Weber State basketball: Lillard's slick shooting lifts Wildcats over EWU

OGDEN — It only took one shot to convince Damian Lillard good things were heading his way.

Lillard stepped back and drained a 3-pointer on his initial shot attempt against Eastern Washington. For him, it was a sign that a week's worth of extra jumpers, layups and free throws were going to produce the rhythm he desired to create against the Eagles.

"It started when I made my first shot," Lillard said. "Usually when you make your first shot, you have a good night."

Lillard's night went beyond good. It was almost perfect.

The sophomore exploded for a career-high 36 points to help Weber State rout Eastern Washington 89-67 at the Dee Events Center on Saturday night. He played almost flawlessly on the offensive end of things, going 10-of-11 from the field and 10-of-11 from the free-throw line.

It helped the Wildcats (13-7, 7-1) keep on track in their quest to wrap up yet another Big Sky championship.

"When you're in the gym and you're getting in extra shots, you want the work to come back and help you out," Lillard said. "As much as I like to get in extra jumpers, I expect to make jumpers in a game and I made them tonight."

From the opening tip, Eastern Washington (6-15, 2-6) could not figure out how to effectively contain Lillard.

He scored a pair of 3-pointers, converted a traditional three-point play and hit two free throws to help Weber State claim a 15-3 lead when the game was just four minutes old.

The Wildcats eventually built up a 16-point lead, going ahead 31-15 on Kyle Bullinger's no-look layup halfway through the first half. The Eagles managed to make it briefly interesting after mounting a 15-3 rally. A dunk by Jeffery Forbes capped the spurt and left Weber State holding onto a 34-30 lead with 4:24 left before halftime.

Lillard took it upon himself to squash Eastern Washington's comeback hopes. He scored 12 straight points in just over two minutes to get the Wildcats rolling again.

First, Lillard hit four straight free throws to give Weber State some breathing room. Then, after Dean Glen answered with a jumper to make it 38-32, Lillard drove in for a layup and drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to push the Wildcats' lead to 46-32 with 2:16 remaining in the first half.