By MATTHEW PRIBYL
Despite a career night by Mekeli Wesley and one of the best efforts of the year put forth by the Cougars, the inability to stop the Washington Huskies down the stretch proved fatal as BYU came up short in a 83-68 loss at the Marriott Center Tuesday night.
Wesley carried the Cougars on his back the whole night as he erupted for 31 points on 10 of 16 shooting from the field.
'I was at an advantage all night. They (Washington) kept matching me up with 6'5' guys all night and I was able to convert on many inside shots,' Wesley said. The Huskies seemed unable to match both the talent and the skill of Wesley in the post. 'Mekeli competed on every possession and he was huge tonight,' head coach Steve Cleveland said.
While Wesley battled it out in the trenches, Weidauer took his game outside converting on 2 of 4 from the three-point line and 7 of 13 from the field. Cleveland lit a spark under Weidauer that must have got him going offensively. 'At halftime I told Justin that I thought he needed to step it up and in the second half he did,' Cleveland said. Wesley and Weidauer carried the load and Danny Bower also helped by pouring in 11 points.
Cleveland was ecstatic about the aggressive play of first-time starter and freshman forward Bart Jepsen, who competed every minute that he was in the game. 'Bart had nine rebounds and brought a presence that we haven't had,' Cleveland said. 'I think that we found a player in Bart Jepsen.'
Coach Cleveland stated three keys that measure his team's success. Competing on every possession, executing at both ends, and playing with the best attitude possible are essentials that Cleveland believes will take his team to another level.
As for the Huskies, Deon Luton shot 6 of 14 from the field, including 2 of 6 from beyond the arc. Luton spent the majority of the night as a thorn in the Cougars' paw. 'I hit my first jumper and I just wanted to keep shooting,' said Luton. 'I felt that I couldn't miss for a while there.'
Washington head coach Bob Brennan couldn't say enough about Luton's performance. 'Deon Luton played clutch for us and hit some really big shots,' Brennan said.
Brennan also had high praise for the tenacity that the Cougars put forth. 'They (BYU) are not an easy team to play,' he said. 'They are very competitive and we had some defensive lapses due to their intensity. Our ability to pound the ball inside, create easy baskets, remain aggressive and constantly attack the basket were all keys in our victory tonight.'
The two big bodies in the paint were surprisingly quiet as the Cougars held 7-foot center Todd MacCulloch to a season-low 9 points, while 7'1' Patrick Femerling was the more productive of the two, scoring 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting from the field. Coach Brennan was concerned about his big guys and their lack of efficiency in the game. 'They didn't get off to a good start. Thalo Green and Chris Walcott came in to provide a defensive spark,' Brennan said.
As the second half wore down, the pressure of the Huskies, compiled with Cougar fatigue, put the game out of reach. 'We were tired out there in the second half and every time that we got within 4 or 5 points they would hit a three to bury us,' Cleveland said.