Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Sacramento State
Weber State Defeats Sacramento State, 97-61, In Final Regular Season Home Game
2/28/2009 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
OGDEN, Utah -- With the Big Sky Conference regular season title tucked firmly away, the Weber State Wildcats, playing with the spirit of a 60's child, shot 61 percent from the field including 11-25 from the three point line, defeating Sacramento State 97-61 before 6,255 purple clad fans inside the Dee Events Center.
It was "Senior Night" for the Wildcats. DAVIIN DAVIS (6-4, 190 Forward) and KELLEN McCOY (5-6, 180 Guard) were honored before the game. Davis, who hasn't started a game since Dec. 3, got the call on Saturday night and responded with seven points, four assists, five blocked shots and a steal in 21 minutes.
His replacement off the bench, NICK HANSEN (6-4, 200 Jr.) who had started every game this season, scored a game high 17 points hitting 6-10 from the field including 5-9 from the three-point arc. McCOY added 16, nailing 7-10 from the field. DAMIAN LILLARD (6-2, 180 Fr. Guard) scored 14 and STEVE PANOS (6-8, 240 Jr. Center), who did not score two nights ago vs. Northern Arizona, had 12 points.
After the game, the Wildcats celebrated their out right conference championship with a net cutting ceremony along with members of the "Purple Pak" studentbody organization.
"The team didn't want to celebrate on Thursday, they said they would rather wait until Saturday so I am glad we won the game," said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. "I am proud of them. They deserve to celebrate. This team has worked extremely hard each and every day. It was great to see everyone get a chance to play a lot of minutes tonight and great to see that everyone scored and contributed."
The Hornets took brief leads of 2-0 and 4-2, and tied the game at 10-10 on a rare three-pointer by center RANDY ADAMS at the 16:29 mark of the first half. But it was all Wildcats the rest of the night, going on a 37-8 scoring run over the next 12 minutes making it 47-18 and went into the locker room with a 54-28 lead.
The Wildcats hit a blistering 20-30 (.667) from the field hitting 8-15 from beyond the three-point arc. DAMIAN LILLARD scored all 14 of his points in the first half and played just nine second half minutes. The talented freshman from Oakland, California led the Wildcats with nine rebounds and six assists and had just one turnover.
The Wildcats built up an 87-48 lead with 6:13 remaining at which point Coach Rahe cleared the bench. WSU had three brief 40 point leads the last coming with 1:16 left (97-57) on a jumper by MARCO RAMOS (6-7, 210 Jr. Forward). Sac State scored four straight points making in 97-61. The Wildcats had the ball with 34 seconds on the clock with a chance to score 100 points for the first under Coach Rahe, and the first time since the 2001-02 season. But the Wildcats spread the court and held the ball for the final out come.
Sacramento State ends its season with a 2-27 record overall and a 1-15 mark in Big Sky play. They were led by senior guard LOREN LEATH who scored 15. JUSTIN ELLER had 14 points and eight rebounds and ANTONIO FLAGGS came off the bench to score 10.
The Wildcats moved to 20-8 for the season and 14-1 in Big Sky Conference play. It is the second 20+ win season for Coach Randy Rahe. His first WSU team in 2006-07 was 20-12. It marks the 23rd time in 47 years of playing as a four-year school that the Wildcats have won 20 or more.
Weber State closes out the regular season this coming Tuesday, March 3 at Montana State. The Wildcats will get a chance to avenge their lone setback in Big Sky play. MSU defeated the Wildcats, 75-70, in Ogden back on January 15. MSU plays at Northern Colorado on Sunday afternoon March 1 in the Altitude TV game of the week before meeting the Wildcats on Tuesday.
Weber State's next "home game" comes on Tuesday, March 10 in the semifinals of the 2008-09 Big Sky Conference Men's Post-Season Tournament. WSU comes in as the #1 seed and will play the lowest remaining seeded team in the 7:05 p.m. (MDT) game.
