Weber State University Athletics
WSU to honor 2003 Wildcat men's basketball team
2/15/2018 3:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball
15 years ago, the Weber State men's basketball team had one of the greatest seasons in school and Big Sky Conference history. The 2002-03 Wildcat team went undefeated in conference play and won 17-straight games. Weber State will honor the 2003 team on the 15th anniversary of its success. The team will be honored as part of Weber State's final home game on Saturday, Feb. 24, against Idaho. Many coaches and players from that team will be in attendance for the recognition at halftime.
Led by head coach Joe Cravens and Big Sky MVP, Jermaine Boyette, the 2002-03 Wildcats went on one of the great runs the league has ever seen. Starting with a home win over BYU on Jan. 8, the Wildcats did not lose for more than two months. Weber State posted a perfect 14-0 record in conference play, one of just two teams in Big Sky history to finish the regular season undefeated. The Wildcats also won two games at the Big Sky Tournament to run the winning streak to 17 games, the second-longest streak in school history. The streak ended with a loss to Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament.
Boyette led the Wildcats and was named Big Sky MVP after averaging 20.5 points per game during the season. He scored a career-high 37 points to start the winning streak in the 75-69 win over BYU.
Also earning First Team All-Big Sky honors that season was Ohio State transfer Slobodan Ocokoljic, who was named the Big Sky Newcomer of the Year. Nic Sparrow also earned All-Conference first team honors.
Other members of that team included John Hamilton, Stephan Bachmann, Pat Danley, Stevie Morrison, Brad Barton, Marlon Carter, Talmadge Eyre, Anthony Jackson and Jamaal Jenkins.
Cravens was named the Big Sky and District Coach of the Year. He was joined on the coaching staff by Kirk Earlywine, John Stroia and Andy Jensen.
WSU clinched a Big Sky perfect season with wins at Eastern Washington and Portland State at the end of the regular season. Weber State had won 15 straight games and finished conference play a perfect 14-0. However the work was not finished. They now had to win two games at Big Sky Tournament to advance to the NCAA's. They had 10 days off until their next game in which they defeated Sacramento State 82-60 in the semifinals.
That set up the championship game against Eastern Washington on March 12, 2003, with the winner heading to the NCAA Tournament. The game was played in front of more than 10,000 fans at the Dee Events Center and it turned out to be quite a game with one of the most bizarre endings in history. The Wildcats got off to a slow start and trailed Eastern Washington 28-27 at halftime. But Boyette dug down deep and took the Wildcats on his back, scoring 22 points in the second half, and made two free throws in the final 35 seconds to keep Weber State on top.
Holding a three-point lead at 59-56 with eight seconds to play, a penny was thrown on the floor by an unknown fan. Since the officials had already warned the crowd about throwing objects on the floor, Weber State was assessed a technical foul. Eastern Washington's Alvin Snow missed the first free throw but made the second to cut the lead to two. Boyette was then fouled and made the first free throw but missed the second. EWU got the rebound but a three-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the rim and the Wildcats won the game 60-57 and clinched the tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats received a 12 seed in the Midwest Regional and were sent to face Big Ten champion Wisconsin in Spokane, Washington. Wisconsin held off the Wildcats for most of the second half. WSU trailed by six with 29 seconds to play but the Badgers maintained the lead at the free throw line down the stretch and pulled out an 81-74 win.
The loss ended the season and snapped a 17-game winning streak and was WSU's first loss in two and a half months. The season ended at 26-6 overall, tied for the second most wins in a season in WSU history.
