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BBall Post-game: BYU 69, Utah State 67

December 16, 2000

Source: BYU Press Release 

Trent Whiting scored a game-high 22 points in his long-awaited BYU debut, and Mekeli Wesley knocked in two free throws with eight seconds to play, as the Cougars held off Utah State 69-67 Saturday at the Marriott Center. BYU improves to 6-2 on the season with the win, while the Aggies drop to 6-2.

Whiting made an immediate impact in the Cougar offense, starting in his first game back since transferring from Utah last season. He and senior Nate Knight, a Sandy, Utah native who transferred from Kentucky last year as well, became eligible Friday when the fall semester ended. Knight also saw significant action in his first game for the Cougars, finishing with six rebounds in 18 minutes of play.

"I guess if anybody questioned why I started (Whiting) tonight, you probably know now," said BYU coach Steve Cleveland. "He has been the best player in practice for four months. He is a competitor and he adds a nice dimension th this ball club; something we haven’t had."

The Cougars started the game 5-5 from three point range, as Whiting drained his first three shots from downtown and Wesley added two long-range jumpers of his own. Mekeli finished with 22 points, including 2-3 on three point attempts, and Whiting went 4-7 from behind the arc.

BYU led by as much as 12 points in the early going, but Utah State battled back to take the lead for only the second time in the game with just 36 seconds remaining in the first half. But an NBA-range bomb by Whiting at the buzzer sent the Cougars into the locker room with a 41-40 halftime lead.

Utah State came out firing in the second half, taking a 42-41 lead on a dunk by center Dimitri Jorssen just over a minute into the half. The Aggies maintained the lead for almost the entire half. But with 3:23 left to play, Terrell Lyday hit a clutch three pointer to bring the Cougars within two. On the ensuing Aggie possession, Whiting stripped the ball from point guard Bernard Rock and took it the length of the floor for a layup to tie the game at 63-63. 

With 39 seconds left, and the game tied at 67-67, the Cougars tried to free up Whiting for a three pointer. His attempt from the corner hit the back of the rim and bounced out near the free throw line. But Travis Hansen outleaped an Aggie defender to capture the offensive rebound and maintain possession for BYU. 

Wesley’s two free throws with just eight seconds left gave BYU its first lead of the second half, and proved to be the difference in the final score.

Utah State had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but Curtis Bobb lost the ball out of bounds while turning to shoot, giving BYU possession with 0.3 seconds left. The Cougars ran out the clock.

Bobb scored 13 points for the Aggies in the first half, but was held to 3 unsuccessful attempts in the second. Dimitri Jorssen led Utah State with 15 points.

The Aggies had won 22 of their last 23 regular season games, dating back to last season's loss to BYU. The Cougars have now won 12 straight games over the Aggies in Provo.

BYU now leads the 217-meeting series between the two teams 132-85.

The Cougars now head to Laie, Hawaii to face Boise State in the first round of the Pearl Harbor Invitational. The game will be played Thursday, December 21. 
 

UTAH ST (67)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Daniels         29   4-7   1-5   4-9  2  4    9
Rock            35   4-7   3-3   3-4  3  2   12
Jorssen         30  5-10   5-5   3-6  0  2   15
Bobb            31  5-12   2-2   3-6  1  1   13
T Brown         31   3-8   2-2   0-2  4  2   10
Vincent          7   0-1   0-0   0-1  0  2    0
Vague            9   1-1   2-2   0-2  0  2    4
Ray             11   0-1   2-4   1-1  0  3    2
Bailey          11   0-0   0-0   0-0  2  2    0
Johnson          6   0-0   2-2   0-1  0  1    2
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 22-47 19-25 14-32 12 21   67
_______________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.468, FT-.760. 3-Point Goals:
4-11, .364 (Rock 1-1, Bobb 1-4, T Brown 2-5,
Vincent 0-1). Team rebounds: 1. Blocked shots:
None. Turnovers: 18 (Bobb 5, Daniels 3, Bailey 2,
Rock 2, Vincent 2, Jorssen, Ray, T Brown, Vague).
Steals: 4 (Bobb 2, Daniels, Rock).

BYU (69)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Hansen          25   1-6   0-0   1-4  2  2    2
Wesley          30  8-14   4-7   1-2  2  4   22
Nielsen         21   2-3   2-2   0-2  3  4    6
Whiting         39  7-11   4-4   0-2  2  2   22
Lyday           26   1-6   2-2   0-2  2  2    5
Knight          18   1-3   3-3   2-6  1  4    5
Bobik            3   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
Montague        10   0-1   0-0   0-0  1  1    0
Chrisman        10   1-2   1-3   1-1  1  0    3
Cooper          14   2-2   0-0   3-3  2  1    4
Dawes            4   0-0   0-0   0-1  0  1    0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 23-48 16-21  8-23 16 21   69
_______________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.479, FT-.762. 3-Point Goals:
7-13, .538 (Hansen 0-1, Wesley 2-3, Whiting 4-7,
Lyday 1-2). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots:
None. Turnovers: 11 (Wesley 4, Cooper 2, Whiting
2, Chrisman, Lyday, Montague). Steals: 4 (Hansen,
Knight, Montague, Whiting).
__________________________________
Utah St            40   27  -   67
Byu                41   28  -   69
__________________________________
Technical fouls: Utah St 1 (Bailey).  A: 8,277.
Officials: Scott Thornley, Stan Reynolds, Jim
Danner.
 

Next game:  December 21 at Pearl Harbor Invitational vs. Boise State

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