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Show MONDAY, JANUARY 2, 2012 7 THE SIGNPOST W omen continued from page 6 Basketball continued from page 6 the game, WSU started to pull away, and built an 18-12 lead with just more than nine minutes to go in the half. Lillard played well for WSU in the first half. Multiple times during the game, he outclassed the ISU defense. With just more than four minutes to go in the halt Lillard got a steal, cut right, then left, blew past the defender and laid the ball in for an easy two. He finished the first half with 12 points, including a deep 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the half. At the break, WSU had built up a 37-23 point lead. WSU started the second half off hot, and showed good ball movement when Bamforth dished the ball inside to Darin Mahoney for an easy two points, which extended the Wildcat lead to 42-25. Halfway through the sec- and half, Lillard ignited the crowd when he got the ball around midcourt, outran the ISU defense, took off a few steps past the foul line, and dunked the ball over an ISU defender. ISU refused to go away, though, and kept the score close for much of the second half. Lillard led the Wildcats in scoring for the 10th time this season, finishing with 26 points on 8-13 shooting. It was the ninth time this season he has scored 20 or more points, and he continues to lead the nation in scoring at 25.4 points per game Lillard was also a perfect 8-8 from the free-throw line and finished with three assists and two steals. Along the way, Lillard passed Al Hamilton and moved into sixth on the WSU career-scoring list. Bamforth added 21 points on 6-12 shooting and tied his career high with six rebounds. Byron Fulton added a season-high 15 points on 5-6 shooting off the bench. He said WSU needs to work hard and come ready to play in every game of the season. "They're not a bad team (NU) . . . they played hard," Bamforth said. "We just need to come ready to play." With the win, WSU improved to 9-3 overall, 1-0 in Big Sky action, and 7-0 at home this season. ISU dropped to 2-10 overall and 0-1 in league play. Over the holiday break, the Wildcats also racked up wins against Southern Utah University Maryville State University and the University of Utah. Their only loss came against the University of California, Berkeley. Comment on this story at wsusignpost.corn. PHOTO BY BRYAN BUTTERFIELD I THE SIGNPOST Weber State University's Head Coach Randy Rahe talks to his team during a recent game. The Wildcats knocked off Idaho State University last week, winning 76-64. verines once more, this time on WSU's home court. The Wolverines proved again to be victorious, with a 72-65 win over the Wildcats. WSU only shot 26.3 percent against the Wolverines. The Wildcats were tied at 32s at halftime. UVU's solid free-throw shooting secured the win. The Wildcats will con- tinue Big Sky Conference against Eastern Washington University. WSU was picked to finish eighth in the coaches' and media preseason conference polls. EWU was picked seventh in the preseason polls. WSU will face off against the Eagles on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Dee Events Center. They will then turn around and play Portland State University, which was picked to win the Big Sky by both coaches and media, on Saturday at 2 p.m. "We were getting better during preseason, and now, with conference, it's big, so we just have to stay healthy and I think we will be OK," Ord said. Comment on this story a wsusignpost.com Notations continued from page 6 came against Saint Mary's College, a very strong mid-major school that will most likely make it to the NCAA Tournament. Against the toughest opponent that WSU had faced so far, Lillard exploded for a thencareer-high 36 points. At times in the game, he single-handedly carried the Wildcats and kept them in the game. Once again, he showed that he has what it takes to compete on the big stage, and against tough, physical opponents. A few weeks later, the Wildcats would face BYU, which is where I started hearing people doubt Lillard and question his ability, but if we look at what he did in the game, he still proved his quality. It was clear during the game against the Cougars that Lillard didn't play his best game, but he still turned in a strong performance, racking up a double-double. He finished the game with 15 points and 10 rebounds. I've never understood how some doubt his quality after that game. Yes, he didn't play his best game, but he still got a doubledouble, and proved he is an all-around player who can compete with quality teams. Don't forget how good BYU is. A few weeks after the game against WSU, the Cougars nearly knocked off the University of Baylor (and probably should have); at the time, Baylor was the third-ranked team in the nation. Lillard held his own in a game in which he didn't play his best, against a strong BYU team, and people still question his ability? Doesn't make much sense to me. The next big test for the Wildcats came against UC-Berkeley. After this game, I heard multiple people say Lillard was all hype and not as good as advertised. Once again, I had to wonder why. Lillard put up 14 points, outscoring all UC players except for two. Again, this wasn't one of his best games, but he still showed he is competitive against big-name opponents. On his Twitter account, Lillard said that being doubted only makes him work harder. "Looking back," Lillard tweeted, "I didn't play great vs BYU or Cal. May have some doubters due to that. But I've always had to prove it up time nd (sic) time again." My final example of why Lillard is special came last week in the game against Idaho State University. In the second half, Lillard showed that he has the ability to entertain and wow fans. He showed this on a fast-break dunk. I cannot properly explain how exciting the play was. As he ran down the court, it looked as if everyone else on the court was stuck in slow motion. He cut past a defender, flew to the rim and threw down a monster dunk. You could feel an electricity in the arena as the crowd reacted. After that play, it seemed that every time Lillard touched the ball, the crowd would would rise in anticipation of what he was going to do. Lillard is special. He will play in the NBA, and I feel his performances against strong teams aren't bad or cause to doubt him. He has shown that he will be a quality player in the NBA. that has struck you on a deep and personal level, maybe a song like "Fire and Rain" by James Taylor, or "Change the World" by Eric Clapton, and a song that every person on Earth knows, like the Stones' "Satisfaction" or Aretha Franklin's "Respect." And most everybody's answers were songs written in the last 20-30 years. What about the classic classics, like "Amazing Grace," "Danny Boy" or "(Somewhere) Over the Rainbow"? My vote for the greatest song ever written? "Louie, Louie," by The Kingsmen. It's catchy, it makes you want to dance, and everybody (including well-trained border collies) can play it on the guitar. Also, the lyrics are indiscernible, which makes it even more fun. Comment on this column at wsusignpost. corn. Greatest continued from page 4 Some people don't know that Glee doesn't write their own music. We Story," by Taylor Swift, as a joke. Also, anything by Jack Johnson. Once again, Some people get offended when you think they mentioned "Love Most people have a hard time differentiating between the greatest song ever written and the song they like the most. This is where I got a lot of answers at the Greatest Song Ever Committee do not recognize mashups as being eligible for contention. I'm sorry for laughing. ,r,41 m 14.711"' 1 4 .141I., P6 , • , that made the least amount of sense. Everybody has that one music group they are intensely passionate about, and when you ask them "Who is Death Cab for Cutie?" they look at you like you just clubbed a baby seal. I mean, c'mon. There's a difference between a song Comment on this column at wsusignpost.corn. 1 7- •; h START OUT ON -.111TOP. 4 1).. 114 ir .11.01, 114V . START COMMAND1NO 41111 1116.4: HG 1 BARI. ART MOV I N-01 1:1 STI)1RT STRONG: There's strong_ Then there's Army Strong.. If you want to be a leader in life, joining Army Fr ITC at Weber State University is the strongest way to start._ It provides hands-on leadership development Plus you can earn a fuilt-tuitian. merit-based scholarship up to $.141X0. After graduation, you'll begin yaw- career as an Officer_ With a start like that. there's no imit to What you can arch" Find out mere about LEADERSHIP. OFFICERSHIP and SCHOLARSHIPS at Weber State Army ROTC! Contact Peter Walton for more information at 801-626-6518 or NPETERWALTOWNEBEREDU U.S.ARMT |