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Show he Rush Sports Editor: Joey Haws Phone: 626-7983 sports 'Cats shoot stripes off Bengals at ISU By Trent Hadley asst. sports editor-The Signpost POCATELLO, Idaho After an 11 -day layoff, Ron Abegglen wasn't quite sure how his team would come out and play Wednesday night against the Idaho Slate University Bengals at Holt Arena. In fact, heading into the contest Abegglen said the ISU game "scared him to death." Yet, the Wildcats (19-7, 10-3) showed little, if any, rust after their long layoff as they claimed a hard-fought 76-62 victory over arch rival ISU (5-20, 3-12) in front of L453 fans. Weber State's five starters Harold Arceneaux, Andy Jensen, Marc Lawson, Eddie Gill and Noel Jackson scored all but two of WSLT's 76 points en route to the 14-point victory. Arceneaux led a balanced offensive attack with a team-high 19 points while Jensen and Gill pitched in with 16 a piece and Lawson and Jackson contributed with 14 and nine points. "We like balance," Abegglen said. "That first half was as crisp and sharp as we've had. We we're pretty excited about how we played in that first half." WSU sprinted out to an early 15-point first half lead just seven minutes into the game on one of Gill's four 3-poi liters to put the 'Cats up 23-8. That lead ballooned to as many as 18 points at 32-14 with 10:22 left on an Arceneaux offensive tip-in. Yet, the Bengals somehow managed to stay in the game by outscoring WSU 19-1 2 over the final 10 minutes of the first period and trailed by only 1 1 points at half time, 44-33. "They started hitting some shots and we went into a dry spell that last five minutes or so of the first half," Gill said. WSU regained its momentum early in the second half and once again took control of the game by outscoring ISU 1 3-7 over the first six minutes of the second period and led by 17 points, 57-40, on a Lawson 3-point bomb at the 13:53 mark. But the Wildcats just couldn't seem to shake the pesky Bengals and put the game out of reach. Holding a seemingly comfortable 17-point margin, the 'Cats saw the Bengals go on a 1 2-2 run over the next four minutes to draw within seven points at 59-52 with 9:57 remaining. "They did make a run in the second half, but we held our composure - which was good," Lawson said, who finished the game with a season high 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting. "They were playing a zone defense, but we had worked on that in practice and we attacked it well. We did have a little lag, but we came through in the end." The Bengals actually got as close as six points, 63-57. on two free-throws by lSU's Odell Stokes with 6:44 to play, but wouldn't get any closer. Gill answered with his fourth 3-poi nter of the game to push the lead back to nine points as the 'Cats held on for the win. "If the shot was there, I just look it," Gill said. "I thought we were in control. They made a run which was expected; they hit a couple of big 3s, but I think we pretty much were in control the whole game. We didn't really get erratic throughout the entire game." Added Abegglen: "Eddie hit a big shot. We rebounded and made our free throws down the stretch." Abegglen said he was especially pleased with the play of Lawson, who started Wednesday's game in place of Damien Baskerville who had just concluded a five-day suspension for violation of the WSU athletic department's substance abuse code. "We challenged Lawson before the game to rebound," Abegglen said. "I thought he played outstandingbasketball." "We've got to play one game at a time. We win out, and we host' Ron Abegglen on hosting the Big Sky Tournament Lawson, at 6' 1" and 170 pounds, hauled in six rebounds along with his 14 points and three assists. Lawson seems to especially enjoy playing in Holt Arena, where he has played some of his best basketball over the past two seasons. Last year in Poeatello, Lawson scored a career-high 1 9 points ( 1 2 in the second hall") to lead the 'Cats to a 69-60 win. "He must like the orange color," Abegglen said. "He's played well here two years in a row." Lawson has played so well in Poeatello that he joked aboutre-locating. "It seems like I should move up here," Lawson said. "It's a nice place to play. I think it's a shooter's gym. For some reason I usually get a lot of good looks at the bucket up here." Lawson and the Wildcats will return to action Saturday evening when they travel to Bozeman to take on Montana State at 7:05 p.m. After the Montana State game, the 'Cats will return home to the Dee Events Center for their final two games of the season against Cal State Northridge and Northern Arizona. If WSU can win its three remaining games, they will win the Big Sky conference and host the post-season tournament for the first time in four years. "We've got to play one game at a lime," Abegglen said. "We win out. and we host." Go ahead; shoot it! . - j v? - LiU J i. . 4 "4 I , f ' 1 I 4 si''' . C V wmmm(' Amu .-' . ;; :. W it. i 1 ',):: A 4 J r t Weber State University's Jaynee Paskins is well defended by two Idaho State University players during last night's home game at the Dee Events Center. The Bengals defeated the Wildcats 59-58 in the close-scoring game. The Lady Wildcats' next home game is Saturday against Montana State. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. FiTour: helping students solve those pre-summer workout woes By Josh Cornia news writer-The Signpost Spring is just around the cor ner. Are you ready for it? After sitting around all winter, how are you going to feci when it comes time to put on a swimsuit'? Are you going to worry about people seeing you, or are you going to go out with confidence thinking to yourself "1 really feel good."? Weber State University's campus recreation center has come to the rescue by bringing the FiTour to campus. This one-day aerobics workshop will be held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Swenson Gym. Pctra Kolber. who has more than a decade of experience in dance, musical theater and television, is currently working as a Reebok Master Trainer. Kolber will be teaching two classes on Saturday. .The first class, "strengthen and lengthen," will focus on the functional strength, flexibility and postural alignment. This session will run from 9 to 1 1 a.m. and costs S59.95. The second session is from noon to 3 p.m. and costs S69.95. "Build it upbreak it down" will help provide creative and easy-to-teach choreography for fitness instructors. Continuing education credit will be offered for attending this session. The cost for attending both sessions is S99.95 and a total of five continuing education credits are available for attending both sessions. To register, call I-iTour at I-800-348-6873. If you don't have the time or money to make it to Saturday's workshops, don't worry. Another workshop is scheduled March 6 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This workshop will be held in the Lind Lecture Hall, Room 125. Douglas Brooks, one of the premiere personal trainers in the country, will be teaching participants about building both uppcr-and lower-body strength. In addition to scheduled workshops, WSU provides regular aerobics classes for students, faculty and community members. Classes are held Monday through Saturday and are free to WSU students or S3 for community members. Anyone interested in aerobic information can contact the gym at 626-7967. |