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OGDEN — Winning is one of the great medicines in sports.
If not a cure, it is at least a pleasing anesthetic for a team looking to find its way with a young group of players.
That’s why beating rival Montana Thursday meant so much to Weber State. The Wildcats had opened conference play with two road losses, including an overtime loss at Idaho.
Weber played well defensively in the victory over the Grizzlies, and Wildcats coach Randy Rahe said the team spent Friday building off the success.
It appears the momentum and preparation helped Weber survive against Montana State as the Wildcats picked up a 65-62 victory over the Bobcats.
Montana State is a team in transition, with a new coach leading the program. The Bobcats entered Saturday having lost five consecutive games in Ogden, with an average margin of defeat of 16.8 points.
The Bobcats looked to change that trend early, as Montana State held a 12-6 lead at the first media timeout. However, the Wildcats responded with a 12-4 run over the next four minutes to take an 18-16 lead.
Weber coach Randy Rahe on Stew Morrill's retirement announcement: "We're losing one of the good guys."
Rahe said the early start jump-started the Bobcats’ game plan.
“It was obviously an ugly game,” he said. “(Montana State) has been struggling, and they didn’t look like they were struggling tonight. They really took the fight to us early, and we weren’t fighting as hard as we needed to early.”
Weber took a 32-29 lead into halftime, even though Montana State had the better shooting percentage (45.8-37) and 3-point percentage (41.7-14.3). The Bobcats’ Stephan Holm also banked in a buzzer-beater half-court shot.
The Bobcats opened the half on an 11-3 run. Montana State led by as many as eight points, 46-38, with 12 minutes left, until the Wildcats responded with a 13-1 run to take a 51-47 lead.
Forward Richaud Gittens hit a momentum-changing 3-pointer during the run, and said the run was crucial for the Wildcats.
“At that moment and time, we needed a big shot,” said Gittens, who was 4-for-4 from behind the 3-point arc. “I felt like the dude gave me enough space to shoot the ball, and I ended up hitting the three. I was pretty excited about it; I started smiling a little bit.”
There were 37 total fouls in the game, and Joel Bolomboy shot 10 free throws because of them.
Bolomboy said the physicality in the game forced him to focus on playing his game.
“I talked to (Weber assistant coach Garrett Lever) about how I felt like I was getting fouled and not getting any calls,” he said. “He said to stay with it, and in the second half, I started getting more calls and things started to fall my way. The biggest thing is staying with it, just playing through it.”
Weber heads out on a southern road swing next weekend, with games at Northern Arizona and Southern Utah.
Rahe said his team will have to continue to mature for this road trip.
“We’ve got to continue to defend, and continue to get better rebounding,” said Rahe, whose Wildcats are now 2-2 in conference. “The road’s going to be tough; Northern Arizona is the most veteran team in the league, so it’s always a tough place to play. Southern Utah’s the same thing; all records are out when you play Southern Utah. We’re going to take a whole bunch of guys that haven’t been to either one of those places before, they’re kind of figuring out as we go, and see if we can get some good done.”
On another note, Rahe commented on the retirement of Utah State coach Stew Morrill. Rahe was a longtime coach under Morrill, at both Colorado State and Utah State.
Morrill’s star pupil said college basketball will miss Morrill.
“You’re seeing an absolutely wonderful career come to an end,” he said. “College basketball needs guys like Stew Morrill. He’s what college basketball is supposed to be all about — integrity, character, honesty, one hell of a coach … you combine all that stuff and that’s why you win as many games as he did. We’re losing one of the good guys, and it’s sad when you lose one of the good guys.”
NOTE: The Wildcats retired their second jersey in school history, honoring former star Willie Sojourner. Sojourner, who helped Weber to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, averaged 14.1 rebounds a game in his collegiate career. His jersey is the second to be retired by the school this season, joining former quarterback Jamie Martin.
