No. 9 Oregon’s pressure too much for Weber State basketball in 89-49 decision
Wildcats conclude nonconference schedule with road loss
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- Oregon guard TJ Bamba (5) looks to shoot against Weber State guard Viljami Vartiainen (8) and center Vasilije Vucinic (13) on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore.
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- Weber State center Vasilije Vucinic (13) looks to pass the ball against Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad (3) and forward Supreme Cook (7) on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore.
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- on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore.
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- on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore.
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- on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore.
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- Weber State guard Miguel Tomley (3) shoots against Oregon guard Keeshawn Barthelemy (9) on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore.
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- on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore.
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- on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore.
Vasilije Vucinic won the jump ball over 7-footer Nate Bittle and scored over him in the post to start Weber State’s afternoon contest Sunday at No. 9 Oregon.
That was the Wildcats’ only lead against the highly ranked Ducks in what became an 89-49 decision at Matthew Knight Arena.
Oregon (12-1) used a hassling press to force 10 first-half turnovers for 12 points and won seven offensive rebounds in the first 12 minutes to put Weber State (6-8) in a hole that would fluctuate between 17 and 24 points for most of the contest.
“That’s a good, deep team,” WSU head coach Eric Duft said. “They come at you in waves, I don’t think they ever have to play anyone who’s even a little bit tired.”
The Wildcats kept the Ducks off the offensive glass for the rest of the half and Miguel Tomley scored five of his eight points in the final minutes, cutting Weber State’s deficit to 40-23 at the half.
The Ducks opened the second half on a 10-0 run and a Supreme Cook dunk pushed Oregon’s lead to 59-30 with 14:35 left. Trevor Hennig capped a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer and WSU had the score to 59-39, then 62-42 with 9:31 left.
Three Hennig free throws made the score 69-45 with 7:02 left and Weber State started substituting to its deep bench sooner than Oregon; the Ducks’ second unit whipped up a 16-2 run before calling it off, resulting in the 40-point decision.
“I thought we played really well for about 12 minutes there in the second half,” Duft said. “We spent a lot of time on us, trying to get us better, in the last week … with their athleticism, I think it masked some of the things we were doing but I liked how we played for the majority of the night.”
Blaise Threatt led Weber State with 15 points. After Tomley’s eight, Hennig and Nigel Burris each scored six points. Alex Tew totaled three assists of the bench.
Jackson Shelstad scored 16 points for Oregon. Jadrian Tracey and Brandon Angel each scored 14 points. Oregon shot 9 of 22 from distance and held WSU to 3 of 22.
Weber State concludes nonconference play with three wins over Division I opponents. Handling Pepperdine and efforts against UC Irvine and North Dakota State — both of whom are comfortably rated better than any Big Sky school — were positives of the conference leadup that could prove to show a team ready to compete in the Big Sky. Losses to North Dakota and Utah Valley were lower points that might signal a team unable to compete in the Big Sky.
Weber State opens the league slate with three road games, starting Thursday at Northern Colorado (8-5). The Bears enter conference play with the best nonconference resume, rating 132nd in the NCAA NET and 161st in Ken Pomeroy’s ratings. Saturday brings a trip to Northern Arizona (8-4) and the Big Sky’s leading scorer, Trent McLaughlin (23.4 points per game).
“Our guys are excited to get going. They really embraced what we worked on the last few days,” Duft said.
