Weber State basketball: Surviving late push, Jones rallies ‘Cats for road win at Northern Arizona
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- Weber State’s Dyson Koehler (4) drives past Northern Arizona’s Diego Campisano (12) on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Flagstaff, Ariz.
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- Weber State’ Dillon Jones (2) brings the ball up the court against Northern Arizona on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Flagstaff, Ariz.
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- Weber State’s KJ Cunningham, right, drives against Northern Arizona’s Oakland Fort (4) on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Flagstaff, Ariz.
Weber State men’s basketball held the lead for more than 30 minutes to start Thursday’s game at Northern Arizona but slammed into a significant test when the Lumberjacks rallied and led by as many as four in the final minute.
Facing the prospect of losing their sixth in the last seven contests, the Wildcats found a way.
Dillon Jones willed Weber State back into the win column, scoring 10 points in the final 3:55 — including seven in the final minute — and the Wildcats dealt NAU its first home loss of the season with a 72-70 decision.
“On the road, some teams might fold but this team did not. I told them after, I would rather have won this game just like we did, with where our team’s at, than by 10 or 12 because we need to fight through adversity better,” WSU head coach Eric Duft said. “We just dug down tonight.”
Weber State (13-9, 4-5 Big Sky) led by as many as 16 points in the first half, a spirited start to answer the team’s recent malaise. But NAU center Carson Basham scored in the paint to cap a 15-4 run for the Lumberjacks (10-12, 3-5), good for a 60-58 lead with 4:53 left in the game.
After three Jones points, WSU guard Blaise Threatt converted a strong drive over Basham for a 64-62 lead with 2:31 left.
Out of an NAU timeout, wing Trenton McLaughlin showed why he’s scored 25 or more in three of the last four games when he swished a quick, pull-up 3. After a WSU miss, the Wildcats tried to double Basham in the post and the ball swung around the court to an open McLaughlin, who buried what seemed like a backbreaking 3-pointer. That made it 68-64 with 1:40 left.
And that’s when Jones took over.
Jones got to the line for two, and again drove for an old-fashioned three-point play to get the margin to 70-69 with 45 seconds remaining.
Threatt was a major factor, too. With a press, Threatt stripped NAU’s Jayden Jackson at midcourt, leading to KJ Cunningham being fouled in the paint. With 34.6 left, Cunningham inexplicably missed both freebies.
But Threatt was there, grabbing his fifth offensive rebound of the game and firing it off an NAU player’s leg before going out of bounds. WSU isolated Jones against Diego Campisano and Jones backed him down the baseline for another foul, the ball barely falling out of the cylinder for a three-point play.
Jones made both free throws, going 10 of 10 from the line to score 18 of his 26 points in the second half, for a 71-70 lead.
With 26.6 seconds left, NAU missed two 3-pointers and WSU finally secured possession when Oakland Fort took an offensive rebound out of bounds. Steven Verplancken made 1 of 2 foul shots — the non-Jones Wildcats were 10 of 18 from the foul line — but Fort airballed a leaning wing 3 at the buzzer over a strong Verplancken contest.
“Tonight, we brought our guts,” Duft said. “We were 4 of 22 from 3, we had guys that never miss free throws that were missing them tonight. Diplomatically, we had some other things that went against us, and we still won. We practiced hard this week, and we competed hard (tonight) and won this game.”
Jones added eight rebounds and four assists to his 26 points. Threatt finished with 19 points, six rebounds and two steals.
“Teams kind of figure you out,” Duft said about Threatt as a newcomer, “and then you have to adjust. “He went through that process … tonight, he just gutted it out and played great.”
Verplancken added 13 points, and Alex Tew totaled five points and five rebounds in just 15 minutes, saddled with foul trouble after a few moving screen calls. The teams were whistled for a stunning 23 fouls each and combined to attempt 51 free throws.
Threatt shot 2 of 2 from the 3-point line, Verplancken 2 of 7, and all other Wildcats were 0 of 13.
McLaughlin finished with 29 points, making three influential 3s but missing two big attempts late. Basham added 16 points, Fort 11, and Jackson added nine points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Weber State built a 29-13 lead in the first half by starting 12 of 19 from the field, then gave up five straight to McLaughlin when he took steals and raced for transition buckets, plus one free throw. WSU led 35-27 at halftime.
Promising changes to the playing rotation last week, Duft played the same starting lineup but also played 11 players, with reserves Handje Tamba (two points in 11 minutes), Marko Sarenac (six minutes), Louie Jordan (0 for 3 from 3 in four minutes), and Arnaud Revaz (three minutes) seeing the court in the first half.
The Wildcats next play at Northern Colorado on Saturday night, who outlasted Idaho State 91-86 in double overtime Thursday to remain in second place and move to 8-1 at home.
Elsewhere, Montana State handed Eastern Washington its first loss with a 70-60 home win. In Missoula, Idaho led for most of its game at Montana before falling late, 73-70.
EWU is now 7-1 in league play, NoCo is 6-2, and the two Montana schools are 6-3. WSU moved up to sixth.
NAU 85, WSU 65
Weber State women’s basketball competed in the middle quarters, trailing 58-49 through three, but first-place Northern Arizona pulled away with a 27-16 fourth quarter.
NAU (15-6, 7-1 Big Sky) had five players in double figures and shot a blistering 13 of 24 from the 3-point line. Star guard Emily Rodabaugh led the Lumberjacks with 18 points on five 3-pointers.
Kendra Parra led Weber State (6-16, 3-6) with 15 points. Laura Taylor made three 3s and totaled 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Center Amelia Raidaveta added 11 points and eight rebounds.
WSU hosts Northern Colorado at noon Saturday.