Davis' emergence has given Wildcats a boost

OGDEN — Thanks to the hot hand of Daviin Davis, Weber State snapped out of an offensive funk and earned a much-needed victory in its Big Sky home opener on Thursday.

Now the Wildcats hope to keep that nice boost in confidence and momentum rolling as they host Eastern Washington tonight at 7 p.m.

"He's been playing well but a lot of it is attributed to he's been working harder the last 2 1/2 weeks, everyday before and after practice," WSU coach Randy Rahe said of Davis, who scored a career-best 23 points in Thursday's win. "Just that mentality of getting in the gym makes you play better."

Davis spent much of the preseason coming off the bench but appears to have secured a starting position with his athleticism and hustle in recent games. That means junior Juan Pablo Silveira has become the bench player and Rahe isn't necessarily done fiddling with the starting lineup as he tries to find the best combination of players.

"We're still searching for the right chemistry, even though it is conference season," Rahe said.

Still, shooting better than 50 percent and holding the Big Sky leading offense to well below its season average in points bodes well for the Wildcats, who now welcome a familiar face back to the Dee Events Center.

Kirk Earlywine, who spent years at WSU as an assistant to former coach Joe Cravens, is the new head coach at Eastern Washington.

"This will be an emotional game for coach Earlywine," Rahe said. "I felt the same way when we played at Utah and Utah State last season. He's done a great job of getting his team to play hard and play with intensity on each possession."

The Eagles are struggling a bit this year, with a new coach and the loss of NBA lottery pick Rodney Stuckey. EWU also scheduled several tough games, including Washington State, Washington, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico and Virginia Tech.

Still, EWU comes into the game with a 7-11 record and a pair of Big Sky wins. The Eagles did, however, drop a 58-56 contest at Idaho State on Thursday.

"They only have nine bodies to work with, but they have all been making contributions," Rahe said. "They have spread the wealth on offense, which makes them hard to guard."

After this homestand, WSU goes back on the road to face Montana State and Montana.

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Wildcats on the air

Weber State (6-8, 1-1 Big Sky) vs. E. Washington (7-11, 2-2)

Tonight, 7 p.m.; Dee Events Center

TV: none Radio: 1430 AM

GAME NOTES: The Wildcats evened their Big Sky record with a 73-68 win over Portland State on Thursday. Junior forward Daviin Davis has emerged as the leading scorer in conference games at 13.5 ppg and is hitting 58.3 percent of his shots. Former WSU assistant coach Kirk Earlywine is the first-year head coach at EWU. The Eagles have lost 3-of-4 games and are led by Kellen Williams 13 ppg and 8.8 rpg.

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E-mail: jeborn@desnews.com