Weber State basketball: Wildcats rally past Colorado Christian, 75-65

OGDEN — Nick Hansen scored 22 points, hitting 6-11 from three-point range, leading Weber State to a hard- fought 75-65 exhibition game win over Colorado Christian University on Saturday night in the Dee Events Center.

The CCU Cougars used a tough pressure defense to take the Wildcats out of their comfort zone in the first half, The Wildcats were just 12-31 from the field — 7-17 from the beyond the three-point arc — and found themselves behind 32-21 at half time. CCU's Jobi Wall, a 6-7 shooting guard, used his height advantage to shoot over the Wildcats, hitting four three pointers in the first half.

With just over 15:36 remaining in the game, Weber State took a 37-6 lead on Damian Lillard's long three-pointer, which ignited a 17-5 Wildcat scoring run. Weber State never trailed again.

"This was a very good game for us to experience," said WSU coach Randy Rahe. "(Colorado Christians) was 21-13 last year and has almost everyone back. Their big guy in the middle give us some good looks on both ends and he was a load. They played tremendous defense, much like we will see next Friday from Utah State.

"It was a wake-up call for us for sure, but I was pleased with the way they responded especially in the second half."

The Wildcats, who made 19-26 three-pointers in last Monday's 110-58 exhibition game win over Colorado-Colorado Springs, managed just 9-23 (.391) from long range.

The Wildcats won the game at the free-throw line, hitting 22 of 30 attempts — including 16 of 23 in the second half. It was enough to overcome a three-point deficit in scoring from the field.

Women

SLCC 59, PIMA COLLEGE 50: At Cedar City, Salt Lake Community College tallied another win, defeating Pima College 59-50.

Haley Holmstead finished with 19 points to lead the Bruin scoring attack, and Kelsey Sparkman cleaned up on the boards with 13 rebounds.

Point guard Dayna Burgess added six points, four steals and three assists. Salt Lake's tough defense held Pima to four of 22 on three point attempts.

SLCC (2-1) heads to Twin Falls on Nov. 13 for the College of Southern Idaho Tournament, where they will face Midland College and Central Arizona.