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OGDEN — The addition of SUU into the Big Sky Conference did much for Weber State basketball.
Not only do the Wildcats get a good in-state sparring partner in Southern Utah, they also get a school that they’ve beat seven straight times.
Coming into Ogden after a loss to Idaho State, the Thunderbirds were hoping to break that trend. The first half, SUU played like it sincerely believed it could win, leading 32-29.
Instead, Weber State extended the winning streak to eight games, moving its Big Sky record to 4-1 with a close 65-59 win over Southern Utah in a Big Sky game at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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“I want to give credit to Southern Utah,” Weber coach Randy Rahe said. “I thought they played an outstanding game. We were very fortunate to survive. … I didn’t think we played well, and I know we can play a lot better.”
Weber State opened the game on a 6-0 run and led 8-2 after a pair of Kyle Tresnak free throws. However, SUU’s offense began to open up and the Thunderbirds tied the game at 20-20 on a Trey Kennedy layup with 8:04 left in the first half.
From there, the Thunderbirds outplayed the Wildcats, going on a 12-9 run to lead 32-29 at halftime. Notable plays during the run included a Jaren Jeffery 3-shot that gave the Thunderbirds a 29-28 lead — a lead they held for the rest of the first half.
“We did everything we could to take the ball out of the hands of their best players,” said SUU coach Nick Robinson, noting the first-half success against Weber State. “We executed offensively, moved the ball and made open shots.”
Rahe said the performance was the best he’s seen Southern Utah play all season.
“They had guys making shots that, to be quite honest, I hadn’t seen them make shots all year long,” he said. “We needed to change the rhythm of the game because they were in good rhythm.”
Weber State fought back in the second half on the back of Davion Berry’s free-throw shooting. Berry made 18 of 23 free-throw attempts, and his play allowed the Wildcats to stay close enough to tie the game at 45-45 with 10:30 left.
Then, with Weber leading 49-48 with 5:18 left in the game, Joel Bolomboy had a dunk that brought the Dee Events Center crowd to their feet. Then, Richaud Gittens threw up an alley-oop dunk to Kyndahl Hill that gave the Wildcats a 53-51 lead and momentum.
Ultimately, foul trouble gave Weber State more free-throw opportunities, and the Wildcats made 28 of the 38 free throws in the second half. Also, the foul trouble saw both Jaren Jeffery and A.J. Hess foul out to end the Thunderbirds’ upset hopes.
Weber State made only 14 of 35 shots, compared to Southern Utah’s 23 of 52 shots. The Wildcats shot 43 free throws, compared to Southern Utah’s 12.
Weber’s Berry set a school record for most free-throw attempts with 23. Berry was the game’s leading scorer with 25 points. Kennedy led the Thunderbirds with 17 points.
