Dyson Koehler, Weber State Basketball Win By Largest Margin In Program History On Opening Night
Nov 4, 2024, 11:21 PM | Updated: Nov 5, 2024, 12:03 am
Dyson Koehler scores a team high 22 points in dominant win over Northwest Indian College. Photo courtesy of Weber State.
OGDEN, Utah- College Basketball has finally arrived with games tipping off across the country on Monday night, one of them being the Weber State Wildcats, who opened their 2024-2025 campaign at home against the Northwest Indian College Eagles.
Dyson Koehler led the way for the Wildcats with 22 points on 7-9 shooting, including six 3-pointers as Weber State defeated Northwest Indian College 118-35, etching their names in the history books with their largest margin of victory in school history.
Game 1⃣ dub! pic.twitter.com/iwryhaP6X1
— Weber State Men’s Basketball (@WeberStateMBB) November 5, 2024
Weber State, who finished fourth in the Big Sky Conference last year, opened strong versus Northwest Indian ahead of their first test of the year versus Oregon State on Friday. With a formidable opponent next on the schedule, here were some takeaways from Monday night.
Shooting
Weber State shot 19-36 from three-point range with the majority coming from Dyson Koehler and Viljami Vartiainen, combining for 11 made three-pointers.
15 of Vartiainen’s 17 points came from beyond the arc, starting 5-5 from three before finally missing his first long-range shot at the 11:44 mark of the second half.
That's 17 3's for the Wildcats and Vilijami is 5-5! pic.twitter.com/6VcJsygXd9
— Weber State Men’s Basketball (@WeberStateMBB) November 5, 2024
Weber put on a scoring clinic in the first half with a 27-0 run that lasted nearly eight minutes that featured four 3-pointers and two jump shots.
When asked about the identity of this year’s team, Koehler said, “Shooting… as a shooter, I’m always working on my shot but we got a lot of shooting transfers as well, and just being able to make the shots opens up the game a lot more.”
Veteran Leadership
Weber State’s starting lineup on Monday was comprised of four seniors and a junior, making their veteran presence and experience a pillar of the Wildcat’s identity. Especially considering that Weber State carries six freshmen and a redshirt freshman on their roster, making culture key.
“The veterans set the tone and the freshman followed up,” said Head Coach Eric Duft, “I think we had the three returners, and those guys have really set the tone for how we want to do it.”
Coach Duft also touched on the chemistry the team has been able to build and the effect their relationships have on their play on the court. “I think these guys get along off the court really well and that’s helped our development as a basketball team.”
Senior Forward Dyson Koehler expanded on his mindset coming into the season as a leader and who he has seen step up to also take on that role. “My mindset was kind of to be like a leader to the younger guys… I’ve played the most games on the roster here at Weber, I was just trying to be able to give the young guys some advice. Blaise [Threatt] has taken a lot of steps… everyone kind of looks at the point guard as the leader.”
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Depth
Every Wildcat who touched the floor tonight got a bucket, including a combined 29 points from four freshmen off the bench, Saadiq Moore, Trevor Henning, Declan Cutler, and Nemanja Sarenac. Cutler and Moore also pulled down a combined 17 rebounds.
Sophomore Viljami Vartiainen also stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, going 5-7 from three.
These young guys not only got good minutes against inferior competition on Monday but many of them are expected to be pivotal parts of the rotation.
When asked about the young talent on the roster and who has the chance to make a major impact, Dyson Koehler said, “Definitely Saadiq [Moore], he’s in the point guard role, and in my opinion, that’s the hardest role, especially as a freshman, that’s a lot of responsibility. I like Trevor [Hennig], he’s really aggressive, I enjoy watching him play. Same thing with Viljami… he can shoot the ball.”
Weber State vs Oregon State
The Weber State Wildcats will travel to Corvallis to take on the Oregon State Beavers on Friday, November 8, at 8:00 p.m. MT. You can tune in on ESPN+.
Weber State’s next three games will be on the road including at Nevada, who received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament last year, and at Hawaii, who banked 20 wins during the 23-24 season. Three early season challenges for a Wildcats team who is seeking to return to March Madness for the first time since 2016.
