Weber State basketball: 'Cats run past Sac. State

OGDEN — Pit a team that clinched a share of its conference championship with three games to play against one of the worst teams in the nation, and the result will usually be fairly predictable.

The expected mismatch held to form on Saturday night, as Weber State rolled to a 97-61 win over Sacramento State in front of 6,255 fans at the Dee Events Center. It was Weber State's 11th consecutive victory, and the game closed out the Hornets' dismal season. Sacramento State finished the year 1-17 in the Big Sky and 2-27 overall.

The win improved the Wildcats' overall record to 20-8. It's the second time in three seasons at Weber State that coach Randy Rahe has won 20 games.

It took the Wildcats less than half of the first half to assert their dominance. After toying around with the Hornets for about four minutes, Weber State put the game away with a 24-2 run. Center Steve Panos made a couple of foul shots to start the spurt, which lasted a little more than six minutes and had the Wildcats' fans charged up.

The Wildcats shot a sizzling 67 percent from the field in the first half and 61 percent in the game. It was the best Weber State has shot all season.

"We came out and tried to play as hard as we could like it was any other game," said guard Nick Hansen, who led the Wildcats with 17 points and five 3-pointers. In this kind of league you can't really take a break because you might get upset. I'm really happy with how we came out and played tonight."

So was Rahe, who said he hardly worried about how intense his team would play with nothing on the line. The Wildcats clinched the outright Big Sky championship when they beat Northern Arizona on Thursday.

"I trust these guys," Rahe. "I knew they'd be ready to play tonight. These kids love to play. If we didn't play tonight, I wouldn't be surprised to see them playing 5-on-5 at the rec center. They don't care what the situation is. They just love to play."

It was senior night for probable Big Sky Player of the Year Kellen McCoy and key contributor Daviin "D-Will" Davis. The two players were honored before the game, but it wasn't their final contest in the purple palace because the Wildcats will host the Big Sky postseason tournament on March 10-11.

McCoy and Davis left the game with 6:41 remaining to a standing ovation. McCoy was briefly held on fans' shoulders after the game as the Wildcats' faithful chanted "MVP." McCoy had 16 points, three steals and three assists. Davis had seven points, five blocks and four assists while making his first start since early in the season.