Dillon Jones, Weber State men’s basketball cruise to 96-62 win in opener
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- Weber State’s Dillon Jones (2) drives past Benedictine Mesa’s Eric Norton (4) on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Blaise Threatt, right, drives past Benedictine Mesa’s Emad Elniel (3) on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s KJ Cunningham, center, drives against Benedictine Mesa on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Dillon Jones (2) rises to score against Benedictine Mesa on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Weber State’s Blaise Threatt (0) shoots against Benedictine Mesa’s Chris Aibuedefe (24) on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
OGDEN — Tuesday night checked all the boxes for Weber State men’s basketball: a tune-up, some chances to work on new concepts and lineups, and a chance to balance minutes.
The Wildcats opened the 2023-24 season with a 96-62 win over visiting NAIA squad Benedictine University Mesa.
WSU star forward Dillon Jones cruised to 26 points and 14 rebounds on 6-of-7 shooting in 28 minutes to lead the way, bullying his way to a 13-of-13 mark at the free-throw line.
The thing most on his mind after the game? His one turnover.
“I was so mad,” Jones said. “But it was good to get under the lights and play an opponent … you can’t take it for granted, honestly. You only get 31 of these.”
Benedictine stuck around for the first 13 minutes and had the game at 29-19 on a three-point play from 6-foot-10 D’Andre Johnson.
But the Wildcats perked up thanks to a pair of Steven Verplancken Jr. jumpers, while junior guard Blaise Threatt added a drive and a 3-pointer. WSU ended the first half on a 17-4 run for a 46-25 lead.
Threatt assisted Jones on a drive and dished to sophomore center Handje Tamba for a dunk to cap a 17-1 run in the second half to bring the score to 66-33 with 12:50 left.
Benedictine (10 of 21) outshot Weber State (9 of 28) from the 3-point line, but Verplancken, Dyson Koehler and Louie Jordan (twice) each connected in the space of four minutes to get the net moving.
WSU head coach Eric Duft said he wasn’t worried about either side of those 3-point numbers.
“Some of those were switch errors from our young guys, I thought our veteran guys clamped that down,” Duft said. “We threw a bunch of stuff out there defensively that we haven’t worked on much, so we’ll get better at that.”
Jones, who led the country in defensive rebounding last season, notched all 14 on the defensive glass and tallied his first double-double of the season (his 20 last season was third-best nationally). He added three steals and two assists, and was plus-40 in the plus-minus ledger.
“Dillon’s effort was really good tonight,” Duft said. “He’s just a guy that’s going to make the right play and some nights he might shoot seven shots and some nights 17, but he’s just going to continually make the right play and I thought his mindset tonight was where it needed to be.”
Verplancken pitched in 16 points, while junior center Alex Tew totaled 12 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Koehler scored nine points and senior point guard KJ Cunningham added seven.
Threatt, a junior guard, totaled 15 points and three assists on 5-of-7 shooting in 21 minutes.
“He’s got the body, the athleticism to get in the lane and make the right play, and I thought he did a good job with that tonight,” Duft said. “He’s going to be a guy who gives us that extra playmaking ability we need.”
Eric Norton (10 points), Damian Zivak (10 points) and Deven Franks (nine points) combined to shoot 7 of 8 from the 3-point line to keep points ticking for the visitors, sometimes connecting on some relatively tough, challenged takes.
Weber State next prepares for its first road trip, visiting a formidable Saint Mary’s squad ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press Top 25. It’s the first AP Top 25 opponent for Weber State since facing No. 17 Utah State to open the 2019-20 season.