Wildcats fall to Eastern Washington, still qualify for conference tourney


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OGDEN — Entering Saturday’s season finale against Eastern Washington, the options for Weber State basketball were simple — win and get into the Big Sky tourney; lose and be forced to hope for a Southern Utah loss.

This has been an interesting year for the Wildcats, but the chance to qualify for their ninth-consecutive conference tournament berth was firmly in the program’s grasp in spite of all the adversity.

The Eagles knew of Weber’s predicament, and trailed by double-digits throughout the game. However, when the game was on the line, senior-laden Eastern Washington answered the call.

The Wildcats and Eagles repeatedly traded runs in a physical, gritty game, but the Eagles’ veteran experience outlasted Weber’s raw emotions, helping Eastern Washington to a 79-71 win.

After Thursday’s win over Idaho, the Wildcats talked about the need for improved offensive efficiency, after they fell 84-78 to the Eagles earlier this season.

While there were high-flying moments, it quickly turned into a physical contest, with 34 fouls being called in the contest.


Weber State will face Montana in the first round of the Big Sky tournament Thursday. The Wildcats and Grizzlies will tip at 8 pm.

Wildcats coach Randy Rahe said the game was physical, and Eastern Washington’s experience helped it prevail.

“We were a little bit under-manned compared to that team,” he said. “It’s hard to hold that team down, and they’re always going to make a run. That’s one of the most veteran teams in our league.”

The Wildcats held a 39-27 halftime lead, and held a 50-33 lead with 15:26 left. However, Eastern Washington closed the half on a 36-19 run, which Richaud Gittens said was prompted by just hitting shots.

“They just hit a few shots,” he said. “You can’t really do anything about it; it’s basketball. You’re not going to do everything right; teams are going to go on runs.”

The game devolved into a possession-by-possession battle in the second half, until Chris Golden hit a huge three to give the Wildcats a 69-66 lead. However, the Eagles’ Tyler Harvey hit a three on the side, tying it. Harvey had a chance at the win, but his 3-point attempt hit off the front of the iron as time expired.

The teams traded baskets in overtime, until the Eagles took their first lead of the game, 74-71 with 1:40 left, on a three by Bogdan Bliznyuk. Eastern Washington outscored Weber 10-2 in the overtime, and 42-30 in the second half.

Eastern Washington also scored 26 points off turnovers, and held an 18-8 edge on second-chance points.

“We just don’t have an experienced point guard right now,” Rahe said. “We’ve been seeing that same stuff since (Jeremy Senglin) went down. I do think their pressure wore us down a little bit, and we turned it over.”

Gittens led the Wildcats with 22 points, and Harvey finished with a game-high 24 points.

Rahe said Gittens carried the team.

“He played terrific,” he said. “He was doing a lot of things for us — he was guarding Harvey, and then he stepped up his scoring. I thought he played a terrific basketball game tonight. … He played with a lot of energy, and he played his ever-living tail off.”

Even with the loss, the Wildcats have qualified for the conference tourney, thanks to Portland State beating Southern Utah. Weber has now qualified for the Big Sky in each of Rahe’s nine seasons. The Big Sky doesn’t qualify every team into the tournament, unlike other conferences, meaning Weber has finished in the top eight teams in the conference in every season of Rahe’s tenure.

Weber plays Montana in a late game Thursday.

Joel Bolomboy said the Wildcats will start preparing for the Grizzlies immediately.

“Everything happens for a reason,” he said. “Obviously we wanted to win tonight; didn’t happen. But, we’ve got to put that behind us and try and win the conference tournament. It starts with Montana, and I’m pretty sure everyone is going to be ready — especially after losing this game. We’re going to be ready for Montana.”

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