OGDEN -- The glaring absence of Damian Lillard's name in the starting lineup didn't slow down the Wildcats on Saturday, but filling the void left by Lillard won't always be this easy.
Weber State rolled to a 94-54 victory over NAIA school University of Southwest at the Dee Events Center in its first game since losing Lillard for the season with a broken foot Thursday at Tulsa.
The Wildcats (6-4) have a huge adjustment to make without their leading scorer and the returning Big Sky MVP, but Saturday might have been just what they needed to begin.
A much tougher test is coming Tuesday when nationally ranked BYU (10-1) comes to town with preseason All-American Jimmer Fredette after suffering its first loss Saturday against UCLA.
Saturday, freshman center Kyle Tresnak came off the bench to lead the way for the Wildcats with his first career double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
"I've been working with the coaches on my post moves a little bit more," Tresnak said. "They had some big guys, but I just got around them."
Senior guard Lindsey Hughey added 17 points and starting center Trevor Morris had 14.
Freshman forward Byron Fulton contributed 13 points and former Layton Christian Academy star B.J. Porter scored 12 in his first game at home since becoming eligible Dec. 10. The 6-foot-3 sophomore shooting guard transferred from the University of Portland after sitting out last season with an injury.
Weber State needs some leaders to step up to help its adjustment without Lillard and Hughey did that Saturday.
"I'm a senior, I've been around," Hughey said. "I know what needs to be done on the court and what coach expects from me, what my teammates expect from me. I need to go out there and lead by example, talk more on the court."
Saturday's balanced effort, with five players in double figures, is something the Wildcats are going to need going forward, WSU coach Randy Rahe said.
"Our kids were excited to play and they wanted to get after somebody," Rahe said. "I thought we were real aggressive, we were really active, everybody was helping each other out. It was great to get off to a good start like that and our defense obviously keyed us getting off to a great start. It was kind of fun to see."
The Wildcats didn't waste any time taking control against University of the Southwest.
USW didn't score a field goal for the first six minutes.
Up 15-7, Weber State went on a 36-7 run, with sophomore Scott Bamforth scoring all of his points with eight straight at one point.
Bamforth, who started at point guard in Lillard's absence, has been Weber State's second leading scorer as a shooting guard off the bench, averaging 10.5 ppg coming into Saturday.
The Wildcats shot 54.8 percent from the field during the first half, including 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
Despite the solid offensive start, it was the defensive side where Weber State got its separation. The Wildcats held University of the Southwest to 7-of-26 shooting (26.9 percent) while forcing 13 turnovers in the half to take a 55-27 lead at the break.
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