'Cats win home opener

The Weber State University Men's Basketball Team took on Montana Tech University Saturday night in the 'Cats' first home game of the season. The 'Cats squeezed by the Orediggers 77-62. The Wildcats are 4-0 against Montana Tech all-time. Saturday's game was the closest the two teams have had. Montana Tech jumped out to a quick 7-4 lead. WSU junior Nick Hansen got the Wildcats on the board with the team's first basket two minutes into the game. WSU guard Kellen McCoy helped pull the Wildcats into the lead with a 3-pointer with 10 minutes left in the first half. The Wildcats maintained the lead, going into the half up 33-25. "We started out a little slow," McCoy said. "We picked up our intensity and defense and everything came along once we did that. I think we still have a lot of areas to improve in. We've got to defend and rebound and focus on that. I think we'll keep moving right along." Panos led the Wildcats in scoring with 12 points, marking the second game Panos has led the team in points this season. "I try my best not to really think about it," Panos said. "I just try to come out and do my job. I make the extra pass if it's needed, but if they run a play, and it happens that I can score, then I'll do my best to score." The Wildcats came back in the second half and held the Orediggers down, advancing to a 46-35 lead. Montana Tech began to gain on WSU, crawling back to a five-point margin with 11:30 remaining in the game and a score of 50-45. The Wildcats continued to deny the Orediggers a chance at taking the lead, holding on to a 57-54 lead with 7:30 remaining in the game. WSU senior Daviin Davis pushed the 'Cats up to a 12-point lead with three minutes remaining and a score of 67-55. "I thought there were times that it could have been better," Davis said. "But overall it was a grind, and we knew it was going to be like that. It was a good win." Montana Tech never got closer than those five points to the Wildcats, as WSU kept a strong hold of the lead. The Wildcats will move on to take on in-state rival Brigham Young University Wednesday at home. "They're a really good team," McCoy said. "Well coached, really good player in Lee Cummard. We're going to have to come out and play our hardest and hope we can win." Davis agreed and said the 'Cats need to focus on their defense. "It's a good game," Davis said." This is my last go around to play BYU, and I think we're going to be pumped, ready to go and come out with energy and play hard. This is a game where we can win, we just have to come in and play defense." The Wildcats will take on the Cougars at 7 p.m. at the Dee Events Center in their second home match of the regular season. "They're a really good team," Panos said. "They have a lot of good players. It's going to be a tough game, but it helps having the game at home. We just need a couple really good days of practice and everything to come in and play well against them."