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SLIDESHOW: WSU vs. BYU basketball
PROVO -- When Damian Lillard took the feed from Kyle Bullinger and drained a 3-pointer from the left side to give Weber State its first lead over BYU, this November non-conference tilt suddenly began to feel like a late February conference game.
For the next five minutes, the Wildcats battled history and the Cougars' depth before BYU found a way to pull away and keep Weber State winless in Provo with a closer-than-it looks 87-70 victory before 11,892 in the Marriott Center.
The Wildcats are now 0-18 lifetime in Provo. Enough about histrionics.
BYU pulled away from a 58-57 lead with a pair of 3-pointers from Jackson Emery and another from Jimmer Fredette that gave the Cougars a 10-point lead with 7:30 remaining. Weber State (1-4) never recovered and never really challenged after that.
The Cougars shot 63.6 percent from the field, including 7-of-10 from 3-point range in the second half.
"It's hard to avoid a run from a team like BYU in the second half,'' Weber State coach Randy Rahe admitted. "We helped them out with a couple of missed shots and turnovers and couldn't get the stop we needed. But we fought hard, they did what we wanted, and I'm pleased with that."
WSU batted back from an early 14-point deficit with solid effort from its bench that allowed Lillard to get his shooting touch. And when the sophomore did, he finished even with Fredette (both had 23 points) in the battle of Utah's top college point guards.
More importantly, Weber was in the game.
Lillard's trey with 18:12 made it a 46-43 Wildcat lead. BYU scored the next six points, but Weber would regain the lead at 51-48 on a Bullinger 3 with 14:51 left and enjoyed two more leads before the Cougars took control.
"We knew we could come in here and play like that," said Lillard. "We were on the verge of an upset before they (BYU) made their run."
Rahe said he appreciated the game's energy level.
"It was a high level for November and that's going to help,'' Rahe said. "There was more flow to the game and that was from both teams. In November and December, teams struggle with that. We're starting to get closer to that level and getting some roles established. We're two weeks away from being where we need to be."
Weber State got a career-high 16 points from Lindsey Hughey, who made four of his five 3-point attempts. Bullinger had a 9-point, 9-rebound night.
The Wildcat bench delivered 20 points and was key in helping Weber close to 38-34 at halftime. Franklin Session and Trevor Morris each scored seven points, while Matt Washington had a nice 10-minute session where he scored six and grabbed four rebounds.
"You better have seven to nine guys play well if you want to have a chance to win here," Rahe said. "Not only was I pleased from what the bench gave from a scoring standpoint, but from an energy standpoint as well."
BYU (4-0) placed four players in double figures as it faced its toughest challenge of the season since a 70-60 opening night win against Bradley.
Following Fredette's 23 points and seven assist effort was Emery (15), Jonathan Tavernarie (14) and Brandon Davis, who made all of his three field goals and four free-throw attempts in the first half for 10 points. It was Fredette's 19th consecutive game in double figures.
"Randy's team was terrific,'' said BYU coach Dave Rose. "I was proud how we responded. We got some big stops and rebounds and big shots from Jackson and Jimmer."
Weber State will host Utah at the Dee Events Center Wednesday before opening Big Sky play a week from today at Sacramento State.
"It's been a brutal schedule," Rahe said. "But we have very high character kids with a lot of toughness. You can't look at the record right now."
