Weber State basketball: Wildcats top Southern Utah in physical, in-state affair

With the improved play of Frank Otis and Joel Bolomboy along with the constant threat of Kyle Tresnak in the paint, SUU’s bigs were reluctant of venturing to the perimeter to challenge WSU’s shooters. On multiple occasions, the T-Birds never extended a defender off ball screens.

“Tres is a good player so we know that teams are going to drop to him in the paint, so that opens up (shots) for the guards,” Richardson said. “We just had to be ready on the top of the key to knock it down.”

The uncontested looks allowed the 'Cats to net a season-high 11 3-pointers.

“A little bit,” Rahe said when asked if he was surprised that SUU continued to camp in the paint. “We’ve faced a lot of teams that when we run that action the big guys will fire out but they decided they weren’t going to go and I think that gave us a lot of open looks.”

In the second half, Weber State challenged SUU’s role players to beat them. The T-Birds' top scorers — Stevenett, a former Davis High hoopster, and Heuir — were the only players able to eclipse double-digit scoring figures with 24 and 18 points, respectively. The next-highest total was six points.

WSU began the second half on a 17-7 run, including a 7-0 burst in one minute and 18 seconds, and eventually saw its lead blossom to as many as 24 with six minutes remaining. The 'Cats host Idaho State on Monday, the first of three games in six days.

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