That rebound ensured one of the most hard fought wins of the year for Weber State, a 59-57 victory over Idaho State that sent the 3,227 at the Dee Events Center home exhilarated and at the same time propelled the Wildcats into sole possession of first place in the Big Sky Conference.
It wasn't easy, either. Weber State won on Thursday night despite shooting 23 percent from the field in the second half. They were able to win without scoring a single basket in the final seven minutes and they were able to erase a 56-53 deficit in the final three minutes.
"We didn't shoot well, but we played great defense in the second half," junior guard Kellen McCoy said. "We were able to get some turnovers and we did a good job of getting the 50-50 balls."
The victory gives the Wildcats a 6-2 league record, good for first place by a half-game over Portland State. Northern Arizona began the night on top of the league, but they blew a 10 point second half lead in losing at Northern Colorado.
Weber State took advantage of the opening by playing clutch basketball in the final minute. Valeika, a 6-9 senior center, gave the Wildcats a 58-57 lead they would never relinquish by knocking down two foul shots with 38 seconds remaining. After Bengals guard Amorrow Morgan traveled on Idaho State's ensuing possession, McCoy hit a free throw for a 59-57 advantage that would become the final score.
"It was like slugging rats out there," Wildcats head coach Randy Rahe said. "It was a grind to get this game. They did a really good job with their zone defense. We attacked it well early, but we had a hard time getting a good look down the stretch."
Because Weber State was so ineffective against the Bengals 2-3 zone, Idaho State began to eat away at a 38-28 deficit. A 9-0 run midway through the second half, highlighted by Austin Kilpatrick's three-pointer, enabled the Bengals to tie the game at 48 with eight minutes remaining. From there, the game evolved into an intense halfcourt contest where each shot, and each rebound was contested. And as they have been all season, the Wildcats proved to be the tougher team when it counted.
"We knew we had to keep playing hard," McCoy said. "We knew it was going to be a close game because they're a good team. But we really like close games because we play well down the stretch."
Valeika, who played limited minutes because of foul trouble in last Friday's loss to NAU, led the way for Weber State with 13 points and 13 rebounds. McCoy, who's energy in the first half turned things around for the Wildcats, scored 12.
tjones@sltrib.com
WSU 59, Idaho State 57
FG FT Reb
Idaho State Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts
Morgan 30 2-6 1-2 1-2 5 4 5
Kinghorn 12 3-4 0-0 1-6 0 2 7
Steijn 29 2-6 2-3 0-4 1 4 6
Carson 25 4-7 0-0 1-1 2 4 9
Stucki 40 4-8 3-5 1-3 4 3 12
Monroe 26 3-7 0-0 2-8 0 5 6
Kilpatrick 30 1-2 1-2 1-3 3 2 10
Tatum 5 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 2
O'Brien 3 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0
Totals 200 22-47 7-12 9-31 15 25 57
Percentages: FG.468, FT.583. Three-Point Goals: 6-15, .400 (Kinghorn, Carson, Stucki, Kilpatrick 3). Team Rebounds 0. Turnovers: 15 (Morgan 4, Kilpatrick 2, Stucki 2, Carson 2, Steijn 2, Kinghorn, O 'Brien, Monroe). Blocked Shots: 2 (Kilpatrick, Stucki). Steals: 6 (Kilpatrick 3, Stucki 3). Technical Fouls: None.
FG FT Reb
Weber State Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts
Valeika 38 4-8 4-4 5-13 1 1 13
Davis 25 1-7 3-4 1-4 6 2 5
Panos 12 0-3 0-0 0-1 0 3 0
Harris 34 3-8 5-5 0-0 1 2 11
Van Brocklin 23 2-3 2-2 0-2 0 0 8
Johnson 2 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
McCoy 27 3-6 5-10 0-3 1 2 12
Billings 10 0-2 0-0 0-1 0 3 0
Silveira 11 1-1 1-1 0-0 2 2 3
Morris 18 2-5 3-3 1-4 0 2 7
Totals 200 16-43 23-29 8-29 11 17 59
Percentages: FG .372, FT .793. Three-Point Goals: 4-11, .364 (Van Brocklin 2, McCoy, Valeika). Team Rebounds: 3. Turnovers: 13 (Davis 3, Harris 3, Silveira 2, Morris, McCoy, Van Brocklin, Panos, Valeika). Blocked Shots: 4 (Davis 3, Valeika). Steals: 6 (McCoy 3, Van Brocklin, Davis, Valeika). Technical Fouls: None.
Idaho State 26 31 - 57
Weber State 33 26 - 59
A - 3,227. Officials: Randy Burkhart, Michael Greenstein, Eric Curry.
