by Zachary Knecht
Featured Image: Photo by Ben Allan Smith of the Missoulian
Weber State Basketball Recap
The Weber State Wildcats fall to the hands of the Montana State Bobcats 67-52 in the last battle of their two-game road stretch. The ‘Cats drop to 3-2 in play against their Big Sky opponents, while the Bobcats pull ahead to 5-1, sitting in second place in the conference.
Despite what their 8-10 record says, Saturday’s game was only a bump in the road in what has become an impressive season for the Wildcats. This offense has run a bit cold, averaging 57 points in their last four games, but they will return home and have the chance to get back on the right track.
Team Leaders
Dillon Jones and Steven Verplancken Jr. pulled the weight for this offense with their 29 combined points. They shot well on the night, Verplancken Jr. hitting 7-12 from the field, including 2-4 from beyond the arch; Jones hitting 5-10, including 1-2 from deep.
Unfortunately, it was a cold night for much of this Wildcat offense. Usual reliable scorers Junior Ballard, KJ Cunningham, and Alex Tew combined a 0-12 shooting and two total points. Dyson Koehler and Daniel Rouzan stepped up their games though, posting seven points each.
The Bobcat duo in RaeQuan Battle and Jubrile Belo went toe-to-toe with that of the ‘Cats, mirroring their 29 combined points. Belo followed through with a double-double, pairing 12 rebounds with his performance. Darius Brown II was an efficient third option on the night with his nine points, while Caleb Fuller and Robert Ford III rounded out the team with eight points each.
Shaky End to Half
The final three minutes of the first half were detrimental to this Wildcat effort. With 3:23 left, Weber State was within striking distance, only down six points in the conference duel. The Bobcats would go on a 14-0 run before heading to the locker room. A late effort wouldn’t be enough, the Wildcats outscoring the Bobcats 33-28 in the second half so that halftime collapse proved to be a decisive part of the defeat.
Losing Battle
The Wildcats knew coming into this game that it would be no walk in the park. The Bobcats have outperformed Weber State in every significant statistical category coming into Saturday’s battle, and that trend continued in the duel. The Wildcats lost the rebounding battle 31-28 and lost the turnover battle 16-10. These mistakes paired with the inefficient scoring from three (25%) were costly for the ‘Cats.
What’s to Come
Weber State will return home to the Dee Events Center to take on the Portland State Vikings in a toss-up game Thursday.
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| Weber State Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | MIN |
| Steven Verplancken Jr., G | 16 | 3 | 0 | 7-12 | 2-4 | 33 |
| Dillon Jones, F | 13 | 9 | 3 | 5-10 | 1-2 | 37 |
| Dyson Koehler, F | 7 | 5 | 0 | 3-5 | 1-2 | 24 |
| Alex Tex, C | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 22 |
| KJ Cunningham, G | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-4 | 0-2 | 20 |
| Bench | ||||||
| Daniel Rouzan, F | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 9 |
| Zahir Porter, G | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 15 |
| Junior Ballard, G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0-7 | 0-5 | 27 |
| Handje Tamba, C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 9 |
| Louie Jordan, F | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 4 |
| Team Total | 52 | 28 | 4 | 19-45 | 4-16 |
| Montana State Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | MIN |
| Jubrile Belo, F | 17 | 12 | 3 | 5-6 | 0-0 | 33 |
| RaeQuan Battle, G | 12 | 2 | 0 | 5-13 | 1-4 | 32 |
| Darius Brown II, G | 9 | 7 | 8 | 3-4 | 1-2 | 36 |
| Caleb Fuller, G | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2-5 | 2-3 | 22 |
| Tyler Patterson, G | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0-7 | 0-7 | 24 |
| Bench | ||||||
| Robert Ford III, G | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2-4 | 2-3 | 20 |
| Great Osobor, F | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 14 |
| Sam Lecholat, F | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 8 |
| Nick Gazelas, G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 8 |
| Luca Colceag, F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 |
| Alex Germer, F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 |
| Jed Miller, G | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 |
| Team Total | 67 | 31 | 13 | 22-50 | 7-21 |