Weber State coach Ron Abegglen tried everything he could think of to get his team psyched for Thursday's game against Big Sky doormat Eastern Washington. He tried building up the opponent. "They're better than their record indicates. They're a team that can give you trouble if you give them a chance," Abegglen said with all the Lou Holtz-like angst he could muster. He tried keeping his practices short and intense. He even tried to "just growl at 'em a lot."
Try as he might, it still took Abegglen's Wildcats a half to work themselves into "pulverize" mode before blowing out the Eagles 87-60.Abegglen is still not sure what it takes to get a team motivated. "If I could figure that out I could write a book and make a lot of money," he said.
Then again, it's hard to get a team motivated to play a squad that has lost 34 straight road games. You'd think that sometime during that string they would have at least beaten a juco, church team or intramural squad. The last time Eastern Washington won on the road (Feb. 16, 1991, to be exact), Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf was marching his troops through the Persian Gulf instead of marching through the streets of Lillehammer with a CBS camera crew.
With Montana State idle, the Wildcats had the chance to take sole possession of first place, but in the first half it looked like they might squander the opportunity. The score stood at 30-28 with 2:59 left.
The second half was a completely different story. After allowing the Eagles two early buckets, Weber State held them scoreless over the next five minutes. Eastern Washington would get one more four-point "burst" before the Wildcats pitched another six minute shutout. The Cats also forced nine turnovers during that stretch.
While Eastern Washington could only manage four points over an 11-minute period, Weber State was scoring 34 points during that same time on 13-of-16 shooting. Guards Robbie Johnson and Ruben Nembhard forced many steals in the midcourt area, which led to five dunks at the other end. Nembhard led the Cats with 20, while Johnnie Moore added 15 points and 14 rebounds.
Weber State led by 37 with 5:17 left. The only reason Eastern Washington brought the lead back under 30 was because Donald Smith hit five three-pointers in the final portion of the game. His last-minute trey blitz gave him a game high 22 points.