS grabbed the miss and was fouled by DAVIS. BANKS, an 80 percent free throw shooter, made good on both tosses making it a five-point game. WSU got the ball down quickly and a three-pointer by JUAN PABLO SILVEIRA missed but the ball was knocked out by UNCO. On the inbounds pass HARRIS got the ball and quickly fired up a three-pointer which found the target pulling the ?Cats to within two at 54-52.
After a timeout, WSU's BRODY VAN BROCKLIN immediately fouled PANAGIOTAKOPOULOS with three seconds left. He made the first shot and missed the second. ARTURAS VALEIKA rebounded but couldn't get the ball down court quick enough for the potential shot to tie the game.
The Wildcats had just one player in double figure scoring. KELLEN McCOY came off the bench to score 13 points and hand out three assists.
ARTURAS VALEIKA, Weber State's leading scorer at just over 11 points per game, was held scoreless on 0-3 shooting but he did grab a team high nine rebounds.
The Wildcats fall to 5-8 overall for the season and 0-1 in Big Sky Conference play. They return home to the friendly confines of the Dee Events Center for two Big Sky Conference games this week. On Thursday, January 10 they host Portland State and on Saturday, January 12 host Eastern Washington. Both games tipoff at 7:05 p.m. (MST).
