Weber win over Presentation College step forward in process of maturation


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OGDEN — Weber State basketball is in a transformative period.

The Wildcats’ offense is tough for new players to learn, regardless of their effort and ability, and the program is known for peaking late in the season.

Things are no different this season, as Weber State is finding its way with several new players and a couple new coaches.

Friday, Weber lost an 18-point lead in a loss to Utah State. Monday, the Wildcats hosted NAIA Presentation College with the hopes of finding some momentum before a tournament in the Virgin Islands later this week.

Weber held a 26-22 halftime lead but climbed to a 74-49 victory in the team’s regular season home opener.

Wildcats coach Randy Rahe said the inconsistent first half was a product of the team’s struggles in the second half at Utah State.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’ve seen games like this forever,” he said. “When you come off a game like we did against Utah State, we had a tough meeting on Saturday and we got after them a bit about how we performed second half. I’ve got such good kids, they try really hard and I thought they tried too hard in the first half.”


"We're a team that kind of builds momentum as the preseason goes," Weber State coach Randy Rahe said. "We've always been that way; we were that way last year."

The Wildcats made only 1-of-10 3-point shots in the first half, while turning the ball over 12 times.

However, in the second half, Weber committed only three turnovers and outscored Presentation 16-10 in the paint.

Forward Joel Bolomboy said the team’s turnovers are due to inconsistency.

“Most of our turnovers are self-inflicted,” said Bolomboy, who finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds. “We cause them. The opponents don’t make us turn the ball over as much.”

After the loss to Utah State, fan boards lit up with questions about the Wildcats’ early season inconsistencies over the past few seasons.

In response, Rahe said his philosophy is to improve as the season goes on.

“With our system, it usually takes us awhile to play really good; it just does,” he said. “We’re a team that kind of builds momentum as the preseason goes. We’ve always been that way; we were that way last year. Really bad early, got better, got better, and by the time January 1 rolled around, we started to play pretty good.

“A lot of teams that play really good early are the teams that are really simple in their approach. They just run motion and give guys freedom, and they don’t have to think.”

With the win in tow, the Wildcats are preparing for a tournament in the Virgin Islands, where they play three games in four days.

Bolomboy said the team has to improve on defense.

“It always starts on defense,” he said. “Defense wins championships, so we’ve just got to tighten up the lose holes we have on defense and go from there.”

Rahe said playing games is a great way to help the team mature.

“We’re really excited about going down there,” he said. “The fact we get three really high-quality games in four days, so we’re going to find out a whole bunch more after next weekend. We haven’t been in one in three years because people wouldn’t invite us, so when this one came up, we jumped on it. The quality of teams down there is absolutely perfect.”

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Jon Oglesby

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