Backups take the spotlight, Weber State basketball beats Park University 90-39
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- Weber State guard Steven Verplancken Jr., left, dribbles past Park University’s LC Ballard on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023, in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Alex Tew (20) blocks the shot of Park University’s Caleb Ivy (5) on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023, in Ogden.
OGDEN — Weber State men’s basketball closed the pre-Christmas part of its schedule by hosting Park University Gilbert in a Thursday matinee, and 12 Weber State players scored as the Wildcats cruised to a 90-39 victory over the NAIA visitors at the Dee Events Center.
Dillon Jones was plus-41 in the plus-minus ledger, totaling 10 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and two steals in just 26 minutes of action.
His seven assists moved him into the top 10 of WSU’s all-time career leaderboard, surpassing Damien Baskerville with 292. Jones is 13 assists away from passing several players into sixth place.
His 11 rebounds move him eight away from passing Jimmie Watts and into third place on that list, as Jones will likely spend the rest of the season climbing into the top five of five categories.
Jones is also now 14 steals from surpassing three players, including Eddie Gill at the top, to become the program’s all-time steals leader.
While Jones did his usual — sometimes sharing laughs with KJ Cunningham and Dyson Koehler while they fought for rebounds — senior guard Steven Verplancken Jr. kept his hot shooting going. Verplancken shot 3 of 3 from the 3-point line in the first half to help Weber State to a 21-0 lead to begin Thursday’s contest.
Verplancken is 20 of his last 37 from behind the arc. He finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
Koehler totaled seven points, three rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes, Blaise Threatt added six points and four rebounds in 16 minutes, and center Alex Tew totaled 10 points, four rebounds and two blocks in 19 minutes.
The starters built a 43-10 halftime lead.
Jones made his final tally in the stat sheet with an assist to freshman guard Viljami Vartiainen, who knocked down a corner 3 for a 60-21 lead with 12:45 left.
“You see these guys have good summers, they put the work in … so it’s dope to see them have those moments (in games) because they’re good players,” Jones said.
The starters sat, but Vartiainen kept scoring. he shot 4 of 8 from the 3-point line to score a game-high 14 points.
“Getting Viljami some minutes at point guard, that’s going to help him grow,” WSU head coach Eric Duft said. “He’s a good shooter, he’s going to make shots but, more importantly, he got to make plays off ball screens and be our point guard for eight minutes. He’s a talented guy and we can use him in that role, especially next year.”
Cunningham spent his 16 minutes distributing to others. He finished with seven assists after dishing to Vartiainen and Louie Jordan for two 3-pointers apiece and throwing a lob dunk each to Tew and Marko Sarenac.
Jordan and Sarenac each finished with nine points.
Handje Tamba totaled seven points and three rebounds, Cunningham had four points and walk-on Isaiah Somers made a 3-pointer with 1:20 left. Backup center Arnaud Revaz added two points, three rebounds and one assist in 10 minutes.
“We’ve got to get (Sarenac) as many minutes as possible,” Duft said. “He’s a very talented player and he’s going to be good for us going forward. He knows he’s playing behind an NBA guy and it’s a situation where we need him to get stronger and develop.
“Getting (Jordan) out there, he’s been practicing so well, and we need to get (Revaz) in game shape, so those are good minutes for him too. ”
Ogden High graduate DJ Frye totaled two points and three rebounds for Park U. Utah native Kylan Shorts led the Buccaneers in scoring, pouring in all of his nine points in the first 3 1/2 minutes out of halftime to take the lid off the basket for the visitors after they shot 5 of 30 in the first half.
Weber State has one week off before opening Big Sky Conference play with a homestand against Montana (Dec. 28) and Montana State (Dec. 30), then also hosts Summit League favorite South Dakota State on Jan. 3.