Damian Lillard went from goat to hero and Weber State went from loser to winner without a single second ticking off the game clock Saturday night in the third-place game at the Great Alaska Shootout.
Weber State came from behind to take a dramatic 82-81 victory over Drake in a game decided by an offensive foul that put the guilty party -- Lillard -- at the foul line for the winning points.
Weber State trailed by one point with 13 seconds left following Rayvonte Rice's driving layup that put Drake ahead 81-80.
Lillard, Weber State's electrifying guard, took the ball nearly the length of the court and was driving hard through the paint when he was whistled for an offensive foul with 5.7 seconds left.
Excited by the turnover, Drake's Aaron Hawley spiked the ball high into the air and a referee instantly hit him with a technical foul -- the penalty for spiking a basketball.
That sent Lillard to the foul line, where he sank both free throws to give his team a one-point lead. Drake's Alexander Kurt's running layup at the buzzer was off target, making the Wildcats the unlikely winners.
"We were in celebratory mode and the next thing I know a technical was called," Drake coach Mark Phelps said. "It's very, very, very unfortunate that a call like that was made when we had made a defensive stop and put ourselves in position to seal the game."
Weber State Randy Rahe said he could relate, but reminded folks that rules are rules.
"By rule, it was the right call," he said. "If I'm Drake I'm not happy about it, and if the call had been against us I wouldn't be happy about it. But by rule, you can't do that."
As for Lillard -- who finished with 31 points -- he was grateful he got a chance to make up for the player-control foul that could have cost his team the game.
"I'm just thankful to have another chance," he said. "I owed my teammates."
This wasn't the first time Lillard has been involved in a game decided by premature celebration.
"When I was in high school, it actually happened to me, except I didn't spike the ball, I took off my jersey," he said. "They called a technical on me and we lost the game."
DRAKE (81) -- Hawley 5-10 4-4 15, VanDeest 4-6 1-2 9, Wedel 6-11 0-0 17, Wiseler 2-3 2-2 7, Rice 9-16 1-3 21, Alexander 0-1 0-0 0, Woods 2-3 0-2 4, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Simons 1-2 0-0 3, Uhlenhopp 2-2 0-0 5. Totals -- 31-54 8-13 81.
WEBER STATE (82) -- Bullinger 1-3 0-0 3, Mahoney 1-1 0-0 2, Morris 2-3 4-4 8, Lillard 8-15 13-17 31, Hughey 1-5 0-0 2, Bamforth 7-10 2-3 22, Richardson 0-1 0-0 0, Fulton 6-11 1-2 14, Tresnak 0-0 0-0 0. Totals -- 26-49 20-26 82.
Drake 46 35 -- 81
Weber State 34 48 -- 82
Three-point goals -- Drake 11-20 (Hawley 1-3, Wedel 5-8, Wiseler 1-2, Rice 2-4, Simons 1-2, Uhlenhopp 1-1), Weber State 10-18 (Bullinger 1-2, Lillard 2-5, Hughey 0-1, Bamforth 6-8, Richardson 0-1, Fulton 1-1). Rebounds -- Drake 28 (Hawley 6), Weber State 25 (Lillard 6). Total Fouls -- Drake 20, Weber State 15. Fouled out -- Wiseler. Technical Foul -- Hawley. Turnovers -- Drake 13, Weber State 11 (Lillard 4). Assists -- Drake 18 (Rice 6), Weber State 16 (Bamforth 6). Steals -- Drake 4 (Rice 2), Weber State 7. Blocks -- Drake 3, Weber State 2. Officials -- Holland, Lujan, Mayberry.
7th-place game
Brimley leads Utah past Houston Baptist
Ryan Brimley, a 6-foot-4 guard who had missed five of his first six long-range shots, hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left to power Southern Utah to a 64-61 win over Houston Baptist in the game for seventh place Saturday at the Shootout.
The Thunderbirds called a timeout to set up a final play, and coach Roger Reid said he didn't hesitate to make Brimley their go-to guy -- despite Brimley's previous misses.
Before coming to Southern Utah, Brimley led Snow College to the 2009 junior college national championship by scoring the winning points in the title game on a 75-foot buzzer beater.
Brimley's winning shot was needed because Houston Baptist (0-6) erased Southern Utah's 15-point halftime lead. Matt Massey led Southern Utah (2-4) with 20 points and Andrew Gonzalez topped Houston Baptist (0-6) with 18 points. Brimley finished with six.
SOUTHERN UTAH (64) -- Taylor 1-4 2-2 4, Massey 10-16 0-0 20, Hodgson 4-8 3-5 11, Jones 2-5 0-0 4, Weirick 1-5 0-0 2, Heuir 0-0 0-0 0, Brimley 2-8 0-0 6, Nielson 0-1 1-2 1, Davis 4-7 3-4 11, Koehler 2-5 1-2 5. Totals -- 26-59 10-15 64.
HOUSTON BAPTIST (61) -- Bembry 3-13 3-10 9, Gonzalez 3-11 12-15 18, Ryan 1-4 0-0 2, Echols 1-3 0-0 3, Evans 1-3 1-2 4, Thomas 1-1 2-2 4, Moss 4-11 2-2 12, Hinnenkamp 1-2 0-0 3, Berry 1-3 0-0 2, Obetoh 1-3 2-4 4. Totals -- 17-54 22-35 61.
Three-point goals -- SUU 2-10 (Massey 0-1, Weirick 0-1, Brimley 2-7, Davis 0-1), HBU 5-16 (Gonzalez 0-4, Echols 1-2, Evans 1-3, Moss 2-5, Kinnenkamp 1-1, Berry 0-1). Rebounds -- SUU 46 (Hodgson, Davis 8), HBU 28 (Moss 6). Total Fouls -- SUU 27, HBU 17. Fouled out -- Hodgson, Gonzales. Technical fouls -- Hodgson, Davis. Turnovers -- SUU 22 (Massey 5), HBU 14 (Moss 4). Assists -- SUU 20 (Jones 5), HBU 11 (Moss 5). Steals -- SUU 6, HBU 12 (Gonzalez 4). Blocks -- SUU 8 (Hodgson 4), HBU 4. Officials -- Holland, Mayberry, Tovoli.
Southern Utah 38 26 -- 64
Houston Baptist 23 38 -- 61
Anchorage Daily News
sports@adn.com