Weber State men’s basketball falls to UC Riverside 72-65 on late-half burst
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- Weber State guard Zahir Porter (0) drives against UC Riverside players Lachlan Olbrich (30) and Flynn Cameron (11) at the Vegas 4 event Monday, Nov. 21, 2022, in Henderson, Nev.
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- Weber State’s Dillon Jones, left, drives against UC Riverside’s Kyle Owens at the Vegas 4 event Monday, Nov. 21, 2022, in Henderson, Nev.
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- Weber State guard Keith Dinwiddie dribbles against UC Riverside at the Vegas 4 event Monday, Nov. 21, 2022, in Henderson, Nev.
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- Weber State’s Dillon Jones rises for a shot as Alex Tew (20) looks on against UC Riverside at the Vegas 4 event Monday, Nov. 21, 2022, in Henderson, Nev.
Weber State men’s basketball opened play at the Vegas 4 multi-team event with a stellar second half of basketball Monday against UC Riverside.
The problem was, however, the eight minutes before that.
Riverside used a 24-11 burst to close the first half for a 19-point lead, and it was enough cushion to hold off the Wildcats when Weber State won the second half 34-22. So in the end, the Highlanders claimed a 72-65 victory at The Dollar Loan Center arena in Henderson, Nevada.
“We didn’t come to play in the first half. It was very obvious. My fault, we didn’t have them ready to play for whatever reason,” WSU head coach Eric Duft said. “Once we moved around like Division I basketball players, we played really well.”
WSU sophomore center Alex Tew scored a career-high 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including four dunks, while adding two rebounds, two blocks and one steal. He scored on two dunks and two hook shots that helped Weber State (1-3) open the second half on a 17-6 run against a well-cooled-off Riverside (3-2) team.
That run also featured consecutive buckets from a cutting KJ Cunningham and a corner 3 from Keith Dinwiddie, both assisted by sophomore wing Dyson Koehler making his first appearance of the season after being held out due to health concerns that derailed a chunk of his offseason.
After shooting a ridiculous 20 of 32 from the field and 8 of 15 from deep in the first half, UCR opened the second half going 2 of 12 from the floor.
Having cut a 50-31 deficit to 58-48, Tew made a heady crosscourt pass to Steven Verplancken Jr. in the corner for an open 3 that would have put major pressure on the Highlanders, but the shot went off the back iron with 9 minutes left. Instead of a seven-point game, it soon ballooned back to 18 with 5:51 left.
“We missed some baskets there but when you dig yourself a hole, you can’t make them all. We’ve just got to be way better in the first half,” Duft said. “Steven had a great look and just missed it … that was a big momentum-changer there.”
Weber State finished the game on another 17-6 run but the pummeling the Wildcats took at the end of the first half proved to be too much.
Riverside guard Zyon Pullin was as advertised, shooting a blistering 10 of 16 from the field, including 3 of 3 from deep, for 27 points. Flynn Cameron added 17 points to lead a dominant, two-headed guard look for the Highlanders.
WSU senior Zahir Porter played his best game of the season, totaling 11 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
“We’ve had some talks here lately with Zahir and have explained exactly how we want him to play,” Duft said. “And he’s been awesome. He’s played hard, he’s played passionate. You could hear his voice on the bench. Really pleased with where he’s at, he just needs to keep that going.”
Dinwiddie picked it up in the second half and finished with nine points and Cunningham added seven points, all in the final 11 minutes.
WSU freshman Daniel Rouzan scored on a slick post move to make the score 26-20 with 7:53 left in the first half. He was fouled but missed his free throw on the other side of a timeout — part of a 9-of-16 free-throw effort in the first half for WSU. (The Wildcats would shoot 10 of 12 in the second half.)
But after the 26-20 score, a confident-shooting Cameron knocked down three contested 3s to help Riverside boost to its large halftime. Some of UCR’s blistering first half came on making tough shots. But the Highlanders got plenty of open looks in the final sequence, too, finishing the final 5:52 going 8 of 10 from the field.
Ultimately, that 50-point half was too much to overcome for Weber State.
“I don’t know that I’ve been part of a game where we gave them 50 in the first half and gave up 22 in the second. Most of that was just effort and energy, and passion for guarding and communication, and embracing each other,” Duft said while noting the strength of upcoming opponents. “We’ve got to find it and find it quick.”
Weber State plays Abilene Christian at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.