BYU Basketball vs Utah State: Speaking of Cardiac Arrest...

Please don't let this be the St. Mary's game all over again . . .
Please don't let this be the St. Mary's game all over again . . . 
Please don't let this be the St. Mary's game all over again . . .

That was my exact thought process during the last 31 seconds of the BYU / Utah State game last night. And apparently I wasn't the only one. BYUtv commentator Robbie Bullough Tweeted:

 

I mean no disrespect to Danny Berger by saying this at all (I think his story is great and I hope he'll be able to come back and play again next year), but I was so stressed out, I was afraid I was going to join him in the cardiac arrest club. I expressed this feeling in a Tweet of my own last night, and was acknowledged by Mr. Cusick himself :)

Thankfully, even though it was kind of like the St. Mary's game, it was only that way for USU. Craig Cusick came through in the clutch and hit his only shot of the night-- a buzzer-beater put back after a Matt Carlino miss. I was super impressed by Craig's ability to come through when we really needed him, even though he was kind of having an off night. And now that I've learned he found out his dad had been diagnosed with intestinal cancer just hours before the game, and his father watched the game from a hospital bed, I'm even more impressed and happy that Craig was able to have that well-deserved moment on a difficult day in his senior season.

Craig didn't make this shot (at left), but he made the one that counted most.

Besides the amazing ending, here are some of my observations about this very unique game:

I was very impressed by the BYU fans, and rather disgusted with the USU fans. Granted, they were relatively restrained, at least compared to how I know they can be. My roommate received her Master's degree at USU and said one time in her Stake Conference, the Stake President specifically addressed behavior at basketball games and said they need to be more respectful. Clearly it hasn't sunk in.

I just don't understand why they hate BYU so much . . . BYU doesn't care! As an example, compare a sign in the BYU student section that read "Danny, we're happy you're here!" and a pre-game chant of his name to the USU fans cheering as some of their friends got escorted out by police and chants from the Aggie fan section directed at Tyler Haws after he made several free throws of "You still suck! You still suck!" Ummm . . . Did I miss something? I'm pretty sure the definition of someone who "sucks" is someone who doesn't play the game well . . . huh. Seriously, USU, there's a big difference between supporting your team and poking a little fun at the opponent (like the BYU sign that read "I have more toes than USU has eligible players". haha.) to totally classless chants of "You Suck!" Get over it. BYU fans don't care about you at all! But thanks for staying away from the profanity, at least.

Of course, I can't fail to acknowledge my fave BYU baller Tyler Haws. He had a game-high 27 points and is now only 6 points away from being just the second Cougar in history to join the 1,000 point club in his sophomore season (the first being the one-and-only Danny Ainge). Without Ty, Craig would have never had a chance to make that amazing shot.

Matt Carlino needs to get a grip. I love Matty, but he needs to focus more on getting assists and steals and stop trying to run the whole show, especially when it's just NOT WORKING. I think if he would have passed the ball instead of attempting a wild three-pointer (especially when he was only 1 for 6 so far on the night), we wouldn't have had that heart-wrenching final few seconds of regulation. He should have given the ball to Tyler or Brock or ANYONE but him. Matt should be thanking his lucky stars that Craig was in the right place at the right time. If USU had managed to pull out that win (either in regulation or overtime), I think Matt would be almost solely to blame and fans would be calling for his head. Yes, Matty has a hard time with turnovers, but he needs to Pass. The. Ball.

What the foul?! There were 51 fouls called last night. We're lucky the game didn't last til midnight. Plenty of them were nitty-gritty and the refs were a bit whistle-happy, but COME ON! That was a dirty game, and I don't understand why neither team got the hint that fouling like crazy wasn't working.

Oh well, overall, I'm just glad my boys pulled it out. Thankfully, it was a great win, free from true cardiac arrest! It even got Craig an interview on Sports Center today! I may or may not have cried when I watched this . . . I know all too well what he's going through, and I'm very impressed with his strength and determination.

Awesomeness below-- aside from the reference to "Taylor" Haws. Argh.