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Show WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6,2010 1 Wildcats look to go 4-0 in Colo. where they defeated the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks 75-66. Guard Nick Hansen said this game was important. , "Any league win is huge/ Kyle Bullinger are averaging 10.7 and 10.6 points per game whether it's at home or away," respectively. The Wildcats' Hansen said. "We really have scoring offense is right behind to focus on one game at a time the Bears' with 73.1 points per and obviously we can't look over any team." game. The Wildcats, who are 9-6 NCU is 2-1 in Big Sky overall with a 3-0 record in Conference games, 13-3 overall, and have impressive wins over conference play, beat MSU Texas Christian University, [75-62), UM (64-56) and Colorado State University and Sacramento State University the University of Hawaii. The (80-65) and are currently on top of the Big Bears-also played Sky Conference the University of "It will be fun. standings. Oklahoma and They go into nearly pulled off It will tell us a the game on a the upset but 16-garne Big ended up losing lot about our C o n f e r e n ce 80-79. identity as a regular season "We got a big winning streak. game coming team and we're Rahe, however, up on Thursday which, I think, is looking forward said that record ^ means little. the best team in "Didn't even to seeing how the league," Rahe kncBf it," Rahe said. "And they've we play on the said. "All I know, proven it this is that we won year and they are road/' tonight. All I good." know is that we NCU opened got a big game up conference - Nick Hansen, coming up play with a WSU guard on Thursday. Montana road That's it. trip, going 1-1 Nothing that with an 87-63 has happened loss to Montana in the past is going to help us State University and a 59-48 victory against the University on Thursday. That's the way we of Montana. On Saturday, Jan. 2 approach it." they were in Flagstaff, Arizona, See 4-0 page 7 Northern Colorado to challenge WSU's perfect Big Sky record By Matt Maynes sports editor I The Signpost On Thursday, Jan. 7, the Weber State University Wildcats will be in Greeley, Colorado, to face the University of Northern Colorado BeaxS, a team that WSU Head Coach Randy Rahe said could be the best team in the league. The team features two of the league's premier scorers. Senior Will Figures is sixth in the league in scoring with 16.4 points per game and junior Devon Beitzel is seventh in the league with 14.8. Beitzel also leads the league in steals, averaging 2.2 per game and has also been named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week three times this season. The balanced attack has helped them to be second in the league in scoring with 75.1 points per game and they are also second in the league defensively; their opponents average 65.8 points against them. "We've got to get prepared to go in there and try to compete with them/1 Rahe said. "We don't worry about anything that's happened before. We just try to take the next day and do the best we can." * 1 THt 5/C.JVPO57 Weber State University center Steve Panos calls for the ball Saturday, Jan. 2. in a win against the University of Montana. Panos and the-Wildcats travel to Greeley, Wyo. to take on the University of Northern Colorado Thursday, Jan. 7. V ' * '•....";• WSU has the weapons to fight fire withfire.Sophomore Damian Lillard is averaging a leaguehigh 18.6 points per game and center Steve Panos and forward en's Tennis set to start Jan. 15 "It's going to be a little bit more difficult to make (the conference tournament) than it has been in the past," Marchant said, "but we're very confident we'll be in the top four." With four seniors on the team this "Our schedule is pretty rough," Kiehne said, "but we obviously expect to be at the season, Coach Burnham said he feels conference tournament, and since this year the team's level of experience will be an only four teams are going we really have to important factor in the team's success. be focused on that. And then we just play "We have four seniors on the team, other good teams like Boise State, Oregon and they've done it for four or five years," and BYU and Utah. We have nothing to lose Burnham said. "They're used to it, they've against them, so we just go out and play gotten better every year. They're more and try to do well against them." mature. They just know what's coming. In previous years, the Big Sky Conference They know how to prepare for it." Burnham also explained that the team will tournament accepted the conference's top six teams. The new four-team guidelines be focusing on its goal of a conference are being put in effect for the first time this See Tennis page 7 season. Team to kick off season with a meet in Provo, Utah, against Brigham Young University By Eric Jensen asst. sports editor 177?e Signpost The Weber State University Men's Tennis Team is preparing itself for a trip to Provo, Utah, to face Brigham Young University on Friday, Jan. 15, in what will be the team's spring season opener. WSU will be entering the new season riding the momentum of successful showings at several fall tournaments. "The guys had some really good individual results," said Men's Tennis Head Coach Jared Burnham. "In Vegas we did pretty well.. Henning Hipp beat the number one seed in the first round, and I don't think that's ever happened." The Wildcats also performed well at the Utah State Invitational in Logan, Utah, as WSU sophomore Simon Unger from Moenchengladbach, Germany, took first place in both the singles and doubles brackets. "My top guys have been pretty good for the last couple of years," Burnham said. "They did really well. I think the team all the way through was just solid in the fall. We had some good wins. I was really, really happy with the way the guys did in the fall." • WSU senior Spencer Marchant said the entire team played well in tfre fall tournaments. "It was the best fall we've had since we've had our coach," Marchant said, "and he's been here for six years. Just for everybody all around, every single person on the team had their best fall since they've been here." Now the team is looking ahead to the spring season and Big Sky Conference play. WSU senior Sascha Kiehne, from Renningen, Germany, said the team is prepared for a tough season, and will FILE PHOTO I THE SICNPOSf keep its focus on winning its conference Weber State University tennis player Sascha Kiehne returns the ball in a match last seamatchups. son. The team will begin this season with a meet at Brigham Young University. The : Maynes Event: A rambling rant on the WSU Men's Basketball Team Matt Maynes • Signpost sports editor After three games against Big Sky Conference opponents, the Weber State University Men's Basketball Team is off to a strong start and on top of the standings. Sophomore Damian Lillard has picked up where he left off last year and set a career-high with 30 points Saturday, Jan. 2, only the second time a player has reached that mark since Head Coach Randy Rahe has been at WSU. Center Steve Panos is No. 12 in the league infieldgoal percentage; junior Franklin Session is fourth in the league with 7.1 rebounds per game but is leading the league with 12.3 rebounds per game in Big Sky Conference games. Although three starters average in double digits, led by Lillard with 19.3 points per game, and the other two are almost there (guard Nick Hansen averages 9.4 and Session averages 8.9), the bench only averages 16.6 and in the last two games has averaged only 6.0 points. The bench has provided excellent defense in the past few games, including a momentumcharge that reserve forward Darin Mahoney drew by getting in excellent position and taking the hit from a UM player. WSU has struggled to play consistent at times to start off the season. The Wildcats were down at the end of the first half in their first eight games, and against UM the Wildcats seemed to control the first half, but according to Rahe, UM's run in the second half to take an eight-point lead was due to WSU players not being aggressive. With nine minutes left in See Maynes Event page 7 |