Ewu Takes Licking, Keeps On Stinking Weber State’s Record 15 3s Help Eagles Lose Sixth Straight

They’re becoming the Washington Generals of the Big Sky Conference.

“Everybody plays with a great deal of confidence against us,” Eastern Washington basketball coach Steve Aggers lamented. “It’s like sharks and raw meat. We can’t make a damn layup and they’re making 80 percent of their 3-pointers.”

OK, so Weber State only made 75 percent of its 3-pointers Saturday night. The 15-for-20 long-range performance was still good enough to set a Big Sky record for most 3s in a game, and it was more than enough to hand Eastern Washington its sixth straight loss, a 119-88 pounding in Reese Court that would have been much more difficult to withstand had it not been for the sheer brilliance of Weber State’s performance.

“Unbelievable,” Aggers said, noting the 68-34 halftime score. “I don’t think we played bad. They just played great.”

The Wildcats (11-8, 3-3 Big Sky) made 22 of 26 first-half field goals, including 11 of 14 outside the 3-point stripe. They backed off in the second half, but still managed to break the conference record of 14 3-pointers in a game, shared by four teams, including the 1991 EWU squad.

“Every time I looked up, shots were falling,” Eagles forward Kevin Groves said. “There were certainly times we broke down on defense, but they were on.”

To characterize the Wildcats as “on” is like calling Deion Sanders outgoing.

“I don’t think we can play any better,” observed Weber State coach Ron Abegglen.

Forwards Justyn Tebbs and Jimmy DeGraffenried led six Wildcats in double figures with 22 points apiece, with Tebbs connecting on 4 of 5 3-pointers. Guard Ryan Cuff, a transfer by way of BYU and Arizona State, made 3 of 4 from long range and finished with 17 points.

DeGraffenried, who leads the conference in scoring average at more than 20 points per game, was perfect on his two 3-pointers, including a fadeaway 20-footer from the right corner despite heavy defensive pressure from 6-foot-8 EWU forward Mike Sims. DeGraffenried played just 23 minutes.

Weber State scored the game’s first 10 points and blew it open immediately after EWU (2-14, 0-5) managed to close within 20-12 on two Travis King 3-pointers. After King’s second 3 - he made 6 of 11 overall and finished with a career-high 19 points - the Wildcats made six straight shots to lead 43-22. Alex Fisher broke up the monotony with an errant 3-point try that dropped Weber State to 7 of 9 for the half, but the Wildcats regrouped to make their next 10 shots before halftime mercifully intervened.

“We watched tape of Eastern against Gonzaga, and that’s a pretty good team we played tonight,” Abegglen said, referring to GU’s 63-53 victory over EWU. “It was just one of those things.”

Starting EWU guard/forward Curtis Porter was limited to 1 minute because of illness. Luke Egan replaced Porter in the lineup and scored a career-high 18 points.

Weber State 119, E. Washington 88

Weber State (11-8) - Tebbs 8-13 2-2 22, DeGraffenried 6-7 8-8 22, Smith 3-5 5-5 11, Emery 3-3 0-0 8, Cuff 7-8 0-0 17, Ketcham 1-2 1-1 3, Baskerville 2-2 4-4 9, Hicks 1-3 0-0 3, Fisher 3-5 4-6 12, Nielsen 4-5 2-4 10, McIntire 1-1 0-0 2, Haws 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 39-55 26-30 119.

Eastern Washington (2-14) - Egan 4-10 9-9 18, Sims 1-4 2-2 4, Dean 4-6 2-3 10, Rideout 6-11 0-0 13, King 6-11 1-2 19, Lewis 1-5 4-8 6, Carter 2-9 2-3 7, Thompson 2-3 0-0 4, Porter 0-0 0-0 0, Groves 2-5 3-3 7. Totals 28-64 23-30 88.

Halftime-Weber State 68, E. Washington 34. 3-Point goals- Weber State 15-20 (Tebbs 4-5, DeGraffenried 2-2, Emery 2-2, Cuff 3-4, Baskerville 1-1, Hicks 1-2, Fisher 2-4), E. Washington 9-21 (Egan 1-4, Rideout 1-2, King 6-11, Carter 1-4). Fouled out- McIntire, Sims, King. Rebounds-Weber State 31 (Smith 9), E. Washington 25 (Egan 5). Assists-Weber State 29 (Cuff 8), E. Washington 22 (King 6). Total fouls-Weber State 25, E. Washington 24. A-1,100.

, DataTimes