Weber State Wildcats Wrap Up Season

By Branigan  Faurschou

Ogden - Weber State’s first appearance in March Madness in four years was short and sweet, as the Wildcats never really stood a chance against the much more powerful Xavier Musketeers, losing 71-53.  Xavier, who had been ranked as high as No. 5 in the AP poll this season, got up quickly on the Wildcats and never looked back.   Still, it was a great showing from the team from Ogden, which, despite the mismatch, never gave up.

The game started out slow, and the Wildcats initially gave the Musketeers a run for their money.  In the early minutes, Joel Bolomboy gave the fans and the national audience a wow moment with a spectacular dunk.   Unfortunately, it would be one of only a few highlights for the Wildcats.

The Wildcats lost Ryan Richardson early in the game when they were training 6-5, and this seemed to let out a lot of the air of the Weber State team.   Richardson went down awkwardly on his ankle and had to be taken back to the locker room and would not return.  In his absence, Zach Braxton saw a lot of minutes before he, too, began to be hobbled by a leg injury.  Braxton, however, would be undaunted, and he stayed in the game.

James Farr was a total beast for the Musketeers.  He dominated the Wildcats down low in the first half and would come up with big play after big play every time that Weber tried to make a move.  Farr finished the game with game highs in  scoring, 18, rebounding, 15, and blocks two.  

Weber State played Xavier very tough in the first half.  After Xavier got up 15 points, the Wildcats got a spark from Richaurd Gittens and cut the lead to seven before the Musketeers pushed it back up to 11 at the half.

The Wildcats came out a bit sloppy in the second half, and Xavier quickly pushed it back up to 15.  The Wildcats did cut the lead down to single digits a few times in the second half, but the Xavier Musketeers were just too much for the Wildcats and cruised to an 18-point victory.

With the loss to Xavier, the Wildcats season is over, but the 26 wins is the most in four seasons for the Wildcats. Weber State was able to capture both the regular season and Big Sky tournament championships.  So all in all, it was a pretty successful season for the boys in purple and white.