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Weber basketball: Weber needs a victory to gain first-round bye

Published: Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008 12:23 a.m. MST

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FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The stakes are high.

A loss at Northern Arizona tonight means Weber State will not get a first-round bye in the Big Sky men's basketball tournament, and the Wildcats would have to win three postseason games to become conference champs.

A win, on the other hand, will give WSU a virtual lock on second place and keep alive an extremely slim chance to host the conference tournament.

Either way, Wildcats coach Randy Rahe is just happy his team played two solid basketball games last week to gain some momentum heading into this crucial weekend on the road.

"We fought back from a couple of tough situations last week," Rahe said.

The Lumberjacks, who beat WSU 69-56 in Ogden earlier this year, and Wildcats enter the game with identical 9-5 Big Sky records, and NAU will clinch second place with another win over the 'Cats.

NAU, as usual, is one of the best shooting teams in the conference and has an offense that averages 73.5 points per game.

Senior forward Kyle Landry and junior guard Josh Wilson are one of the best inside-outside tandems in the league, averaging a combined 29.5 points, while Wilson leads the league in assists at 5.9.

"Kyle Landry and Josh Wilson could both well be first team all-league players this season. Landry and (WSU's) Arturas Valeika are similar players. They can both score, rebound and defend," Rahe said. "Wilson has great court vision and knows how and when to get the ball to the right player. But he's also a dangerous scorer as well, so you really have to keep him located at all times."

Valeika has turned his game around after struggling a few weeks ago.

The Big Sky's leading rebounder with 9.8 per game, Valeika had 36 boards in two games last week and has recently boosted his scoring average to 10.2 points per game. He was named the conference co-player of the week.

But Valeika must stay out of foul trouble, something that limited him to 11 minutes and just two points when WSU and NAU first met.

"Obviously Arturas had a monster week on the boards and we saw his old scoring self return. Daviin Davis continues to improve and play more within himself," Rahe said. "Probably the player that really came through was Brody Van Brocklin. He's had three really good games in a row." -->

Following tonight's game, Weber State closes out its regular season on Monday with a trip to Sacramento State.

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