by Zachary Knecht
Featured Image: Photo by Weber State Athletics
Eastern Washington Weber State Recap
The Weber State Wildcats fall short to the Eastern Washington Eagles in an 89-82 home shootout. Despite the unfortunate result, this was an entertaining battle against two of the conference’s top teams and a possible preview of what’s to come.
The Wildcats (15-14) couldn’t find a way to end the flawless Eagles but are locked into the third seed in the Big Sky (10-6) unless they lose out and Montana wins out. Eastern Washington (22-7) is officially locked into the top seed of the conference (16-0) but looks to finish perfect as the Big Sky tournament looms.
Game Lines
EWU +2
Over 141
Team Leaders
The Wildcats had a variety of impressive offensive performers. Dillon Jones paved the way with his 21 points and nine rebounds. He has continued to show his ability to compete at any time, anywhere. The star forward added to his night with five assists and one steal. Jones shot an efficient six of 13 from the field but struggled with only one of five from three. He made the most of his nine trips to the free-throw line, hitting eight of his attempts.
Dyson Koehler also had himself a night, scoring 16 points with five rebounds and two assists. He was the team’s leader in shooting percentage, hitting seven of his 11 shots from the field, and helped his team keep it close against the juggernaut of Eastern Washington.
The Wildcats couldn’t slow down the Eagles’ offense, Casey Jones leading the way for Eastern Washington. He scored a game-high 25 points, adding six rebounds, one assist, and one steal to his line. Steele Venters and Angelo Allegri were a solid duo behind his performance, combining for 33 points, six rebounds, and nine assists to create opportunities for the rest of the roster.
Tipping Point
Overall, this was a pretty even matchup. It was back-and-forth early, with the ‘Cats jumping to a 43-41 lead at the half. The Eagles would storm back in the second half, though, putting an end to the hopes for Weber State to dethrone their perfect conference season.
The Wildcats performed well. They won the rebounding battle 33-30 and managed to play safe basketball, tying in turnovers with ten. Unfortunately, the tipping point for this team was in the shooting numbers. While they shot decently, hitting 45.8% from the field and 30.8% from three, the Eagles just couldn’t be stopped. Eastern Washington lit up Weber State’s defense with their 54.7% shooting but did the most damage from three, converting on 13 of their 23 attempts (56.5%). A usual reliable outside defending team, the Eagles single-handedly dropped the ‘Cats into the bottom half of three-point defenses. With the success they’ve had on either end of the floor, is anyone bound to stop Eastern Washington?
What’s to Come
The Wildcats close at their home season, hosting the Idaho Vandals Saturday night at the Dee Events Center.
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| Weber State Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | MIN |
| Dillon Jones, F | 21 | 9 | 5 | 6-13 | 1-5 | 37 |
| Dyson Koehler, F | 16 | 5 | 2 | 7-11 | 2-5 | 34 |
| Steven Verplancken Jr., G | 12 | 2 | 2 | 4-11 | 2-5 | 36 |
| Alex Tew, C | 8 | 8 | 2 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 23 |
| KJ Cunningham, G | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2-8 | 2-7 | 26 |
| Bench | ||||||
| Zahir Porter, G | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3-7 | 0-3 | 19 |
| Junior Ballard, G | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 12 |
| Handje Tamba, C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 13 |
| Team Total | 82 | 33 | 13 | 27-59 | 8-26 |
| Eastern Washington Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | MIN |
| Casey Jones, F | 25 | 6 | 1 | 7-12 | 3-7 | 30 |
| Steele Venters, G | 18 | 2 | 4 | 7-13 | 4-7 | 35 |
| Angelo Allegri, F | 15 | 4 | 5 | 4-7 | 3-4 | 33 |
| Tyreese Davis, G | 10 | 6 | 5 | 3-5 | 3-3 | 34 |
| Ethan Price, F | 8 | 3 | 4 | 3-4 | 0-1 | 24 |
| Bench | ||||||
| Cedric Coward, F | 7 | 6 | 0 | 3-7 | 0-1 | 17 |
| Dane Erikstrup, F | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 14 |
| Ellis Magnuson, G | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 4 |
| Deon Stroud, G | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 9 |
| Team Total | 89 | 30 | 20 | 29-53 | 13-23 |