Weber State University Athletics
WSU hosts Iona in Great Alaska Shootout semifinals
11/25/2016 3:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
2016 GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT
WEBER STATE (2-2) VS. IONA (1-2)
Friday, Nov. 25 • 8:00 p.m. AST (10 MST)
Anchorage, AK • Alaska Airlines Arena (5,000)
TV: CBS Sports Network (tape delayed)
Online video: none
Radio: KLO 1430 AM (Steve Klauke)
Live audio: WeberStateSports.com
Live stats: WeberStateStats.com
Twitter: @weberstate, @weberstatembb
Series: First meeting
TIPOFF
• Weber State is the semifinals of the 39th GCI Great Alaska Shootout as the Wildcats take on Iona College Friday night in Anchorage.
• The Wildcats beat UC Davis 86-58 Thursday in the first round. WSU shot 55 percent and made 13 3-pointers.
• Iona College is 1-2 on the season after a 64-53 win over Drake Thursday.
• Dusty Baker scored a career-high 21 points and made five 3-pointers in Thursday's win.
• For the eighth time in the last nine years, Weber State was picked to finish first in the Big Sky preseason coaches poll.
• This will be the first ever meeting for Weber State and Iona.
GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT
Weber State is one of eight schools competing in the 39th CGI Great Alaska Shootout this weekend in Anchorage. The Great Alaska Shootout is the nation's oldest regular season college basketball tournament. All games will be played at the Alaska Airlines Center. WSU joins host Alaska-Anchorage, Buffalo, Drake, Iona, Nevada, Oakland and UC Davis in this year's tournament.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Nov. 23-26 — Alaska Airlines Center (5,000) — Anchorage, Alaska
all times AST (MST)
Wednesday, Nov. 23 – First Round
7:00 pm (9 MT) Buffalo 85, Alaska Anchorage 79
9:30 pm (11:30 MT) Nevada 82, Oakland 78
Thursday, Nov. 24 – First Round
5:30 pm (7:30 MT) Iona 64, Drake 53
8:00 pm (10 MT) Weber State 86, UC Davis 58
Friday, Nov. 25
Noon (2 MT) UAA vs. Oakland
2:00 pm (4 MT) Drake vs. UC Davis
5:30 pm (7:30 MT) Buffalo vs. Nevada, CBS Sports Network*
8:00 pm (10 MT) Iona vs. Weber State, CBS Sports Network*
Saturday, Nov. 26
Noon (2 MT) 7th/8th Place: Game 5 loser vs Game 6 loser, GCI
2:00 pm (4 MT) 4th/6th Place: Game 5 winner vs Game 6 winner, GCI
5:30 pm (7:30 MT) 3rd/5th Place: Game 7 loser vs Game 8 loser, GCI
8:30 pm (10:30 MT) Championship: Game 7 winner vs Game 8 winner, CBSSN
*delayed broadcast (check local listings)
MEDIA INFORMATION
Friday's game will begin at 8 p.m. AST (10 p.m. MST) from Alaska Airlines Arena. It will be televised nationally on a delayed basis on CBS Sports Network with Ed Cohen, Pete Gillen and Dave Goldman calling the action. The game will air on CBS Sports Network at midnight MST. There will be no streaming of the Great Alaska Shootout.
The game will be broadcast live on 1430 KLO radio and kloradio.com with Steve Klauke on the call. Live stats will be at WeberStateStats.com.
weber state history at great alaska shootout
This is Weber State's third trip ever to the Great Alaska Shootout. The Wildcats also competed in 1993 and 2010 and finished third in the tournament both years. In 1993, head coach Ron Abegglen's Wildcats beat North Carolina State, lost to Purdue and beat Alaska-Anchorage. In 2010, the Wildcats beat Alaska-Anchorage, lost to Arizona State and beat Drake. WSU junior Damian Lillard was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 18 points and five assists in the three games.
This is Weber State's sixth trip ever to Alaska, having also competed twice (2002 and 2006) in the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, and playing road games against Fairbanks and Anchorage in 1978.
CAREER-HIGH FOR DUSTY BAKER
Weber State junior forward Dusty Baker had a career-high in Thursday's win over UC Davis. Baker scored a career-high 21 points and made a career-high five 3-pointers. He finished the game 7 of 8 shooting and was 5 of 6 from 3-point land and grabbed six rebounds. It was Baker's second career 20-point game.
The Coto de Caza, California, native is averaging 10 points per game this season and is shooting 66 percent from the field.
JEREMY SENGLIN WITH 20 POINTS
WSU senior guard Jeremy Senglin added 20 points with four 3-pointers, five rebounds and five assists in Thursday's win. Senglin is leading the Wildcats at 21.5 points per game this season.
Senglin, a native of Arlington, Texas, earned First Team All-Big Sky honors last season and was named the MVP of the Big Sky Tournament. He was named to the Preseason All-Conference team this year.
He has played in 94 career games at Weber State and currently ranks ninth in career scoring with 1,445 points. He needs just eight more points to move past Al Hamilton (1990-93) into eighth place. He is also fourth in career 3-pointers with 231. He has started 93 of his 94 games, the seventh most games started in WSU history.
SCORING TRENDS
Weber State improved to 81-5 (.942) in the 11 years under coach Rahe when scoring 80 or more points, including Thursday's 86 points against UC Davis. In addition, the Wildcats are also 76-4 (.695) under Rahe when holding opponents under 60 points, like Thursday's 58 by UCD.
WILDCATS AGAIN PICKED TO WIN BIG SKY TITLE
For the eighth time in the last nine years, Weber State has been picked to win the Big Sky Conference title, according to the preseason vote of the league's head coaches.
A LOOK BACK
Weber State won its 22nd Big Sky Conference title and the second in the last three years when the 'Cats captured the title last season. Weber State finished the year 26-9 and won three titles during the year. WSU won the Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida, their first preseason tournament title in 12 years. Weber State then finished 15-3 to capture the Big Sky regular season title and then won the Big Sky Tournament in Reno, Nevada. Weber State advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 16th time in school history.
Joel Bolomboy was named Big Sky MVP and earned All-American honorable mention honors. Bolomboy became the Big Sky's career leading rebounder during the season and finished third in the nation in rebounding. He was drafted in the second round of the NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz. Bolomboy was the only senior lost off last year's squad and the Wildcats have nine letterwinners and four starters returning this year.
Coaching staff
Weber State head coach Randy Rahe is back for his 11th season as head coach of the Wildcats. Last year, Rahe became Weber State's career leader in coaching victories, now with a career record of 210-115 (.646). He also became the Big Sky Conference's career leader in conference wins, with a career Big Sky record of 129-43 (750).
Rahe has led the Wildcats to five Big Sky Championships in 10 years as head coach and has guided the 'Cats to the postseason in eight of the ten years, including three trips to the NCAA Tournament. He has coached six Big Sky Conference MVP's in his time with the Wildcats.
Returning with the Wildcat coaching staff is Associate Head Coach Eric Duft who is in his 11th season at Weber State. Garrett Lever returns for his fifth season at WSU and new this year is assistant coach David Marek. David Moats returns for his third season as the Director of Basketball Operations.
ABOUT IONA
Iona is 1-2 on the season and advanced to the semifinals of the Great Alaska Shootout after a 64-53 win over Drake Thursday night. The Gaels opened the season with a 99-78 loss at Florida State and lost 91-76 at Nevada before coming to Alaska.
Iona College is located in New Rochelle, New York and competes in the Metro Atlantic Conference. The Gaels finished 22-11 overall last year and were second in the MAAC at 16-4. They won the conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they fell to Iowa State in the first round.
This season the Gaels have been led senior Jordan Washington who leads the team in scoring at 19.3 points and rebounds and 6.7. He is also shooting 63 percent from the field. Senior guard Sam Cassell Jr., son of former NBA star and current LA Clippers assistant coach Sam Cassell, is averaging 15.7 points and four assists per game. He scored 15 points in Thursday's win over Drake. Cassell is a graduate student who played two seasons at UCONN before transferring to Iona.
HEAD COACH TIM CLUESS
Iona is coached by Tim Cluess who is in his seventh season with the Gaels. Cluess has led Iona to 20+ wins in each of his first six seasons and six-straight postseason tournament appearances. He's led the Gaels to three conference titles, three trips to the NCAA Tournament and two appearances in the NIT. He has a career record of 141-68 at Iona and is 89-25 in conference games.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first-ever meeting between Weber State and Iona and Weber State's first game against a team from the Metro Atlantic Conference.
WEBER STATE BASKETBALL HISTORY
Weber State is in its 55th season as a Division I and four-year program. The school is a charter member of the Big Sky Conference, joining the league in 1963. WSU entered the season with the 22nd best winning percentage in NCAA history. Weber State has won 22 Big Sky Conference titles, the most in league history. The 'Cats have also advanced to the NCAA Tournament 16 times, also a league record. WSU has won six games in the NCAA Tournament, including first round wins in 1995 over Michigan State and 1999 over North Carolina.
Several legendary coaches have coached at Weber State. The first coach in the Division I era was Dick Motta who led WSU to three titles in six seasons before going on to have a long career in the NBA. Phil Johnson coached Weber State for three seasons and won three titles before his long career in the NBA. Both Motta and Johnson were NBA Coaches of the Year. Gene Visscher, Neil McCarthy, Larry Farmer, Denny Huston, Ron Abegglen and Joe Cravens also coached Weber State, prior to current head coach Randy Rahe.
WSU has had 16 players drafted in the NBA Draft, the most of any Big Sky school. Legendary players like Willie Sojourner, Bruce Collins, Rico Washington, Harold Arceneaux and many others have led the Wildcats to its success.
Weber State has become prominent in recent years thanks to Damian Lillard, who earned All-American honors for Weber State in 2012, the first player from the Big Sky Conference to be named to an All-American team. Lillard is the second leading scorer in WSU history and was selected with the sixth pick of the 2012 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. He is a two-time NBA All-Star.
Joel Bolomboy, the 2016 Big Sky MVP, was drafted in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz.
In 2012, Weber State was ranked as the 39th top program in the country over the last 50 years by ESPN.com.
LOOKING AHEAD
Weber State will play either Buffalo or Nevada on Saturday. The consolation game will be at 5:30 AST (7:30 MST) with the championship game at 8:30 AST (10:30 MST).
