by Zachary Knecht
Featured Image: Photo by Weber State Athletics
The Weber State Wildcats continue to impress as they down Northern Colorado Bears 81-72. The win secures their first conference victory and sets the tone for these hot ‘Cats as their more important games approach.
Surging Offense
Starting the season, the Wildcats couldn’t get much going offensively with their 66.5 points per game coming into the contest, but they’ve turned things around in this recent stretch of games. Weber State shot a healthy 46.6% from the field and 33.3% from three in the offensive outburst. The team was able to take advantage of a porous Bears defense to seal an important win.
Dillon Jones played like the superstar he is with a career-high 26-point performance. He also had 13 rebounds and six assists on his way to another double-double. Steven Verplancken Jr. and Alex Tew both reached double-digits as well with 15- and 10-point performances, respectively.
Limiting Mistakes, Maximizing Opportunity
A big part of Weber State’s success Thursday night was their ability to limit mistakes. The Wildcats only turned the ball over 11 times in the contest to the Bears 12 and took full advantage of their opportunities.
Weber State’s ability to rebound was also a crucial factor in the victory. They rebounded the ball 39 times to the 31 of Northern Colorado, which exceeded their 33.6 season average. This rebounding gave the ‘Cats ample chances at baskets en route to one of their best offensive showings of the year.
Northern Colorado’s dynamic duo of Dalton Knecht and Daylen Kountz continued to impress though, combining for 40 points, including 16 three-pointers. Fortunately, the Wildcats fended them off to pull out the win.
Free-throw Shooting
Weber State shot lights out from the free-throw line, especially Jones’ tear of hitting 14-15. If the opportunities are there, you need to take advantage of them, and the ‘Cats did just that to take down the Bears.
Conference play will continue for the Wildcats Saturday night as they host the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks and look to stay hot.
The Hive Sports 
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