Dillon Jones' double-double paces Wildcats in home opener win over Western Colorado

OGDEN — With a little under five and a half minutes on the clock in the first half, forward Dillon Jones drove into the lane, faked left, crossed over to his right side and went straight at a Western Colorado defender to drop a tough, contested layup while drawing a foul.

Jones led Weber State with a double-double as the Wildcats defeated Division II's Western Colorado 83-67.

On the night Jones scored 21 points to lead all scorers and also led everyone in rebounds with 12, he set the tone for his team on both sides of the ball after the Wildcats' disappointing season-opening loss to Washington.

"Coming off a game like Washington, we lost, but we gained a lot of confidence from the game," Jones said. "Because anybody that watched that game and didn't just look at the box score or final score, they see how we battled, how close we were in the game. ... If we can play on that level and play and put on the defensive performance that we did, we should be able to do this every night."

Only three Wildcats players scored in double figures — Jones, and guards Junior Ballard (17 points) and Steven Verplancken Jr. 10 (points) — but contributions came all around as every player but one made a basket in this game.

Weber State's offense came in spurts; at times players moved the ball well and took smart shots, while at other times they tried to do too much on their own, which led to turnovers or poor shots. When the Wildcats passed the ball, good things tended to happen; the team recorded 12 assists on 30 made field goals Thursday night.

"I thought, offensively, we moved the ball; I thought we shared it," a water-soaked Eric Duft said following his first regular-season win as head coach. "I thought we were able to drive it tonight and get to the rim, which that's not gonna happen with the competition we have coming up as much. But we were able to drive — that's why our assists were a little low. I didn't think we played selfishly; I thought we made the right basketball play.

"But as we get going and the competition gets better, we'll have to drive it and get to two feet, look to spray it out, and we've been doing that. So I thought offensively we were pretty good."

Weber State's defense looked sharp at times, but at others looked like it was the second game of the season. The Wildcats held the Mountaineers to 40.3% shooting but let them shoot 46.2% from 3-point range.

Western Colorado committed 13 turnovers but outrebounded Weber State 33-31. It was a tale of two halves for the defense as the Wildcats limited the Mountaineers to just 33.3% shooting in the first half but allowed them to make 46.9% of their shots in the second half.

At one point in the second half, Western Colorado shot 9-of-12 from behind the arc and it seemed like the Mountaineers couldn't miss. By that point, Weber State's lead had ballooned and the visitors were doing everything they could to get back in the game. With a little less than seven minutes left in the game, Western Colorado drained their ninth 3-pointer but still trailed by 22.

"The first half we played hard, good 20 (minutes)," Ballard said. "Second half maybe about 10-12 to about 15 minutes hard. I think we got to put that together if we want to be where we want to be at the end of the year, which is in the tournament, making a push."

The Wildcats know they need to become a better defensive team. The offensive potential is there and will improve as the players get more game reps under their belts. The defense will rely on scheme and execution. For Jones, he feels that what his team showed in the loss to Washington and through the first half on Thursday against Western Colorado is what will help them win the big games later on in the season.

"I know we slipped in the second half, but the first half we really want to come out and show that this wasn't just a one night thing or a one time thing," Jones said. "We want to be able to make that our identity because that's what's gonna win those games not now, but in March."

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