Weber State Goes Inside, Puts Eastern Out In Cold

There was one recurring question after Weber State defeated Eastern Washington 83-74 in men’s basketball Thursday night at Reese Court.

Who was guarding Weber forward Kirk Smith? Smith wasn’t sure, and didn’t much care.

“Coach just said to get the ball inside so I could do my work,” explained Smith, Weber’s 6-foot-7 forward from Belize.

While Wildcats guard Lewis Lofton led all players with 28 points, it was the ease with which Smith scored 19 of his 23 in the second half that was especially frustrating for the Eagles.

Smith didn’t leave the key for any of his second-half points.

“We didn’t put a body on him,” Eastern coach John Wade lamented. “You can’t let a kid like that get to the boards.”

Smith, Lofton and guard Ruben Nembhard (19 points) turned back Eastern’s three second-half rallies, ultimately allowing Weber State to tighten its hold on the Big Sky Conference lead.

With a 10-2 conference mark and lgames against Idaho and Northern Arizona remaining, the Wildcats (17-7 overall) appear headed toward a second straight regular-season title.

From the start, Weber State’s strategy was simple: Use a zone defense to frustrate Eastern center Melvin Lewis, forcing the usually cold-shooting Eagles to score from the perimeter.

The plan worked for awhile, holding Lewis scoreless for the game’s first 30 minutes. But Eastern would eventually convince the Wildcats to alter their strategy.

The Eagles exploited the Weber zone during a 16-9 run to start the second half. D’mitri Rideout made two 3-pointers and Craig Stinnett hit a 15-footer before Josh Lewis capped the EWU spurt with a one-handed jam in transition.

A 30-27 halftime deficit was suddenly a 43-39 lead for Eastern.

Lofton and Smith answered for Weber, with each scoring four points during a 10-0 run that put the Wildcats ahead 49-43 with 11:57 remaining.

Weber then switched to a man defense, allowing Melvin Lewis to get free for 10 points in the game’s final 10 minutes. That’s when Eastern’s perimeter game went cold, keeping the Eagles from taking the lead.

When Eastern managed to pull within 58-54, Lofton kept the Wildcats in command with six straight points. The 6-3, 200-pounder consistently took Eastern’s guards to the basket, and made 10 of 11 free throws overall.

“Our guards have been very good all year,” said Lofton, who conspired with off-guard Nembhard to outscore Eastern’s backcourt 47-16.

Nembhard, a 6-3 senior from the Bronx, New York, secured the outcome by making a difficult 10-footer for a 72-66 lead with 1:17 remaining. Eastern point guard Carl Crider played tight defense on the play, forcing Nemhard to shoot with just 1 second left on the shot clock.

“That was a back-breaker,” Rideout said. “Those kind of shots, I mean, you can do nothing but play good defense. When it comes down to it, he knocked it down, and you can’t say too much about that.”

Weber St. 83, EWU 74

WEBER ST. (17-7)

K.Smith 10-16 3-3 23, DeGraffenried 1-4 8-9 10, Lentfer 0-1 0-1 0, Nembhard 6-15 7-8 19, Lofton 8-15 10-11 28, Emery 0-2 0-0 0, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Tebbs 0-0 0-0 0, Nielsen 1-1 0-0 2, A.Smith 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 26-54 29-34 83.

EASTERN WASHINGTON (4-18)

Groves 4-7 4-4 12, Stinnett 3-4 0-0 6, M.Lewis 4-8 2-2 10, Rideout 4-9 0-0 10, Thompson 0-1 0-0 0, Richardson 0-0 0-0 0, Egan 0-0 0-0 0, Crider 1-3 4-4 6, Porter 5-7 0-3 10, J.Lewis 7-15 4-4 20. Totals 28-54 14-17 74.

Halftime-Weber St. 30, E. Washington 27. 3-Point goals-Weber St. 2-10 (DeGraffenried 0-2, Nembhard 0-1, Lofton 2-7), E. Washington 4-15 (Rideout 2-4, Crider 0-2, Porter 0-1, J.Lewis 2-8). Fouled out-K.Smith. Rebounds- Weber St. 31 (K.Smith 9), E. Washington 28 (M.Lewis 12). Assists-Weber St. 13 (Nembhard 5), E. Washington 19 (Thompson, Crider 5). Total fouls-Weber St. 17, E. Washington 23. A-1,159.