On night of cold shooting, BYU outlasts reborn Weber State squad 63-57
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- Weber State forward Dyson Koehler (4) drives as BYU’s Dallin Hall (30) defends on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Provo.
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- Weber State center Alex Tew (20) dunks on a fast break in front of BYU’s Noah Waterman (0) and Fousseyni Traore (45) on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Provo.
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- Weber State’s Dyson Koehler (4) is fouled by BYU’s Noah Waterman (0) as Fousseyni Traore (45) blocks the dunk attempt Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Provo.
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- Weber State’s Dillon Jones dribbles against BYU’s Jaxson Robinson on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Provo.
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- Weber State’s Dillon Jones smiles after a play against BYU on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Provo.
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- Weber State head coach Eric Duft calls out during a game against BYU on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Provo.
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- Weber State forward Dillon Jones (2) faces up to shoot against BYU’s Gideon George on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Provo.
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- BYU’s Rudi Williams, rear, and Atiki Ally Atiki (4) contest Weber State’s driving Dillon Jones on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Provo.
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- BYU’s Gideon George (5) blocks the shot of Weber State’s Steven Verplancken Jr. (11) on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Provo.
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- Weber State forward Louie Jordan (30) saves a ball against BYU on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Provo.
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- Weber State guard KJ Cunningham (3) goes up for a layup as BYU’s Jaxson Robinson (2) pulls back on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Provo.
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- Weber State guard Steven Verplancken Jr. (11) drives against BYU’s Dallin Hall on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Provo.
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- Weber State head coach Eric Duft, right, high-fives Dillon Jones in a game against BYU on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Provo.
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- Weber State players Dyson Koehler (4), Keith Dinwiddie and JJ Louden (23) yell after a WSU bucket against BYU on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Provo.
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- Weber State’s Zahir Porter (0) puts his arm around Dillon Jones (2) as Steven Verplancken Jr. (11) and KJ Cunningham (3) walk up the court in the final seconds of a loss against BYU on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, in Provo.
PROVO — On a night neither team could shoot particularly well, BYU’s decided size advantage didn’t seem to have a drastic effect against a Weber State men’s basketball team finishing its non-conference schedule in the Marriott Center, even despite the Cougars blocking eight Wildcat shots.
With several missed chances to take a lead, Weber State — resurgent over the last two weeks with three straight wins and a victory at Utah State — was still there at the end in a game it entered as 13-point underdogs.
Weber State forced BYU into a shot-clock violation with 56 seconds left and guard KJ Cunningham flipped in a contested drive to make it 59-57 with 42 seconds on the clock.
The Cougars’ next possession ended with Jaxson Robinson bricking a deep 3. And that’s when BYU’s size mattered greatly.
Lengthy swingman Gideon George skied for an offensive rebound with 15 seconds left, securing free throws for his team, and BYU ultimately held on for a 63-57 win Thursday night, claiming their fifth straight victory of the season.
“I thought our team showed a lot of competitive character tonight. I thought we gave a great effort,” WSU head coach Eric Duft said. “We were concerned as a staff, we’ve had these three games in seven days, tough road trip to Cal Poly, emotional win at Utah State — could we muster it up again? … We were in it, we were locked in, I think we were just a little dead-legged and it showed on some of our shooting.
“But couldn’t be more proud of our guys and the effort they gave. They followed the game plan. I thought we played the game on our terms.”
Dillon Jones scored 18 points to lead Weber State (5-8) — 13 in the second half — and pulled down seven rebounds.
“Beating Cal Poly and beating Utah State at their house, it’s easy to get complacent and let that be the high of our season. But I was really proud of us just staying together and knowing there’s more out there for us,” Jones said. “We know the deck was against us coming into this tough environment … it shows how good of a team we can be.”
BYU (10-5) took a 40-30 lead on free throws from Noah Waterman, and Jones took over. He scored on three drives, got to the free-throw line and then hit a baseline jumper to make it 47-45 with 9:40 left. Then Dyson Koehler, who finished with seven points and four rebounds, missed consecutive 3s that would have provided the lead.
After Cunningham hit a pair of freebies and scored on a drive to make it 52-49 with 5:45 left, Cunningham and Jones each missed 3s that would have tied it.
And after big man Alex Tew finished his 12-point night (nine came in the opening sequence that saw the Wildcats take a 14-7 lead) with a perimeter steal and a two-handed transition dunk to make it 55-54 with 2:35 left, Weber went without a field goal for 2 minutes.
Weber State has never won in Provo, but Thursday’s contest was its closest margin of defeat at BYU since 1995.
Steven Verplancken Jr. and Junior Ballard combined to shoot 1 of 14 on the night, uncharacteristic of WSU’s recent run of hot shooting.
Fousseyni Traore was a usual force inside for BYU, scoring 17 points on an important 7 of 7 from the free-throw line. With both teams shooting 6 of 24 from deep, BYU’s 17-of-20 mark at the line compared to Weber’s 9-of-12 proved to be a major difference.
Noah Waterman added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Cougars, who open WCC play next week at Pacific.
Weber State may be 5-8, but there’s little question the last four games have been not just improved, but good for the Wildcats — especially on defense.
“We’ve got more of a sense of buy-in but also, it just took a little time to get used to playing with each other,” Jones said. “And our offense is helping our defense … we’re getting deeper in the shot clock, our ball movement’s a lot better and we’re working (on) the other team.”
After a non-conference schedule that included seven true road games, three neutral-site games and only three home games, Weber State opens Big Sky play at the Dee Events Center hosting Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona.
“We want to be playing our best later on, we don’t want to start out guns blazing and just tail off at the end like it’s been the past two years I’ve been here,” Jones said. “So I like the fact that we’ve had some adversity, going through things, and right now we’re getting hot at the right time. And it’s not fake. Tonight, we were a make away from truly changing the game.”