Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
at Eastern Washington
Wildcats beat Eagles to claim Big Sky title
3/9/2014 12:50:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Wildcats are the 2014 Big Sky Champions! Weber State had four players in double figures and held on for an 82-78 win over Eastern Washington Saturday afternoon in Cheney, Wash., to clinch the outright conference title. WSU will host the Big Sky Tournament next weekend at the Dee Events Center.
The Wildcats finish the 20-game Big Sky season with a 14-6 conference record and are 17-11 overall. Weber State has now won 21 Big Sky titles, the most in conference history.
“We earned this one tonight,” said WSU head coach Randy Rahe, who won his fourth conference title in eight seasons as head coach. “After a rough start I thought we played outstanding basketball and we did it with our defense and rebounding. I'm really proud our kids for earning the conference championship. I loved how our team has improved this year and has built great team chemistry and it's been fun to watch their growth. We just want this to be the start.”
The first half was a game of runs. The Eagles started the game on a 9-0 run before the Wildcats took over. Weber State went on a 23-2 run over the next six minutes, including 16 straight points and took a 23-11 lead with under 10:00 to play in the first half.
Eastern Washington then responded with a 19-6 run over the next 6:40 to regain the lead at 30-29 with 3:07 remaining but the Wildcats closed the half on a 14-2 run to take a 43-32 lead at halftime. Senior Davion Berry scored 12 straight points for Weber State during a four minute stretch late in the half. The 'Cats also knocked down eight 3-pointers in the first half.
The Wildcats led by as many as 18 in the second half but the Eagles didn't give up. The Wildcats led by 12 with 4:26 left when Eastern Washington went on a 13-5 run to cut the lead to four points at 78-74 with 1:50 to play but the Wildcats knocked down four free throws late in the game to seal the win.
The Wildcats shot 49 percent from the field and held the Eagles to 39 percent shooting. WSU also outrebounded the Eagles 36-29 and shot 22 of 26 from the free throw line. The 'Cats knocked down 10 3-pointers and had 18 assists and seven blocked shots. WSU did commit 16 turnovers in the game.
Once again Berry led the Wildcats in scoring, finishing with 24 points. He was 7 of 15 from the field and 8 of 9 from the free throw line to go along with seven assists and six rebounds. Berry has scored in double figures in 19 straight games and has scored 20 points 18 times this season.
Sophomore Joel Bolomboy recorded his Big Sky-leading 10th double-double, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds, to go with two blocked shots. Kyle Tresnak added 13 points and Jeremy Senglin had 12 points on four 3-pointers.
Tyler Harvey, the leading scoring in the Big Sky, had 24 for the Eagles who fall to 10-10 in Big Sky play.
Weber State will receive a bye into the semifinals of the conference tournament next weekend at the Dee Events Center. There will be three quarterfinal games Thursday and two semifinal games Friday. The Wildcats will play the lowest remaining seed in the second semifinal game Friday at 7 p.m. The conference championship game will be Saturday at 6 p.m. with the winner advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
Tickets for the conference tournament are on sale now at the WSU Ticket office, by calling 801-626-8500 or visiting WeberStateTickets.com.
Big Sky Tournament info
