by Zachary Knecht
Featured Image: Photo by Weber State Athletics
Montana State Weber State Men’s Recap
The Weber State Wildcats get their revenge over the Montana State Bobcats in a 73-63 home victory. Just as they have done all year, the ‘Cats found a way to bounce back from an ugly loss with a signature performance against the conference’s second-ranked team.
The win gets the Wildcats over .500 at 13-12, bouncing back and forth from the even mark in their last few contests, staying in third in the Big Sky at 8-4. The Bobcats dropped to 17-9 on the year, remaining in second in the conference with a 10-3 record against their Big Sky opponents.
Game Lines
WEB: +4.0
Over: 129.5
Team Leaders
Dillon Jones and Steven Verplancken Jr. stepped up as the stars of this blossoming team to fend off their daunting conference foe. Jones led the team in points and rebounds with his 18/12 line, dishing out four assists and snagging two steals as well. He shot an even 50% on his 16 attempts from the field, doing everything he needed to will his team to another W.
Verplancken Jr. had a well-timed bounce-back game, securing 17 points on the night on seven of nine shooting from the field, including banking in three of his five attempts from the three-point line. Though the star guard has struggled recently, this performance could not have been at a better point for the ‘Cats.
Zahir Porter also had himself a night from off the bench. His 13 points were crucial to the Wildcats’ effort against Montana State.
For the Bobcats, RaeQuan Battle had another solid scoring night, hitting five of his 12 shots from the field, including an efficient four of six from three. The performance was good for 14 points on the night, his team falling short of sweeping the Wildcats in the regular season.
Montana State’s point leader came off the bench Thursday to the tune of Great Osobor’s 15 points. Though he turned the ball six times in the contest, he shot well, sinking six of his nine attempts from the field. His efforts kept the Bobcats in contention, but they weren’t enough in the end.
Sweet Revenge
A second-half offensive masterclass gave the Wildcats everything they needed to leave with the win over the Bobcats. After a 39-34 halftime deficit, the ‘Cats took over with a 39-point second half, scoring 73 on the conference’s best defensive team.
Weber State took almost every significant statistical category Thursday. They shot better from the field (56.5% WEB, 51.0% MTST) and from three (41.2% WEB, 38.9%), won the rebounding battle (26 WEB, 24 MTST), and turned the ball over less (12 WEB, 15 MTST). In a season where they are still vying for a higher seed, the Wildcats took care of business – handily – against one of the top threats to the Big Sky title.
What’s to Come
The Wildcats stay home to take on the Montana Grizzlies in another battle against one of the conference’s more competitive teams.
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| Weber State Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | MIN |
| Dillon Jones, F | 18 | 12 | 4 | 8-16 | 0-3 | 39 |
| Steven Verplancken Jr., G | 17 | 3 | 1 | 7-9 | 3-5 | 33 |
| KJ Cunningham, G | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2-5 | 1-4 | 17 |
| Dyson Koehler, F | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 25 |
| Alex Tew, C | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 17 |
| Bench | ||||||
| Zahir Porter, G | 13 | 1 | 2 | 4-6 | 2-2 | 23 |
| Handje Tamba, C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 22 |
| Junior Ballard, G | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 23 |
| Daniel Rouzan, F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 |
| Team Total | 73 | 26 | 10 | 26-46 | 7-17 |
| Montana State Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | MIN |
| RaeQuan Battle, G | 14 | 3 | 1 | 5-12 | 4-6 | 31 |
| Caleb Fuller, G | 10 | 4 | 4 | 5-9 | 0-2 | 31 |
| Jubrile Belo, F | 8 | 5 | 2 | 4-4 | 0-0 | 31 |
| Tyler Patterson, G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2-3 | 2-3 | 28 |
| Darius Brown II, G | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2-6 | 0-1 | 32 |
| Bench | ||||||
| Great Osobor, F | 15 | 4 | 1 | 6-9 | 0-0 | 18 |
| Robert Ford III, G | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1-4 | 1-4 | 15 |
| Sam Lecholat, F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Jed Miller, G | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Nick Gazelas, G | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 14 |
| Team Total | 63 | 24 | 15 | 25-49 | 7-18 |