Wildcats stay alive in postseason race


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

OGDEN — After all that’s happened to the Weber State basketball team this season, Wildcat fans have to be encouraged the team still had a chance to qualify for the Big Sky Conference tournament.

With a one-game lead over Southern Utah, the best thing the Wildcats could do is win both games in a weekend series with Idaho and Eastern Washington.

Weber State accomplished the first half of the feat Thursday with a 74-63 win over the Idaho Vandals.

Weber coach Randy Rahe said his team, which is on a two-game winning streak, is gaining confidence at the right time of the season.

“Those kids are having fun,” he said. “I’m really proud of them, and all the stuff that we’ve been through. These kids are getting better, and it’s really been fun to watch. They come to practice the last two, three weeks, and they keep trying hard. It’s been really fun to watch them get better as a team.”

In order to beat Idaho, Weber had to virtually beat itself. Rahe and Idaho coach Don Verlin are Stew Morrill disciples, and both run virtually the same offense.

Rahe said the level of familiarity between the teams makes games difficult, just as it made games against Utah State difficult.


"Those kids are having fun," Weber coach Randy Rahe said. "I'm really proud of them, and all the stuff that we've been through- these kids are getting better, and it's really been fun to watch.

“As a coach, I know what’s coming, but when you’re preparing for them you can’t prepare for all 25 sets they run,” he said. “So, there’s stuff that they’re running that I know what’s coming, but I can’t really help our team a whole lot. It’s vice-versa for (Don), too.”

The Wildcats took an early 13-6 lead, including a 3-point bomb from forward Joel Bolomboy. He scored seven points in the first six minutes of the game, showcasing a crafty midrange jump shot.

Chris Golden also contributed 12 points in the first half, including four 3-pointers. A Golden 3-ball gave the ‘Cats a 28-18 lead with 5:44 left in the half, and it prompted a quick Idaho timeout.

Weber stretched the lead to 60-41 in the second half, until Idaho went on a 12-2 run to bring the score to 62-53 with 4:26 remaining. However, Kyndahl Hill’s two free throws helped calm the storm, allowing the ‘Cats to hold on for the win.

Bolomboy led the Wildcats with 22 points, while Golden contributed 16 points.

The junior forward said the team worked hard all week to prepare for the Vandals.

“We came in here knowing that somehow, someway, we have to win these two games and find someway to do it,” Bolomboy said.

The path to the postseason for Weber is simple now: The Wildcats will clinch a berth in the tournament with a win over Eastern Washington. There are a variety of other scenarios that could help the Wildcats, like Southern Utah losing to Portland State and Idaho losing to Idaho State.

Sacramento State would have clinched the regular-season title with a win over Southern Utah, but fell 69-65 Thursday. The right to host the league tournament will hang in the balance until the conclusion of Saturday’s games.

Regardless of all the scenarios and tiebreakers, Bolomboy said Weber’s focus is on beating a quality Eastern Washington opponent.

“We have a little bit of momentum going toward Eastern Washington,” he said. “They’re a good team, but we just have to keep it going. The main thing is defense; we just have to keep getting stops, keeping believing in each other.”

While the Eagles beat Weber State 84-78 earlier in the season, Rahe said the Wildcats are a different team since then.

“We’re playing bigger now than we did back then, which I think has helped us defensively,” he said. “We’ve changed into more trying to play inside-out, but I’d like to think we’re a little better defensively. I think we rebound a little bit better because of the size we put out there. Offensively, maybe not quite as efficient as we were, overall.”

Related stories

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsWeber State Wildcats
Jon Oglesby

    ARE YOU GAME?

    From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast