OGDEN, Utah – Given the players who have come through Weber State, even just in the past 20 years – Damian Lillard, Jerrick Harding, Joel Bolomboy, Jeremy Senglin – there have been no shortage of legendary performances inside the ring of purple seats at the Dee Events Center.
On Thursday, Dillon Jones relentlessly authored the latest – and maybe the greatest.
In a hyped matchup against fellow MVP contender Saint Thomas and Northern Colorado, Jones played all 45 minutes of Weber’s wild 85-81 overtime win, putting up a stat line that, like a painting hanging in a museum, defies analysis and requires only slack-jawed appreciation.
30 points. 23 rebounds. Nine assists.
“There’s guys that don’t have seasons with those numbers,” Weber State head coach Eric Duft said. “I mean, 30 points, 23 rebounds, nine assists. What do you say? He’s a terrific player. … Phenomenal performance, played every minute. This time of the year, you know, the players have to step up and make the plays.”
On a night when double-digit NBA scouts were in town to watch Jones – and his rival Thomas, the silky-smooth wing from Northern Colorado who’s stolen plenty of Jones’ preseason thunder – Jones went just 1 of 9 from behind the 3-point arc, part of a night in which the Wildcats shot 7 of 30 from distance.
It didn’t matter.
Beginning with a furious start to the second half – two rampaging layups in the first 90 seconds – Jones repeatedly willed his way to the basket and the free-throw line, clearing the defensive glass time after time and pushing the ball up the floor himself.
“I didn’t think I had the half I needed in the first half,” Jones said. “And I just knew I needed to pick my pace up. I guess it showed as like, aggression, but what I was trying to do was pick my pace up. I felt like I was maybe walking around a little bit. Not being assertive enough.”
HIs ninth and final assist, to Blaise Threatt for a 3-pointer with 4:37 left, put Weber up 65-61 and set up a thrilling ending to regulation.
Northern Colorado answered with a 10-0 run, keyed by Jaron Rillie drawing a foul on a 3-point attempt and making two of the three free throws to break a 65-65 tie, and led 71-65 with 52 seconds left when Rillie made two more free throws.
But three offensive rebounds on the same possession by Weber State led to Threatt making two free throws, and on the ensuing inbounds, Dyson Koehler ripped the ball away from Thomas under Weber’s basket and laid it in to cut the Bears’ lead to 71-69.
The Wildcats fouled Rillie on the next inbounds, and he missed the front end of a one-and-one. Jones grabbed the rebound and went coast-to-coast for the tying layup with seven seconds left.
Rillie tried to answer, but – high drama – he was called for a charge as his floater dropped through the net at the buzzer.
The extra period featured the same two protagonists as the end of regulation. Rillie scored all 10 points in overtime for Northern Colorado, and his jumper put the Bears up 79-73 with 2:52 left.
Just like in regulation, Weber State answered. Threatt drove for a layup, then picked up a loose ball and rifled a pass to Jones under the basket for an and-1.
Jones’ two free throws with just over a minute left put the Wildcats ahead for the final time. With Northern Colorado down two in the final seconds, Rillie spun past Jones, who hit him on the arm. The refs didn’t call the foul on the court, and were only able to go to the monitor to confirm that the ball went out off Rillie – the final drama in a game loaded with it.
As the buzzer sounded, Jones retrieved the ball from Thomas’ final half-court heave and dropped it off at the scorers’ table before circling the arena, slapping hands with fans hanging down from the student section.
At that moment, he didn’t know the historic company he’d gained with his incredible performance.
“For me it’s all about staying humble in the moment,” Jones said. “Those games can go either way, and I don’t want to be the guy talking crazy when it goes our way and doing all this other stuff. Because you know that the way basketball works, we never know how they go. Just be thankful we got to win.”
