OGDEN, Utah – After weathering a first half offensive fury by Division I Weber State University, Western State Colorado University men's basketball came storming back in the second half. The comeback was almost complete, but the Mountaineers fell to Weber State 84-77 in Thursday night's exhibition game.
 
In the first half, Weber couldn't miss, shooting 70.37 percent (19-for-27) from the field. The Wildcats took a 52-26 lead into halftime and were cruising to a win.
 
However, the Mountaineers were not leaving Utah without a fight. Western went on a second-half rampage, scoring 51 points.
 
The Mountaineers opened the second half with a 28-9 run. After a Ben Beauchamp three-pointer, the Mountaineers had cut the Weber State lead to just seven points, 61-54 with 8:27 left to play.
 
Beauchamp led all players with 31 points, making 11-of-20 shots from the field and 4-of-8 from three-point distance.
 
Western would get within four points of the Wildcats three times. The last came after a layup by Brady Subart with 1:13 left in the game.
 
Despite the tremendous comeback by the Mountaineers, Weber State fended off Western at the end, winning by seven points, 84-77.
 
Along with Beauchamp's 31 points, Western had four players reach double figures in scoring. Subart added 14 points, while Michael Hill contributed 13 and Monroe Porter had 11.
 
Jerrick Harding led Weber State in scoring with 26 points. Teammate Brekkott Chapman added 20 more for the Wildcats.
 
Western limited turnovers against Weber State, committing just 10 turnovers against the Division I program.
 
The Mountaineers will begin the regular season on Nov. 10 against the University of Texas – Permian Basin at 5 p.m. in Odessa, Texas.