Weber State basketball: Wildcats break through vs. 49ers

OGDEN — All is now well in Wildcat Country.

Following four losses to Division I teams, three of which featured second-half meltdowns, Weber State got on track with a 72-63 win over Long Beach State in front of 3,997 fans at the Dee Events Center on Thursday night.

The Wildcats looked nothing like the team that lost to Long Beach State in the first meeting between the two teams, and in defeats to Utah State and BYU. This time, Weber State played together, came out strong after halftime and responded when there was adversity.

"We didn't like the feeling of just coming out and getting beat like that," said point guard Damian Lillard. "We came back, had a few tough practices, and got our toughness back."

Perhaps the biggest reason for Weber State's dramatic turnaround effort was the play of Lillard, the team's 18-year-old floor general. In just his second start, Lillard scored 15 points, dished five assists and grabbed five rebounds. He added two steals while committing just two turnovers in 34 minutes of play.

"He played really well tonight," said Weber State forward Kyle Bullinger. "We expected him to play well. He delivered the ball well, he shot the ball well. If we can get contributions from him like that and spread the ball around like we did tonight, we're going to be tough to guard."

That was the case for the entire second half, which had been a thorn in the Wildcats' side so far this season. Weber State put its past post-halftime struggles in the past by coming out of its locker room with a purpose after the break.

The Wildcats, who trailed almost the entire first half, took the lead for good when Kellen McCoy made a layup 40 seconds into the second half. From there, Weber State built a big lead. Lillard assisted on 3-pointers by Bullinger and Nick Hansen on back-to-back possessions that gave the Wildcats a 40-31 advantage.

Hansen made another 3-pointer and Lillard sank one from 3-point range to put the Wildcats up 46-33 with 13:02 left in the game.

Coach Randy Rahe breathed a big sigh of relief after his players came out with some fire and energy in the second half.

"I was really happy to see it," Rahe said. "It was something we had been struggling with. The kids wanted to come out and wanted to play hard. It was all about stops and rebounds. It was good to get the second half started that way. We needed that."

Following his team's loss to BYU last week, Rahe said he thought it would be a turning point for the Wildcats. He did his part to make sure the season turned in the right way for his team, as he put his players through three days of two-a-day practice sessions last week. The players tirelessly worked on their defense and were put in situations to compete with each other.

The results were obvious against the 49ers, as the Wildcats played tough and played together.

"The team grew a lot in the last week with some of the stuff we had to go through," Bullinger said. "It was because of those practices and stuff we were able to come together as a group and get the job done tonight."

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