Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Idaho State
Idaho State Holds Off Weber State 63-59 in Big Sky Men's Basketball Action
2/3/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
POCATELLO, IDAHO -The Wildcats, for all intents and purposes, looked like a phoenix arising from the ashes after battling back from a 13-point deficit with 10 minutes left to tie the game with 1:24 remaining.
WSU forward ARTURAS VALEIKA had just blocked a shot by ISU guard AMORROW MORGAN which went out of bounds and the Bengals had four seconds left to get up a shot and the ?Cats looked like they sensed a golden opportunity to finally get the lead. What they didn't count on was a perfect swish from 28-feet by AUSTIN KILPATRICK as the shot clock expired which gave the Bengals a 59-56 lead and led the eventual 63-59 victory.. KILPATRICK put the dagger in deeper by making one of two free throws just 20 seconds later after being fouled by VALEIKA. A double technical foul on both players preceded the foul shots. KILPATRICK was "TEED UP" for throwing an elbow in reaction to what he thought was a hard foul and VALEIKA was the"second man always gets caught" victim even though it appeared he did not make any attempt to retaliate. The Wildcats had a chance to cut the lead back to two points with 21 seconds on two free throws by TREVOR MORRIS but he could only convert one. WSU was then forced to foul sending MATT STUCKI to the line for a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left and he made good on both putting ISU back up by five. KELLEN McCOY's driving lay up with nine seconds left made it a three point game. McCOY quickly fouled MORGAN with eight seconds left. He made one of two to secure the victory. It was almost a mirror image of the game 48 hours earlier in Ogden except in reverse with ISU taking a 29-24 half time lead, (WSU led 33-26 at half in Ogden). The Bengals came out and quickly built up several double digit leads as the Wildcats did in Ogden on Thursday, then survived a furious WSU rally just as the ?Cats survived ISU's rally on Thursday. Weber State, which was 16-43 (.372) from the field in the win over Idaho State Thursday in Ogden, was 18-45 (.400) from the field in Pocatello. The Wildcats were led by ARTURAS VALEIKA's 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and one blocked shot in 36 minutes. KELLEN McCOY came off the bench for 11 and DAVIIN DAVIS had 10 points, eight of them in the first half. Idaho State, which out rebounded the Wildcats by two (31-29) in Ogden, had a big 14 rebound advantage Saturday night in Pocatello 35-21. MATT STUCKI led the Bengals with 18 points. LOGAN KINGHORN added 12 points and a game high 11 rebounds, 10 of them on the defensive end which prevented the Wildcats for several second chance opportunities. Weber State falls to 11-10 overall and 6-3 in Big Sky Conference play. Idaho State is now 9-13 overall and they too now sport a 6-3 mark in league play along with Northern Arizona. Portland State's win over Montana State Saturday night in Portland now puts the Vikings on top of the league standings with a 6-2 record. PSU is the third different league leader in a matter of 48 hours.
