CHENEY, Wash. -- Caleb Nero scored a career-high 19 points and Weber State pulled away early in the second half to beat Eastern Washington 84-72 on Saturday in a Big Sky Conference opener.

The Wildcats had a 37-33 halftime lead and opened the second half with a 20-3 run. Michal Kozak scored all seven of his points during the stretch and capped it with a 3-pointer with 13 minutes remaining.

Weber State (7-5, 1-0) has won back-to-back games since snapping a three-game skid. Eastern Washington (2-10, 0-1) has lost seven of its last eight.

Nero was 7 of 8 from the floor, and his deep 3-pointer from the top of the arc gave the Wildcats a 78-58 lead with about three minutes left. Cody John added another 19 points and Jerrick Harding chipped in 18 for Weber State, which shot 53 percent (31 of 58) from the field.

Mason Peatling scored 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting to lead Eastern Washington.