SLIDESHOW: Weber STate vs Cincinnati Bearcats
CINCINNATI -- There was no luck for the Wildcats on Wednesday.
For the second straight year, Weber State celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a season-ending loss in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. This time it came at the hands of the Cincinnati Bearcats, who took a 76-62 win, but only after the Wildcats fought back from a huge deficit.
"I thought we fought like crazy, but it's what this team has done since the first day of practice," said WSU coach Randy Rahe. "I'm proud that we fought back and gave ourselves an opportunity, but again that's what this team has been about all year so it's not overly surprising."
The Wildcats (20-11) made a 14-2 run in the second half to cut a 20-point deficit to 56-48 with 8:03 left in the game, with Damian Lillard and Lindsey Hughey each scoring three points during the stretch. But the Bearcats outlasted WSU thanks to a nice run of their own.
"There was always a sense that we were still in the game," said Lillard, who led WSU with a game-high 26 points. "They made their run and we wanted to make our run and get back into the game."
Cincinnati (19-15), which moves on to face Dayton in the second round of the NIT, went on an 11-0 run during a 2:22 span to jump to a 74-55 lead with 2:31 left in the game.
During that stretch Rahe was called for a technical foul for yelling at an official after WSU's Steve Panos had his shot blocked under the basket, and a foul, which the WSU bench was yelling for, was not called.
WSU didn't attempt its first free throw of the game until 26:55 had gone by. The lack of free throws, along with Lillard's being the only Wildcat to score in double digits, didn't help WSU in its effort to stay with Cincinnati.
"We just didn't get enough shots in the first half," Rahe said.
WSU stayed close during the first half until a half-court trap by Cincinnati changed the game and helped the Bearcats gain momentum.
Hughey's 3-pointer pulled WSU to within 20-19 with 6:06 left in the first half, but after that the Wildcats had difficulty beating Cincinnati's tough defense as the Bearcats scored the next 17 points and ended the half on a 20-6 run.
The majority of those points came following WSU turnovers as the Bearcats forced several WSU errors near midcourt. WSU had 15 turnovers in the first half -- 23 in the game -- and those in the first half were very costly.
"I thought the press was important for us to get going," said Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin.
The Bearcats shot 29.1 percent from 3-point range this season prior to Wednesday's game, but shot 39.3 percent against the Wildcats and also grabbed 12 offensive rebounds, which doubled WSU's offensive rebounding number.
Deonta Vaughn led Cincinnati with 16 points while Lance Stephenson finished with 14.
Cincinnati, which had averaged 25.5 offensive rebounds per game this season, outrebounded WSU 34-32. Staying close with the Bearcats there helped Weber State limit Cincinnati's scoring opportunities.
"They're such a good rebounding team and the main thing was that we wanted to come in and fight them and compete on the glass," said WSU's Trevor Morris, who made just his second start in his three-year career at WSU.
Rahe said he opted to start Morris, who was WSU's second-highest scorer with nine points and four rebounds, over Franklin Session in an effort to get more height on the court. At times it worked, but the first-half turnovers were too much to overcome.
"It would have been nice not to have that hole, and part of that was my fault," said Rahe, who said he didn't prepare his players enough for the defense they faced. "You can't come on the road to a Big East team and turn it over and dig a hole like that."
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