Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
San Jose State
Lillard's 41 leads Wildcats to Double Overtime Win
12/4/2011 8:12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
OGDEN, Utah - Damian Lillard refused to let the Wildcats lose. Lillard, who entered the game leading the country in scoring, scored a career-high 41 points as Weber State beat San Jose State 91-89 in a double-overtime thriller Saturday night at the Dee Events Center.
Lillard's 41 points is the second-most points in school history. Only Stan Mayhew's 45 points in 1977 was better than Lillard on Saturday.
The junior from Oakland, Calif. native had 10 points at halftime. He made a game-tying three-pointer with 5.6 seconds left at the end of regulation to tie the game at 67. He had 24 points at that point.
In the first overtime Lillard scored eight of WSU's nine points including another three-pointer that tied the game at 71. Then with the Wildcats down four with 2:00 to play, Lillard scored five quick points. He first hit a floater in the lane, then stole the ensuing inbounds pass and scored, and was fouled on play and hit a free throw to give the Wildcats a one-point lead.
He scored nine of WSU's 13 points in the second overtime, including his sixth three-pointer and scored the driving, go-ahead layup with 10.7 seconds, was fouled and made the free throw to give WSU the wild win.
"Damian was amazing," said WSU head coach Randy Rahe. "There's no other way to say it; he was just amazing."
Lillard finished the night 13-21 from the field, including 6-11 from three-point land. He was also 9-10 from the free throw line and pulled down a team-best eight rebounds and had four assists and two steals.
"I didn't really feel like I couldn't let the team lose," Lillard said. "I felt like we couldn't let ourselves lose on our home floor. I think that's what it was more about than me not letting them lose. I'm the leader of the team. I felt like I should be the first one to step up and say 'I'll do it,' and tonight I did."
Lillard now leads the country in scoring at 28.2 points per game. He has scored 20 or more points in five of six games this season.
Kyle Tresnak scored in double figures for the fourth straight game, finishing with 13 points and five rebounds. Scott Bamforth added 12 points and Darin Mahoney had a season-bests of eight points and seven rebounds off the bench.
The win was the 100th victory for WSU head coach Randy Rahe who is 100-62 in his sixth season with the Wildcats.
WSU did have some bad news as senior Kyle Bullinger suffered a dislocated right elbow in the first half and did not return. Bullinger, who was playing in his 100th game with the Wildcats, will be re-evaluated to determine the extent of the injury.
Weber State shot 41 percent for the game but just 31 percent in the first half. The 'Cats were 8-12 from the field in the overtime periods.
The Wildcats will take on in-state rival BYU Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in Provo. The Wildcats have never beaten the Cougars in Provo. WSU is back home with Southern Utah next Saturday.
