OGDEN -- When Northern Colorado came into the Dee Events Center a year ago, the Bears were unbeaten in the Big Sky before Scott Bamforth's buzzer-beater from just inside half court sent them packing with their first loss.
The electrifying shot garnered national attention on highlight reels and was a defibrillator jolt to the heart for Weber State, which was limping along at the time without injured superstar Damian Lillard and had lost to the same Northern Colorado team by 19 points on the road in its previous game.
"That shot was fun. It's something you'll remember forever," Bamforth said; it's a thrilling highlight he can show his infant son Kingzton when he's older. "It's something that happens once in a lifetime. In that setting, I felt like it sprung our season because from then on we got on a winning streak and to that point we were struggling."
Even with Lillard out for 2010-11 season with a broken foot, Weber State took Northern Colorado down to the final weekend of the season in the chase to host the Big Sky tournament.
Like all Weber State fans, Wildcats coach Randy Rahe has fond memories of Bamforth's game-winner.
"We made that shot and went on a run, won (a bunch) of games in a row. That was huge," he said. "Had we not made that shot, who knows where we would have ended up. It could have gone the other way. The kids were fighting, but we needed a win. That ball goes in and all of a sudden our confidence went up and we found a way to get better last year, being shorthanded."
And like Bamforth, Rahe recognizes the moment for what it is now: A memory.
"That was a huge shot for us last year," he said. "Has nothing to do with this year."
The Bears are back in town for a 5 p.m. afternoon tipoff Saturday (note the time change from a previous schedule).
This time Weber State (17-4, 9-1 Big Sky) is in first place and Lillard is in top gear, having scored 40 points in Thursday's home win over Portland State.
Northern Colorado (7-14, 4-6) isn't the team it was last year, when senior Devon Beitzel was the Big Sky MVP in Lillard's absence and the Bears made their first trip to the NCAA Tournament. Now, Beitzel is gone and UNC last week suspended junior guards Elliot Lloyd and Aaron Hawk-Harris indefinitely.
"They've lost a lot of people but at the end of the day, they're the defending champs. We've got to have that edge to us because that's what we want to be in the Big Sky and do big things," Bamforth said. "I've watched them play online on Big Sky TV and they're a scrappy little team. They're really scrappy because that's how they have to play to be good. They're doing that and any given time, like Idaho State showed us, we can be beat, so if we don't come ready, anything could happen."
Another buzzer-beater would be unexpected. What can be expected is some long-distance sharpshooting, with the Bears ranked third in the nation in 3-point percentage (.429) and the Wildcats close behind in sixth place (.410).
Northern Colorado presents a balanced attack, with five players averaging between 9.1 and 9.9 points per game. Tevin Svihovec is scoring 14.4 ppg in conference play.
Lillard, a Cousy Award finalist, is the only player in the country to have scored 40 points in a game twice this season and leads the nation in scoring (25.1 ppg).
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