WSU men's basketball opens season Friday with Utah State

GAME #1

UTAH STATE AT WEBER STATE

Friday, November 10, 2017 • 7:00 p.m.

Ogden, UT • Dee Events Center (11,500)

TV: none

Online video: Pluto TV 235 / WatchBigSky.com

Radio: KLO 1430 AM (Steve Klauke, David Patten)

Live stats: WeberStateStats.com

Twitter: @weberstatembb

Series: Utah State leads 42-27

Streak: Weber State 1 win

In Ogden: series tied 16-16

Last game: 12/21/16 - Logan - WSU 77-71

TIPOFF

• Weber State kicks off its 56th season of Division I basketball as the Wildcats host in-state rival Utah State Friday night at the Dee Events Center.

• Weber State is coming off a 20-14 overall record and a 12-6 record in Big Sky play last season. The Wildcats advanced to the championship game of the Big Sky Tournament and the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

• Weber State head coach Randy Rahe returns for his 12th season as head coach of the Wildcats. He is the Weber State all-time leader in coaching victories and the Big Sky's all-time leader in conference victories.

• Gone from last year is WSU's all-time leading scorer and leading 3-point shooter Jeremy Senglin as well as long-time senior Kyndahl Hill.

• The Wildcats have seven letterwinners and three starters returning off last year's team, including

• Weber State welcomes six new players, including junior transfer Brekkott Chapman, as well as five new freshmen to the squad.

• For just the second time in the last 10 years Weber State was not picked to win the Big Sky in the preseason polls. WSU was selected second behind Idaho.

• Utah State is coming off a 14-17 overall record last season.

• Weber State defeated the Aggies 77-71 last December in Logan, snapping a four-game losing streak to USU.

• This is the fifth time in the last 11 years Utah State and Weber State have faced each other in the season opener.

MEDIA INFORMATION

Friday's game will begin at 7:00 p.m. from the Dee Events Center. It will be the second half of a doubleheader as the WSU women's team will host Utah Valley at 4 p.m.

There will be no TV for the game but it will be streamed online for free on Pluto TV channel 235 and on WatchBigSky.com. Radio broadcast will be on 1430 KLO and kloradio.com. Steve Klauke, the 2016 Utah Sportscaster of the Year, will be on the call alongside former Big Sky MVP and Weber State standout David Patten.

Live stats will be at WeberStateStats.com, presented by Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram in Riverdale.

WILDCATS HOLD ON FOR EXHIBITION WIN

Weber State jumped out to a big lead, then held on for an 84-77 win over Western State last Thursday at the Dee Events Center, in the only exhibition game of the season. The Wildcats led by as many as 29 points before seeing the lead cut to four points late in the second half. WSU was 7-8 from the free throw line in the final 1:13 to secure the win.

Weber State shot 56 percent from the field, including 70 percent in the first half. The 'Cats were led by sophomore Jerrick Harding who finished with 26 points and six assists and was a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line. Junior transfer Brekkott Chapman had 20 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots, while shooting 8-of-10 from the field. Senior Ryan Richardson added 14 points and Zach Braxton had 11.

WEBER STATE IN SEASON OPENERS

Weber State is 39-16 all-time in season opening games and the Wildcats are 32-4 all-time when opening the season at home.

This is the third time in the last four years and the fifth time in the last 11 years that the Wildcats have opened the season against Utah State. WSU lost in the season opener at home to Utah State two years ago.

A LOOK BACK

Weber State is coming off a 20-14 season in 2016-17 and the Wildcats advanced to the Big Sky Tournament title game and the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

Gone from last year's team are three seniors, led by First Team All-Big Sky and All-District selection Jeremy Senglin. Senglin became Weber State's all-time leading scorer and the Big Sky's career leader in 3-pointers made. Also gone from last year's team are seniors Kyndahl Hill and Richaud Gittens.

COACHING STAFF

Weber State head coach Randy Rahe returns for his 12th season as head coach of the Wildcats. He is Weber State's career leader in wins, now with a career record of 228-127 (.642). He is also the Big Sky Conference's career leader in conference wins, with a career Big Sky record of 141-49 (.742). He needs 19 more overall wins to become the Big Sky's all-time leader in victories.

Rahe has led the Wildcats to five Big Sky Championships in 11 years as head coach and has guided the 'Cats to the postseason in nine of the 11 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 12th season at Weber State. Garrett Lever returns for his sixth season at WSU and David Marek is in his second year as an assistant coach. New to the staff this year is Tim O'Flannigan, the new Director of Basketball Operations.

RETURNING PLAYERS

Weber State returns seven letterwinners and three starters off last year's team.

WSU has two seniors on this year's team who have combined to play in 152 games at Weber State. Dusty Baker is back for his third year at Weber State. He averaged 7.9 points and shot 52 percent from the field last season. Also returning is senior Ryan Richardson who has played in 85 games at Weber State. Richardson averaged 8.1 points and knocked down 63 3-pointers last season.

WSU has two returning juniors on the roster. WSU's leading returning scorer is junior center Zach Braxton who averaged 10.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game last season. Braxton has started all 67 games in his career at Weber State. Junior guard Cody John is also back for his third season at Weber State. He posted 7.7 points per game last season and was second on the team in assists at 2.2 per game.

John is expected to miss the entire 2017-18 season with a back injury.

Three sophomores return, led by guard Jerrick Harding who is the second-leading returning scorer. The Wichita, Kansas, native averaged 9.3 points per game last season. Jordan Dallas and Brenden Morris also both return as sophomores for the Wildcats this season.

NEW PLAYERS

The Wildcats have six players new to the roster this season. Junior forward Brekkott Chapman, joined the Wildcats last season after transferring from the University of Utah where he played two seasons. He sat out the season last year but will be a junior at Weber State this season. Chapman, a native of Roy, Utah, was a top 50 recruit out of high school.

Five freshmen will be new to the roster. Guard Trevon Ary-Turner (Issaquah, Washington), Riley Court (Pleasant Grove, Utah), Michal Kozak (Plzen, Czech Republic), Ricky "Doc" Nelson (Houston, Texas) and Anton Vialen (Espoo, Finland) join the Wildcats as freshmen this season.

ABOUT UTAH STATE

Utah State is coming off a 14-17 record last season and finished tied for eighth in the Mountain West Conference at 7-11.

USU returns seven letterwinners and four starters off last year's team. Mountain West Freshman of the Year Koby McEwen is among the returners. McEwen was second on the team in scoring at 14.9 points and had 5.1 rebounds per game last season. He was a preseason All-Mountain West selection, the only underclassman on the list.

Also returning is another sophomore guard in Sam Merrill, who averaged 9.4 points per game last season and led the team in assists with 98. Senior Alex Dargenton and junior Quinn Taylor also return after playing in every game last season.

The Aggies were picked to finish eighth in the Mountain West this season in the preseason poll.

HEAD COACH TIM DURYEA

The Aggies are coached by Tim Duryea who is beginning his third season as head coach at Utah State. He enters the year with a 30-32 career record at Utah State. Duryea was an assistant coach at USU for 14 seasons under Stew Morrill, prior to being named head coach.

There are lots of connections with Duryea to the Weber State staff. Duryea and Weber State head coach Randy Rahe spent three years together as assistant coaches under Morrill at Utah State from 2001-04. Prior to going to Utah State, Duryea spent two seasons as the head coach at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. During those two seasons, current Weber State associate head coach Eric Duft was an assistant under Duryea at Hutchinson. WSU assistant coach David Marek spent two seasons with Duryea on the staff at Utah State.

A graduate of North Texas, Duryea has also spent time as an assistant coach at Colorado State and North Texas.

SERIES HISTORY

This will be the 70th all-time meeting between the two schools. The Wildcats and Aggies have played nearly every year since 1971. Utah State holds a 42-27 all-time series lead and has won eight of the last 10 games against the Wildcats.

Weber State beat Utah State 77-71 last December in Logan, snapping a four-game losing streak to the Aggies. It was WSU's first win in Logan since 1993.

USU is 17-16 all-time in games in Ogden and has won the last two games and three of the last four at the Dee Events Center. WSU's last home win over Utah State was in 2011, a 73-63 win behind 28 points from Scott Bamforth and 17 from Damian Lillard.

INJURY REPORT

Weber State junior guard Cody John is expected to miss the entire 2017-18 season with a back injury. Sophomore Jordan Dallas will be out a few weeks with a knee injury.

LOOKING AHEAD

After Friday's game the 'Cats are back home to host West Coast Baptist Tuesday night at the Dee Events Center before heading to the Bahamas. WSU will play three games in the Island of the Bahamas Showcase beginning Nov. 17 against Iona.

Weber State University Athletics

WSU men's basketball opens season Friday with Utah State

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Players Mentioned

Trevon Ary-Turner

Dusty Baker

Dusty Baker

Zach Braxton

Zach Braxton

Brekkott Chapman

Brekkott Chapman

Riley Court

Jordan Dallas

Jordan Dallas

Richaud Gittens

Jerrick Harding

Jerrick Harding

Kyndahl Hill

Cody John

Cody John

Michal Kozak

Brenden Morris

Brenden Morris

Ryan Richardson

Ryan Richardson

Jeremy Senglin

Anton Vialen

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