OGDEN,
Utah, Dec. 12 - Davis Baker scored 27 points but Southern Utah shot just 36.8
percent from the floor, the Thunderbirds' second-worst shooting night of the
season Saturday night, as Weber State took an 84-66 non-conference win over the
Thunderbirds.
Weber
State, on the other hand, shot 48.1 percent from the floor, tying the
secopnd-best performance by an SUU opponent this season.
"They
came out and shot the ball really well in the first half, but the real
difference in this game was our inability to pass and catch the basketball,"
SUU Coach Roger Reid said. "We wound up relatively even in the turnovers
category (SUU had 19 to 16 for WSU), but the difference was we turned it over
early in the game and let them get momentum while their turnovers came in the
second half, and with a 20-point lead those turnovers don't have as big an
effect."
The
Thunderbirds got off to a slow start, hitting just three of their first 12
shots, to fall behind 24-10 with 10:00 to play in the first half. The Wildcats
went on to push their advantage as
high as 36-15 with 5:54 to play before the Thunderbirds rallied, outscoring WSU
16-12 through the end of the half to pull within 48-31 at the half.
The
Wildcats took the early initiative in the second half and built their lead back
to 58-37 at the 15:32 mark on a Franklin Session jumper but the Thunderbirds
rallied. SUU out-scored the Wildcats 16-8 to pull back within 66-53 on a Matt Hodgson 3-point play with 8:56 to go and had an opportunity to cut further into
the lead but turned the ball over and Nick Hansen buried a three from the right
wing to stop the run and push the WSU lead back to 16.
Weber
State put the game away in the next four minutes, holding SUU without a point
until Davis Baker scored a pair of free throws at the 4:37 mark. In the
meantime, the Wildcats ran off seven straight points to push their lead to
76-54.
Steve
Panos led five players in double-figures to lead Weber State, with Hansen and
Session each finishing with 18.
Jake Nielson was the only other Thunderbird to score in double figures, he finished
with 13 and a game-high seven rebounds.
-- SUU --
