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Logan • Add another accomplishment to Randy Rahe's long list as Weber State's basketball coach.
On Wednesday night, Jeremy Senglin scored 22 points and freshman Jerrick Harding added a career-high 14 to lead the Wildcats to a 77-71 victory over Utah State.
It was Weber State's first win at the Spectrum since 1993, meaning Rahe did not previously have one.
"I'll be honest with you," he said. "I'm just so happy for the kids. The kids deserve it. … They come to work every day. They want to get as good as they can be. For me, it's nice and everything, but I really feel good for the kids."
In his 11th season at Weber State, Rahe's record is 213-119. His teams have won five Big Sky Conference championships and reached the NCAA Tournament three times.
The Wildcats, however, probably haven't savored too many of those victories more than this one over Utah State.
"They worked for it," Rahe said. "They earned it. I enjoy watching my kids celebrate and they had a nice celebration after the game. They feel good about it and, to me, that's all I need right there."
The biggest play in the game came with 2:08 left.
Weber State owned a 68-67 lead when, with the shot clocking running down, Ryan Richardson took a kick-out pass from Kyndahl Hill and buried a three-pointer.
Richardson was fouled by Utah State freshman Sam Merrill on the shot and his free throw gave the 'Cats a 72-67 lead.
"We went inside-out on that play," Rahe said. "… I thought Ryan played terrific in the second half. He jumped up there and made it and it was a huge play. Huge play. We probably don't win without it."
Asked about his critical foul, Merrill said, "That was stupid."
To their credit, the Aggies didn't quit.
Quinn Taylor made two free throws with 58.7 seconds left to make it 73-71. On Weber's next possession, Senglin was called for an offensive foul — his fifth.
Utah State got a good look to tie, but Jalen Moore's jump-hook from the lane rimmed out. The Wildcats rebounded and made six of their last eight free throws to seal the victory.
"Really proud of the kids," Rahe said. "We showed great toughness, great resiliency, great togetherness. And that's what I challenged them on coming up here. If you're going to win at a place like the Spectrum, you better play with great toughness."
With its second straight win, Weber State improved to 5-6 on the season.
Utah State slipped to 6-5 despite Moore's 18 points, including 14 in the opening 12 1/2 minutes.
"I thought it was a pretty well-played college basketball game, really," Aggie coach Tim Duryea said. "I thought the big difference — at winning time — they made some big shots and we made some mistakes. … Our defense let us down a little bit."
Twitter: @sluhm —
Storylines
• Jeremy Senglin scores 22 points to lead Wildcats.
• Weber State prevails at the Spectrum for the first time since 1993.
• Jalen Moore finishes with 18 points for the Aggies. Koby McEwen adds 15.