Weber State basketball: Wildcats beginning new turn

After his Wildcats were embarrassed in a 30-point loss to BYU last week, Weber State men's basketball coach Randy Rahe said the defeat was a turning point for his program.

He'll start finding out which way it turns tonight.

The Wildcats host Long Beach State at the Dee Events Center at 6:05 p.m. in a rematch of a game played earlier this season. Weber State's 73-69 loss to the 49ers was the start of a troubling trend for the Wildcats, who blew a 23-point second-half lead in that game and eventually lost in overtime.

Since then, Weber State has been blown off the court in the second half in losses to Utah State and BYU. The team's toughness and ability to handle adversity has been questioned by others following those defeats, and forward Kyle Bullinger said the Wildcats need to quickly figure out how to play a full game following the BYU loss.

With a team that features two seniors, four total returning lettermen, and is now down a player, the loss to the 49ers seemed to have sent the young and inexperienced Wildcats heading the wrong way this season.

"It didn't help us," Rahe said. "That was a hard one to take. It hurt their confidence and shook them, but it was tough on everybody. We talked about how you can't do anything about it now. You can either move forward or continue to waddle in it."

Rahe put his team through some tough, grueling and early morning workouts since the BYU loss. The Wildcats had a couple of 6 a.m. practices before taking some days off to prepare for finals. Rahe is happy with how his players have responded since losing to the Cougars.

"The kids worked hard," Rahe said. "We put them through some tough things. It looked like they came out and showed some toughness. That stuff doesn't assure you of winning, but if you can compete and show some toughness, it gives you a chance to do so."

Weber State enters tonight's game with 11 players on its roster. Guard Marcus Carson, who had been playing close to 18 minutes per game, informed Rahe he wouldn't be returning to school for the spring semester. Carson had also played at Southern Utah and at Paris Junior College in Texas. He was out from April until August with a foot injury, and hadn't produced much during his playing opportunities in six games with the Wildcats.

"He said he lost his love for playing basketball and that he had felt that way for the last six or seven months," Rahe said. "He's a good kid. He just wasn't happy and wanted to move on to something else."

---

E-mail: aaragon@desnews.com