Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Montana
Weber State hosts Montana Saturday night
2/10/2023 4:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Wildcats and Grizzlies tipoff at 7 p.m. at the Dee Events Center.
• Fresh off a big comeback win on Thursday, Weber State is home again to face another longtime rival in Montana Saturday night. The Wildcats and Grizzlies will tipoff at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Dee Events Center. The game will be televised throughout Utah on KJZZ TV with Dave Fox and Tim LaComb calling the action. It will also be streamed on ESPN+. WSU radio broadcast with Steve Klauke and former WSU standout and Big Sky MVP David Patten will be on 103.1 FM "The Wave".
Live stats at WeberStateSports.com and the Weber State Wildcats app.
• Weber State is 13-12 overall and 8-4 in Big Sky play, currently third in the league standings with six games remaining. The Wildcats are coming off a 73-63 comeback win over Montana State on Thursday night. WSU trailed by nine points early in the second half but used a 27-4 second half run to rally and beat the Bobcats.
• Montana is also 13-12 overall and is 7-6 in Big Sky play, in fourth in the league standings. The Grizzlies have won four-straight games, including a 69-61 win at Idaho State on Thursday.
• Weber State beat Montana 59-57 in a thriller in the first meeting of the season on January 12 in Missoula. The Wildcats trailed by one point with five seconds left when Dyson Koehler stole the inbound pass and passed it to Steven Verplancken who knocked down the game-winning 3-pointer with one second left to secure the win for the Wildcats.
• It was yet another double-double for Weber State's Dillon Jones in Thursday's win. He finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, to go along with four assists and two steals. It was his 15th double-double of the season, currently tied for the third most in the nation. Jones leads Weber State in points, rebounds, assists and steals. He is first in the nation in defensive rebounds at 10.1 per game and ranks eighth in the country in overall rebounds at 10.9 per game. He has scored in double figures 20 times this season and ranks eighth in the Big Sky in scoring at 15.6 points per game. He has reached double figures in 10-straight and 18 of the last 19 games.
He also has had 10 or more rebounds in nine of the last 11 games and has led the Wildcats in rebounding in 15-straight games and 18 of the last 19 games. He ranks fifth in the Big Sky in assists at 3.7 per game, is second in steals at 1.5 per game. He is also third in the Big Sky in free throw percentage at 84.5 percent.
• Zahir Porter scored a season-high 13 points in Thursday's win over Montana State. Porter was 4 of 6 from the field and 2 of 2 from 3-point range. He has scored in double figures 23 times in his Wildcat career. Porter has played in 80 career games over the last three seasons at Weber State.
• Weber State shot 56.5 percent from the field in Thursday's win, the eighth time this season the 'Cats have shot 50 percent or better and WSU is 7-1 in those games. Weber State is 11-1 when leading its opponent in field goal percentage and 2-11 when trailing. WSU is also 11-1 when leading in rebounding and 11-1 when scoring 70 or more points in a game.
• Weber State is led by new head coach Eric Duft who was named the 10th head coach in Weber State history in May. Duft replaced Randy Rahe who retired after 16 seasons as the head coach as the Big Sky Conference's all-time leader in career wins and led the Wildcats to five Big Sky titles and three trips to the NCAA Tournament. Duft spent all 16 seasons as an assistant coach under Rahe.
• Montana comes into the game having won four-straight. The Grizzlies picked up wins over Portland State, Northern Colorado, Northern Arizona, and Idaho State in the last four games. Montana leads the Big Sky in 3-point field goal percentage, 3-point defense and free throw percentage. They rank ninth in the country in free throw percentage at 77.8 percent. Travis DeCuire, the longest tenured coach in the Big Sky, is in his ninth season with the Grizzlies.
• This will be the 139th all-time meeting between Weber State and Montana, both charter members of the Big Sky Conference. WSU has played Montana more than any opponent in its history.
The Wildcats hold a 75-64 all-time series lead and have won the last three games, including earlier this season in Missoula and the Big Sky Tournament last year.
In games in Ogden, Weber State is 47-17 all-time.
• Weber State hits the road for two games next week at Sacramento State on Thursday and at Portland State on Saturday.
