Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
at Eastern Washington
Lillard's 30 leads Wildcats to fifth straight win
1/6/2012 6:11:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Damian Lillard scored 30 points as Weber State won its fifth straight game 76-69 Thursday night at Eastern Washington to improve to 3-0 in Big Sky Conference play. It marked WSU's second road win on the season and the fourth straight year they have beaten the Eagles in Cheney.
The 'Cats committed a season-high 22 turnovers but shot 43 percent from the field and outrebounded the Eagles 44-31 to secure the victory.
Lillard, the nation's leading scorer, finished the night 7-17 from the field, including 4-7 from three-point land. He also was 12-13 from the free throw line for his 30 points. It marked the fourth time this season and the seventh time in his career he has scored 30 or more points on the year. He also pulled down seven rebounds and dished out a team-high five assists.
He also became the sixth player in Weber State history to reach 1,500 career points and moved into second place in WSU history career three-pointers. He is now averaging 25.5 points per game.
“The whole team played well tonight and we stayed through their storm as they came back and found a way to win,” Lillard said. “We stayed together and kept our composure and picked up a road good win for us.”
Weber State jumped out to a 17-point lead at 27-10 with 9:07 to play in the first half. Eastern Washington then closed the half on a 26-6 run to cut the WSU lead to three at 36-33 at the break.
The second half was a back-and-forth game and the Eagles took the lead at 58-56 when Byron Fulton knocked down a three-pointer with 9:37 to play that gave the Wildcats the lead for good.
The 'Cats shot 43 percent from the field and held the Eagles to 35 percent shooting. The 'Cats were also 11-20 from three-point land and dished out 14 assists and had a season-high six blocks.
“I was really proud of how hard we played and we were able to find a way to get the win,” said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. “Eastern Washington really pressured us on defense but we fought really hard. We were able to knock down our shots and did what we needed to do. It was a great effort by the entire team tonight.”
Scott Bamforth added 19 points and had six rebounds with four three-pointers. Kyle Tresnak added 13 points and pulled down seven rebounds and Darin Mahoney led the Wildcats with nine rebounds.
With the win the 'Cats improve to 11-3 overall and 3-0 in Big Sky play. They will stay on the road to take on Portland State Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Mountain time in Portland.
