OGDEN -- Is it a clash between Wildcats thunder and Grizzly lightning for Big Sky supremacy? The conference's two longest winning streaks on a collision course in a first-place battle between unbeatens?
Weber State coach Randy Rahe sees tonight's 7 p.m. showdown with Montana at the Dee Events Center in its simplest element.
"It's a really good early conference season game," Rahe said. "That's what it is."
After Thursday's 63-49 victory over Montana State, the Wildcats are riding a seven-game winning streak. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies were hammering Northern Arizona, 78-53, for their sixth consecutive victory.
"Obviously Montana's really good," Rahe said. "They've got a great team, four starters back, they're playing at a very high level right now, but basically what it means is it's going to be a good matchup of what we think are two pretty good teams early in the conference season."
Tonight is Round 1 between a Weber State team picked in preseason polls to win the Big Sky and a Montana team picked second and a chance to get an early advantage in the fight to host the conference tournament in March.
Weber State ground out a win Thursday despite cold shooting, making just 33 percent from the field, but holding the Bobcats to 33.9 percent and the lowest scoring total of any opponent this season. The Wildcats shot 28.6 percent in the first half.
Rahe gave Montana State credit but said he didn't like his team's mindset at the start.
"Sometimes it's hard in the middle of the game to get it back, but I was really proud of our kids in the second half because they got that mindset going, they got that toughness back and a little bit of focus and it showed," Rahe said.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies were red-hot in cutting down the Lumberjacks, shooting 60.7 percent in the first half and 58.9 percent in the game.
Junior guard Scott Bamforth has averaged 20 ppg in five games since Big Sky play began. The Wildcats haven't put two great halves together yet in league play and need to do that tonight against Montana, he said.
"It's a good early conference test for us," Bamforth said. "They're a really good team, they play hard and we've got to come ready."
Weber State guard Damian Lillard is tops in the nation in scoring at 25.8 points per game and will pass Wildcats legend Willie Sojourner for fourth place on the school's all-time scoring list with his next basket.
Senior forward Kyle Bullinger played 10 minutes Thursday in his first action in over a month and did not score. The 6-foot-6 All-Big Sky first-teamer as a junior went down with a painful dislocated elbow Dec. 3.
"Bull got out there and it's going to take him some time to get some rhythm, to get real comfortable out there, but it was good to at least get him started," Rahe said.
The Wildcats also hope to have 6-foot-6 junior forward Frank "Mook" Otis (knee injury) back to provide more size and rebounding.
Montana junior point guard Will Cherry leads the Big Sky in steals per game (2.3 spg) and is sixth in scoring at 14.5 points per game.
* WSU NOTE: All public safety officials with a valid ID will receive up to four complimentary tickets to tonight's game. Present a valid ID at the ticket office.
Comments