Y.'s Plaisted copes with the pressure

PROVO — You like to pull for guys who are climbing their personal Mt. Everests; batters in a slump, pitchers who find they can't get anyone out, field-goal kickers in a slump, free-throw shooters who find an invisible giant bubble protecting the orange rim.

That's why a huge collective sigh spilled out from among packed bodies in the Marriott Center Saturday when BYU fans watched sophomore center Trent Plaisted's free throw crawl up the front of the rim and dive through the net with 35 seconds to play as the Cougars nursed a 54-51 lead over No. 13 Air Force.

This wasn't just crunch time but The Time; a moment when chokers gag and slink away.

Plaisted then boldly buried the second free throw, catapulting BYU to a dramatic 61-52 victory over the Falcons.

You see, Plaisted, a guy struggling to make half his free throws this season, was singled out by Air Force as the guy to foul at the end of this close MWC title-type game. Earlier this week, New Mexico coach Richie McKay even fielded media questions about the merits of going at Plaisted with a Hack-A-Shaq technique in the Pit.

But it never got to that as the Cougars ran the Lobos out of their own gym.

Saturday, it was Plaisted's night to shine. Hack what may, Plaisted walked away from a huge fight with the biggest scythe of all.

Plaisted scored 22 points and hauled down 7 rebounds in 36 minutes of intense work. He defended the perimeter players on switches off the screens, guarded post players and kept out of foul trouble. His back-to-back one-handed slam dunks to start the second half set the tone for the Cougars as they answered Falcon runs of 8-0, 8-3 and 8-0 in the final 20 minutes and led by as much as 14.

In a championship-game setting with the league's top dog before 22,700 frenzied fans, Plaisted delivered one of his finest performances. And that free throw moment was among them.

Back to Plaisted's dramatic crawler, one that sent sideways glances up and down press row.

This game was on the line. If Plaisted missed, the league's most experienced 3-point bombers were one trey from tying the game. It was his moment of truth, if you may. Plaisted had just returned to the lineup following a brief sit down after missing the front end of a one-and-one with 1:42 to play and BYU up by 6.