Weber State Wildcats respond with 2nd-half surge for win

OGDEN — It was only the second time this season that Weber State led at halftime, but the Wildcats were hardly happy.

In the first 20 minutes of their Big Sky game against Montana State on Thursday afternoon, the Wildcats settled for 3-pointers and struggled to stop the Bobcats. Montana State shot 57 percent and outrebounded the Wildcats by five.

Some reminders about defensive intensity and energy at halftime helped get Weber State on track, and the Wildcats ran to a 75-62 win over Montana State. Weber State improved to 2-0 in the Big Sky and 8-6 overall.

"A lot of stuff (was said at halftime)," said Weber State center Steve Panos. "A lot of stuff I can't say right now. It got us fired up and everything."

Whatever was said by the Weber State coaches worked. The Wildcats held their nemesis Bobcats without a field goal for close to a nine-minute stretch in the second half. Montana missed 11 of its first 12 shots in the second half and shot 29 percent after halftime.

"The second half we picked it up," said Weber State forward Kyle Bullinger, who scored a team-high 20 points and had nine rebounds. "Our intensity wasn't there in the first half. We heard about it at halftime and we made the adjustments in the second half. I thought that was a big part of our success."

The Wildcats built a seven-point lead at 47-40 when they held the Bobcats without a field goal for 8 minutes and 54 seconds. Montana State got within two at 50-48, but Bullinger converted a three-point play to give Weber State some breathing room. The play sparked an 8-2 mini-run, and the Wildcats weren't threatened the rest of the way.

Weber State led 37-36 at halftime mainly because it was able to drain six 3-pointers. The Wildcats struggled to penetrate against Montana State, and the Bobcats efficiently ran their offense against what was a tentative Weber State defense.

"I thought we were sluggish," Weber State coach Randy Rahe said of his team's play in the first half. "I thought that we didn't fight hard enough. You could tell. They shot (57) percent and we were down five in rebounding. All we've done for three days is work on defense and rebounding so it was kind of disheartening. The kids knew it and we talked about it at halftime at no uncertain teams. I thought they came out with new energy and a new mind-set."

The Wildcats' stellar defensive effort in the second half was needed because they had a hard time getting their offense going after the break. Montana State basically double-teamed star point guard Damian Lillard throughout the game. The Wildcats, who missed 13 of their first 16 shots in the second half, eventually adjusted and got nice contributions from Bullinger and Panos (14 points).