Weber State basketball: WSU men fall short in 101-93 track meet with Utah Valley
-
- Weber State guard Mason Abittan (8) shoots over Utah Valley center Isaac Hawkins (23) during a game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
-
- Weber State guard ArDarius Grayson, left, drives past Utah Valley forward Isaac Davis during a game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
-
- Utah Valley guard Jordy Barnes (2) drives against former preps teammate and Weber State guard Gavin Lowe (13) during a game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, in Ogden. (Joe Oliver, for UVU Athletics)
-
- Weber State center Augustine Ekwe (44) dunks as Utah Valley guards Jordy Barnes (2) and Braden Housley (9) look on during a game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
-
- Utah Valley guard Dominick Nelson (3) rises for a layup past Weber State’s Brock Felder (33) during a game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, in Ogden. (Joe Oliver, for UVU Athletics)
-
- Weber State center Brock Felder, center, fights off Utah Valley defenders Tyler Medaris (12) and Sherman Weatherspoon IV (4) during a game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
-
- Weber State guard Gavin Lowe (13) goes airborne as he flips a shot past Utah Valley’s AJ Dixon (24) and Deng Deng (6) during a game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
-
- Weber State center Augustine Ekwe (44) dunks against Utah Valley during a game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
-
- Weber State guard Mason Abittan (8) shoots a 3-pointer over Utah Valley guard Dominick Nelson (3) during a game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
-
- Weber State guard Gavin Lowe (13) shoots against Utah Valley center Deng Deng during a game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
-
- Weber State guard ArDarius Grayson (0) rises to shoot over Utah Valley guard Jordy Barnes (2) during a game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
-
- Weber State center Augustine Ekwe, right, drives against Utah Valley Center Isaac Hawkins, center, during a game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
-
- Weber State center Augustine Ekwe (44) looks to shoot against Utah Valley’s Isaac Davis (0) during a game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, in Ogden. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
OGDEN — Saturday night, Weber State men’s basketball cleared concerns about cold shooting from the team’s season-opening loss at Oregon State and had visiting Utah Valley on the run.
“We knew going in that they’d get up and down, and run; we usually don’t play that fast,” UVU head coach Todd Phillips said. “If you told me we’re going to score 100 tonight, I don’t know if I’d believe you.”
Not long after the tip it seemed whoever won would likely reach 100 points, but defensive stops remain elusive for a young Weber State squad who will enter the week’s second season looking for head coach Kaleb Canales’ first win.
Utah Valley guards Jordy Barnes and Tyler Weaver blistered the nets for five 3-pointers each and both were key in turning away a Weber State push in a 101-93 track meet at the Dee Events Center.
UVU shot a blistering 14 of 23 from the 3-point line and Weber State was 12 of 29.
“I think we just had a lot of defensive mishaps today. We’re a very young team … we just need to talk more on defense and figure out our transition,” WSU sophomore guard ArDarius Grayson said.
Sophomore guard Mason Abittan was confident time will give the Wildcats what they need.
“I think it just comes down to playing together and trusting each other. Every game we’re going to get more connected on defense … we’re going to know each other’s tendencies,” Abittan said. “So it’s just going to get better from here on out, defensively.”
Canales saw what he needed to see.
“A lot of growth from the first game. That’s why we’re going to continue to schedule tough because this allows us to get where we want to get faster,” Canales said. “Nobody wants it more overnight than me. But it’s a process. We’ve got a young team, and that’ll never be an excuse. It’s a reality that we’ve got to go through these growing pains. … You can’t skip steps.”
The first half saw the teams combine for five 3-pointers just in the space between the under-16 and the under-12 media timeouts. Coming out of the timeout at the 11:38 mark, Weaver made a triple and WSU guard Aaron Powell scored a four-point play to keep things rolling.
Weber State took the lead 39-38 when Gavin Lowe had his layup goaltended, but soon the Wildcats would go four straight empty possessions, leading to a Tanner Davis corner 3 that sent Utah Valley to the locker room with a 52-45 lead.
Barnes hit three big 3s in the second half. The first came as UVU surged out of the locker room with a 7-2 burst, capped with a Barnes 3 that drew a Canales timeout at 59-47.
A flagrant foul from Utah Valley post Isaac Davis and an Augustine Ekwe alley-oop dunk from Powell figured to give Weber State some momentum, but soon Barnes hit another 3 to restore the 12-point margin at 64-52 with 15:45 left.
But Weber State kept in the fight. Sharpshooting second-year guard Mason Abittan knocked down a triple, setting the table for Grayson to reel off 10 straight points for his team, sparked by a pair of 3-pointers.
That, and a Brock Felder lob dunk from Abittan, cut the margin to 80-78 with 6:30 left. Grayson had a good look at a 3 on the next possession to take the lead and fuel the crowd into a frenzy, but he couldn’t find the net.
That missed opportunity started a short drought and UVU immediately capitalized, finishing with a Barnes 3 to make it 85-78.
Abittan scored on a drive in a frenetic sequence of buckets to get WSU to within 92-87 at the 1:19 mark, but Utah Valley quickly threw ahead to Weaver for a corner 3 and a crucial answer.
Seconds later, Weaver picked a steal at the WSU perimeter and took it down for a dunk, putting the game away 97-87 with a minute left.
Abittan led Weber State (0-2) with 22 points and five rebounds, shooting 4 of 6 from the 3-point line. Grayson totaled 19 points with four 3-pointers, and scored 15 after halftime. Ekwe finished with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Powell scored nine points in 15 minutes off the bench.
Lowe, a former teammate of Barnes’ at Olympus High, totaled eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists, but was also hassled into six turnovers — a contrast to his one-turnover performance in the opener.
Lowe won three state championships at Olympus, and two with Barnes before the latter graduated. They both suffered a semifinal loss at the Dee Events Center in their first year together.
“Gavin’s great, he’s fun to play against,” Barnes said. “It’s crazy, my dad’s the coach at Olympus and after all those years and good players, I don’t think anyone’s ever really gone head to head in college. So it was a cool moment.”
Weaver’s 21 points led Utah Valley (2-0) and Barnes’ five 3s netted him 15 points. Dominick Nelson added 18 points, Braden Housley had 15 points and six assists, and Isaac Hawkins pitched in 13 points.
Weber State next makes the short drive to Utah for a Tuesday night matchup.
