Weber State University Athletics
Saturday, December 29
Cheney, WA
3:00 p.m. MT
Weber State University
1-07-5/ Big Sky
84
at
72
Eastern Washington
0-12-10/ Big Sky
1
2
F
Weber State
37
47
84
Eastern Washington
33
39
72
Cody John had 19 points in Saturday's win.
Wildcats open Big Sky play with win over Eagles
12/29/2018 5:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
After a slow start, Weber State rolled to an 84-72 win over Eastern Washington in the Big Sky Conference opener Saturday afternoon in Cheney.
The Eagles jumped out to a quick start and held a 21-8 lead midway through the first half before the Wildcats got going. Weber State went on a 12-0 run and took their first lead at 25-24 with 5:25 to play.
The Wildcats lead 37-33 at halftime and it was all Weber State in the second half. WSU started the second half on a 20-3 run as Eastern Washington missed its first 11 field goal attempts in the second half and didn't make a field goal in the first 7:22 of the half.
All total, WSU went on a 49-15 run over a 16:38 stretch at the end of the first half to the beginning of the second half.
Eastern Washington was never closer than 12 points the rest of the way.
The Wildcats shot 53 percent from the field, the best shooting percentage of the season against a Division I team, and the 'Cats held the Eagles to 38 percent shooting. WSU also was 14 of 18 from the free throw line and outrebounded the Eagles 37-34.
"It took us a little while to get going, but we were able to get some stops and got some momentum going and then played really good offense," said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. "We knew we had to set the tone early in the second half and our guys came out and did that."
Freshman Caleb Nero had a career-high with 19 on 7 of 8 shooting in 20 minutes of action. He also had three assists and two rebounds and scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half.
Junior Cody John also had 19 points for the Wildcats to go along with five rebounds and Jerrick Harding added 18 points with six rebounds.
Brekkott Chapman finished with eight points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.
The win moves WSU to 7-5 overall. The Wildcats will continue their Big Sky road trip and close out 2018 with a New Year's Eve game at Idaho. The Wildcats and Vandals will tip-off at 2 p.m. Pacific time (3 p.m. MT) in Moscow.
The Eagles jumped out to a quick start and held a 21-8 lead midway through the first half before the Wildcats got going. Weber State went on a 12-0 run and took their first lead at 25-24 with 5:25 to play.
The Wildcats lead 37-33 at halftime and it was all Weber State in the second half. WSU started the second half on a 20-3 run as Eastern Washington missed its first 11 field goal attempts in the second half and didn't make a field goal in the first 7:22 of the half.
All total, WSU went on a 49-15 run over a 16:38 stretch at the end of the first half to the beginning of the second half.
Eastern Washington was never closer than 12 points the rest of the way.
The Wildcats shot 53 percent from the field, the best shooting percentage of the season against a Division I team, and the 'Cats held the Eagles to 38 percent shooting. WSU also was 14 of 18 from the free throw line and outrebounded the Eagles 37-34.
"It took us a little while to get going, but we were able to get some stops and got some momentum going and then played really good offense," said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. "We knew we had to set the tone early in the second half and our guys came out and did that."
Freshman Caleb Nero had a career-high with 19 on 7 of 8 shooting in 20 minutes of action. He also had three assists and two rebounds and scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half.
Junior Cody John also had 19 points for the Wildcats to go along with five rebounds and Jerrick Harding added 18 points with six rebounds.
Brekkott Chapman finished with eight points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.
The win moves WSU to 7-5 overall. The Wildcats will continue their Big Sky road trip and close out 2018 with a New Year's Eve game at Idaho. The Wildcats and Vandals will tip-off at 2 p.m. Pacific time (3 p.m. MT) in Moscow.
Check out highlights of the win at Eastern Washington to open Big Sky play. Caleb Nero and Cody John each with 19 points to lead the Wildcats. #WeAreWeber #BigSkyMBB pic.twitter.com/A65qfavTVR
— WeberStateMBB ?? (@WeberStateMBB) December 30, 2018
Team Stats
WSU
EWU
FG%
.534
.388
3FG%
.533
.333
FT%
.778
.824
RB
37
34
TO
10
6
STL
3
6
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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/ Men's BasketballG
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