Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
at Saint Mary's
'Cats Suffer First Loss 87-70 at Saint Mary's
11/29/2011 6:14:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Weber State men's basketball team lost for the first time this season, falling 87-70 Monday night at Saint Mary's in the championship game of the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic. With the loss the 'Cats fall to 4-1 on the season.
Weber State junior Damian Lillard single-handedly tried to keep the Wildcats alive as he tied his career-high with 36 points. He had 26 points in the second half, including scoring 21 straight points for the Wildcats over a 10 minute stretch of action.
The Wildcats held a 32-31 lead at halftime, but led by as many as 10 in the first half. The Gaels held a 15-10 lead with 9:45 to play when Weber State went on a 20-5 run over the next seven minutes and held a 30-20 lead with under three minutes to play. That's when Saint Mary's had a run of its own, closing the half on an 11-2 run to cut the lead to one. Weber State has led at halftime in all five games this season.
But the second half was all the Gaels. Weber State led 52-50 with 12:32 to play when Saint Mary's went on a 28-8 run over the next 8:00 to seal the win.
Saint Mary's shot 56 percent from the field and shot 69 percent in the second half. The Gaels outrebounded the Wildcats 36-23, the first time this season the 'Cats have been outrebounded.
“We played hard and executed well early on but the last 10 minutes we had some breakdowns,” said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. “We fought extremely hard but we need to improve in some areas. We let them shoot 69 percent in the second half and outrebound us. Damian was fantastic tonight but we need to have more contributions and balance from the rest of the team.”
Lillard finished his night 11-18 from the field, including 2-5 from three-point range. He was also 12-15 from the free throw line and led the Wildcats with three assists. It is the second time in his career he has scored 36 points, which he scored against Eastern Washington in January 2010. It marked the fourth time in his career he has scored 30 or more points in a game.
WSU sophomore center Kyle Tresnak added a season-high 17 points for the Wildcats, just two off of his career-high. Tresnak was 7-9 from the field. Frank Otis added eight points and Scott Bamforth had five. The 'Cats scored just four points off the bench.
Lillard and Tresnak were named to the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic All-Tournament Team.
Matthew Dellavedova led Saint Mary's with 25 points and Rob Jones added 24 points and 12 rebounds.
Weber State will return home to face San Jose State this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Dee Events Center. That game will be part of a doubleheader with the WSU women's basketball team who will also play San Jose State. The women's game with the Spartans will begin at 5:00 p.m.
