From Deseret News archives:

Cats top Wolverines with toasty shooting

Deseret News

Published: Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2005 10:59 p.m. MST

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OGDEN — The nets continue to be friendly to Weber State.

For the third consecutive game the Wildcats shot better than 50 percent from the floor and, unlike the six previous sub-50-percent efforts, got a win.

This time, WSU outlasted Utah Valley State 69-62 despite a career game from the Wolverines' David Heck.

The Wildcats, now 6-6, shot 52 percent from the floor and came up with an answer every time UVSC mounted a rally.

"Obviously we played a lot better," WSU coach Joe Cravens said, referring to a 68-49 loss in Orem three weeks ago. "But I thought we got really careless there in the second half. We stopped defending."

In particular, the Wildcats were unable to defend Heck.

The 6-foot-6 junior scored a career-high 30 points for the Wolverines and almost single-handedly willed his team to a win.

"My teammates were just giving me the ball in the right spots," Heck said. "I happened to get a lot of open shots and they were falling for me."

Heck was 12-of-19 from the floor and hit six 3-pointers. But with only Ben DeVoe joining Heck in double-figure scoring, the Wolverines were unable to maintain their rallies in the second half.

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Weber State, which had an 11-point lead early in the second half, saw it trimmed to just a point when DeVoe hit a short jumper with 10:33 to play.

But Weber State answered quickly with a 3-pointer from Brett Cox and a pair of back-door alley oop dunks from Coric Riggs and David Patten. Three minutes after UVSC threatened to take the lead, the Wildcats held a 57-45 lead and held on down the stretch.

"I think the right team won," UVSC coach Dick Hunsaker said. "They outplayed us. They outhustled us and made the plays they needed to."

Riggs lead the Wildcats with 18 points while Patten added 14 and a career high nine rebounds.

The most-welcome contribution, though, may have come from Terrell Stovall.

The senior shooting guard chipped in 10 points but had seven assists and four rebounds that all seemed to come at crucial moments in the flow of the game.

"He's experienced," Cravens said. "When he's on the floor, it's like we have two point guards."

The Wildcats travel to Wyoming Friday for their final nonconference game while UVSC hosts High Point.

E-mail: jeborn@desnews.com