This game for the Wildcats was about reversing the disturbing trend of starting games slowly and finding themselves down a hefty margin early, and preventing the need to rally back in a playoff atmosphere.
And reversing the trend is exactly what Weber State accomplished.
By starting the contest off with a 13-4 run, the Wildcats defeated the Bobcats 65-49 before 2,518 at the Dee Events Center.
The win allows Weber State to advance to Tuesday's semifinal in Portland, where they will face No. 2 Northern Arizona, a team they've lost to twice in the regular season.
"It seems like every game we've been finding ourselves down early in games," Wildcats senior shooting guard Brody Van Brocklin said. "It's about time that we were the ones to start the game fast. We came out tonight, we had great focus and we jumped out in front and never looked back."
In doing so, Weber State never trailed. The game was tied only twice, at 2-2 and 4-4. Besides those two deadlocks, the Wildcats dominated like the defending Big Sky champions they are.
The game was broken open with a 26-3 run midway through the first half.
The spurt caused Montana State, a team Weber State coach Randy Rahe said causes problems with its scoring, to become tentative, not looking like the free-wheeling club it's been over the bulk of the season.
"You could look into their eyes," Wildcats forward Arturas Valeika said. "They really didn't know if they could score. We came out, forced some turnovers, pushed the ball in transition and got some easy scores."
The Bobcats, behind senior guard Carlos Taylor, made a run, cutting what had been a 30-7 deficit to a 36-21 lead for Weber State. But 40-27 with 16 minutes remaining was as close as Montana State would get, as a 5-0 run capped by two Daviin Davis free throws gave the Wildcats a 45-27 advantage and effectively put things out of reach.
Valeika, a first team all-conference selection, led Weber State, scoring 11 points and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds. Van Brocklin played his role of sniper to perfection on his way to 10 points.
But it was about more than just those two. Dezmon Harris and Kellen McCoy flawlessly ran the offense, with Harris scoring nine points and handing out four assists.
Davis scored the first basket of the game with a leaning two-handed dunk off a steal that seemed to ignite things for the Wildcats.
In fact, it could be argued that this was Weber State's best all-around performance in over a month.
"This was a great game for us," Valeika said. "We were ready to play tonight."
tjones@sltrib.com
www.sltrib.com/sports
First round
Saturday
* No. 3 Weber State 65, No. 6 Montana State 49
* No. 4 Idaho State 67, No. 5 Montana 65
Semifinals
Tuesday in Portland, Ore.
* No. 2 Northern Arizona vs. No. 3 Weber State, 6:30 p.m.
* No. 1 Portland State vs. No. 4 Idaho State, 9 p.m.
Championship
Wednesday in Portland, Ore.
* Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
* Weber State advances to the Big Sky semifinals on Tuesday against Northern Arizona.
* The Wildcats blow the game open with a 26-3 run midway through the first half.
* The Wildcats benefit from scoring 22 points off the bench.
