OGDEN, Utah - Eddie Sutton figures he'll get wins No. 799 and 800 soon enough. For now, though, the 71-year-old coach is happy to teach his new players the finer points of the game.
Sutton returned to coaching Friday night, but rather than recording win No. 799, the 71-year-old settled for loss No. 316.
Sutton, who retired from Oklahoma State following the 2005-06 season, replaced Jessie Evans as San Francisco's basketball coach. On Wednesday night, the school announced that Evans was taking "a leave of absence" for the rest of the season. Sutton will lead the Dons (4-8) on an interim basis.
After building a 15-point lead in the second half, Weber State held on and came away with a 62-54 victory over San Francisco.
"I was excited and I really enjoyed it," said Sutton. "I didn't enjoy the way the team was playing. I told the guys I'm not accustomed to losing games and getting behind that far."
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Weber State (5-7) got 13 points from reserve Steve Panos and 12 from forward Daviin Davis.
The Dons (4-9) fell behind 39-24 with 14:14 left to play, but rallied with an 18-8 run.
When USF's Christian Hernandez hit a 3-pointer with 4:42 remaining, it cut Weber State's lead to 49-46.
The Wildcats hit six straight free throws in the final minute to preserve the win.
Sophomore forward Dior Lowhorn led the Dons with 19 points on 9-for-18 shooting. Guard Danny Cavis hit four-3-pointers and added 15 points.
SAN FRANCISCO (4-9) - Lowhorn 9-18 1-2 19, Cavic 5-8 1-2 15, Casey 0-3 1-2 1, Quezada 4-8 2-3 12, Strong 0-6 0-2 0, Hernandez 1-1 0-0 3, Morgan 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor 1-2 2-4 4, Hadley 0-0 0-0 0, Brooks 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-47 7-15 54.
WEBER ST. (5-7) - Davis 5-11 2-4 12, Johnson 0-1 0-2 0, Valeika 3-7 4-4 11, Van Brocklin 1-6 2-2 4, McCoy 2-3 0-0 5, Harris 2-3 5-5 10, Panos 6-7 1-3 13, Billings 1-3 0-0 2, Silveira 1-4 2-2 5. Totals 21-45 16-22 62.
Halftime-Weber State 27-20. 3-Point Goals-San Francisco 7-15 (Cavic 4-7, Quezada 2-3, Hernandez 1-1, Strong 0-1, Lowhorn 0-3), Weber St. 4-15 (Harris 1-2, McCoy 1-2, Valeika 1-3, Silveira 1-3, Davis 0-1, Billings 0-1, Van Brocklin 0-3). Fouled Out-Cavic. Rebounds-San Francisco 25 (Lowhorn 8), Weber St. 33 (Valeika 8). Assists-San Francisco 16 (Strong 5), Weber St. 11 (McCoy 3). Total Fouls-San Francisco 20, Weber St. 16. A-2,518.
Montana State 92, Evergreen State 56
At Bozeman, Montana State broke an early tie with a 16-4 run that launched the Bobcats to a win over Evergreen State.
The win marked the second time over 90 points this season and the fifth time over 80 for the Big Sky's highest scoring team. Carlos Taylor led all players with 18 points, while Bobby Howard added 13 and Divaldo Mbunga 12. James Hennessy scored a career-high 11 off the bench.
"You want to see the guys focused, ready to compete, and ready to play with a lot of energy," said MSU coach Brad Huse. "I didn't say a lot about it this week, although we talked a lot about it before the Great Falls game. I thought the guys handled that themselves tonight. They were prepared mentally. I'm proud of how the guys approached the game tonight."
Montana State (7-5) shot 50.8 percent from the floor, out-rebounding the NAIA Geoducks 44-29. The Bobcats also forced 24 Evergreen State turnovers.
EVERGREEN ST. (7-3) - Whittaker 1-6 0-0 2, Moore 5-10 1-2 13, Feliciano 3-6 0-2 6, Levi 4-6 0-0 8, Ward 5-10 0-0 11, Howard 0-0 0-0 0, Menefee 5-16 0-0 13, Ware 0-0 0-0 0, Wright 1-3 1-2 3, Cook 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 2-6 56.
MONTANA ST. (7-5) -Zamora 2-5 0-0 4, Davis 2-5 1-2 6, Mbunga 4-6 4-4 12, Taylor 7-18 4-5 18, Durham 3-6 0-0 9, Weidenaar 0-1 0-0 0, Howard 3-9 5-6 13, Friesen 3-3 3-4 9, Blackshire 1-2 0-0 2, Johnson 3-5 1-2 8, Hennessy 5-5 0-1 11. Totals 33-65 18-24 92.
Halftime-Montana State 49-25. 3-Point Goals-Evergreen St. 6-18 (Menefee 3-8, Moore 2-3, Ward 1-2, Levi 0-1, Whittaker 0-4), Montana St. 8-22 (Durham 3-6, Howard 2-6, Davis 1-1, Hennessy 1-1, Johnson 1-3, Weidenaar 0-1, Taylor 0-4). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Evergreen St. 29 (Moore 6), Montana St. 44 (Mbunga 9). Assists-Evergreen St. 11 (Levi, Menefee, Moore, Wright 2), Montana St. 18 (Davis, Mbunga, Taylor, Zamora 3). Total Fouls-Evergreen St. 19, Montana St. 16. A-4,436.
Northern Colorado 74, Sacramento State 60
At Greeley, Colo., Sean Taibi scored a season-high 24 points and Jabril Banks added 16 as Northern Colorado defeated Sacramento State in the Big Sky Conference opener for both teams.
Taibi, the school's all-time 3-point leader with 226, was 6-for-10 from 3-point range. Banks scored 11 of his points in the second half as Northern Colorado (6-6, 1-0 Big Sky Conference) snapped a four-game losing streak.
Vinnie McGhee had four 3-pointers and 19 points to lead Sacramento State (2-9, 0-1). Clark Woods had 11, but Big Sky Conference leading scorer Justin Williams, a 17-point a game scorer, managed only four points.
SACRAMENTO ST. (2-9) - Ra.Adams 0-2 0-0 0, Williams 2-5 0-1 4, McGhee Jr. 7-12 1-2 19, Woods 4-9 2-4 11, Leath 1-11 2-2 5, Ferguson 1-2 0-0 2, Thomas 1-3 3-4 6, Young 3-6 1-1 7, Aboubakar 0-0 0-0 0, Schulte 0-0 0-0 0, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Eller 3-3 0-0 6. Totals 22-53 9-14 60.
N. COLORADO (6-6) - Banks 4-6 7-8 16, Montgomery 1-5 0-0 2, Palacios 1-5 0-0 2, Panagiotakopoulos 0-5 0-0 0, Beitzel 1-4 0-0 2, Figures 2-4 1-1 6, Taibi 9-16 0-0 24, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Garrett 0-0 0-0 0, Kingman 3-7 4-4 11, Mason 4-5 3-3 11. Totals 25-57 15-16 74.
Halftime-Northern Colorado 31-28. 3-Point Goals-Sacramento St. 7-17 (McGhee Jr. 4-6, Thomas 1-1, Woods 1-4, Leath 1-6), N. Colorado 9-21 (Taibi 6-10, Banks 1-1, Figures 1-1, Kingman 1-3, Mason 0-1, Montgomery 0-1, Beitzel 0-2, Panagiotakopoulos 0-2). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Sacramento St. 23 (Ra.Adams 5), N. Colorado 43 (Banks 8). Assists-Sacramento St. 12 (McGhee Jr. 3), N. Colorado 14 (Palacios, Panagiotakopoulos 4). Total Fouls-Sacramento St. 16, N. Colorado 15. A-971.
