Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Southern Utah
Wildcats Defeat Thunderbirds, 66-62, In A Foul Plagued Game
12/13/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CEDAR CITY, Utah -- It wasn't pretty to watch, but the end result will suit Coach Randy Rahe just fine. Despite having four frontline players foul out, the Weber State Wildcats used some timely free throw shooting, and a wise coaching decision in the final moments, to pull out a 66-62 win over Southern Utah University Saturday night on the road in Cedar City.
The Wildcats saw a 59-49 lead with 2:49 left, quickly dwindle to just two (61-59) with 21 seconds left on a three-pointer by Dave Marek. Southern Utah then fouled Daviin Davis who made both free throws with 20 seconds remaining to put the Wildcats backup by four .
Southern Utah's Tyler Quinney was fouled in the act of shooting by Darin Mahoney who picked up his fifth foul and left the game with 12 seconds left. Quinney made both free throws pulling the T-Bird back to within two at 61-61.
SUU quickly fouled Daviin Davis on the inbounds pass. Davis, who had made four straight in the final minute, missed on his first attempt but made the second giving the ?Cats a 64-61 lead. WSU took a quick 30 second timeout following Davis' made free throw and elected to foul instead of letting Southern Utah put up a potential game-tying three pointer.
With seconds left, T.J. Benson fouled Marek as he crossed the center line, sending him to the charity stripe for two shots. Turns out it was a smart decision by Coach Rahe and his staff. Marek missed the first shot but made the second making it a two point game.
Instead of just throwing the ball in, then await the foul by SUU, Daviin Davis made a baseball pass to a streaking Kellen McCoy who caught the ball ahead of the SUU defenders and dribbled until being fouled with one second left. McCoy, an 83 percent free throw shooter, made both shots to seal the win.
"I was really proud of our team togetherness and the way we hung there when adversity hit," said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. "We played really good post defense and didn't let them have easy ones. We preached all day Friday, and at our Saturday shoot around, that we needed to be aggressive on defense and in getting rebound position, which is probably why we had four of our frontline players foul out. But we out rebounded them by seven, which is only the second time this season they have been beaten on the boards. It was a great team effort."
Davis, who was a starter in the season's first five games at the small forward spots, came off the bench for the third straight game to score in double figures. He had 17 points in 33 minutes and had a game high four blocked shots. Nick Hansen had 13 points hitting 3-5 from long distance. Damian Lillard scored 11 and Steve Panos chipped in with 10. Panos,. Kyle Bullinger, Trevor Morris and Darin Mahoney all fouled out.
SUU's Davis Baker, a talented all-around scorer, had 27 points on 8-13 shooting from the field and a perfect 9-9 at the line. Tyler Quinney was the only other Thunderbird in double figure scoring with 18.
The win now evens Weber State's record at 4-4 giving the Wildcats back-to-back wins for the first time this season, and their first win in Cedar City since the 2003-04 season.
Southern Utah falls to 3-6.
Weber State returns home for a Wednesday, December 17 meeting in the Dee Events Center against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. Tip off is set for 7:05 p.m. (MST).
