Nevill Leads Utes Into Title Game
One night after he managed just a single basket, center Luke Nevill once again blew apart the Wyoming Cowboys.
The 7-foot-2 center had another huge game against the Pokes, erupting for 23 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks in a 68-55 victory in the semifinal of the Mountain West Conference tournament late last night that delivered the Utes to tonight's championship game against San Diego State.
"He's our first option, our No. 1 option," coach Jim Boylen said. "Every guy on my team gets better when he's on the floor, so we try to go to him as much as we can."
It worked early, as the Utes sought to establish an early tone, and Nevill scored 10 of his team's first 13 points. And it worked again when the Cowboys had cut a 13-point lead to five midway through the second half and were trying to rally the energy to complete the comeback. Nevill made a couple of easy hooks over the worst defense in the league – it futilely tried a zone defense against him, this time -- and scored 10 points in less than six minutes to help restore control.
"We have the MVP of the league on our team," point guard Luka Drca explained. "So we concentrate on punching the ball inside, and Luke executed every play."
Pretty much, yeah.
And the Cowboys didn't have anything new with which to stop him. Nevill had 29 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks in the first meeting of the regular season, and 15 points and 12 rebounds in the second. The Utes won both, easily.
"When he can drop step over both shoulders, he's dominant," Boylen said. "And when he can throw his hook, you saw what that does. It's an unblockable shot. ... And when he makes his hook, in my opinion, it's like some of the teams in our league when they make a three. You know, when BYU makes a three, they kind of raise up a level. New Mexico makes a three, their team kind of [raises up]. When Luke makes a hook, our team gets jacked up, and I thought you saw some of that tonight."
Said Nevill: "That's our goal, to throw the ball inside. That was our first option, from the get-go, and I was open, so I was making plays, making shots. When the ball gets thrown into me and it's a one-on-one situation, I'm going to score -- I'm going to try to score -- every time."
The 7-foot-2 center had another huge game against the Pokes, erupting for 23 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks in a 68-55 victory in the semifinal of the Mountain West Conference tournament late last night that delivered the Utes to tonight's championship game against San Diego State.
"He's our first option, our No. 1 option," coach Jim Boylen said. "Every guy on my team gets better when he's on the floor, so we try to go to him as much as we can."
It worked early, as the Utes sought to establish an early tone, and Nevill scored 10 of his team's first 13 points. And it worked again when the Cowboys had cut a 13-point lead to five midway through the second half and were trying to rally the energy to complete the comeback. Nevill made a couple of easy hooks over the worst defense in the league – it futilely tried a zone defense against him, this time -- and scored 10 points in less than six minutes to help restore control.
"We have the MVP of the league on our team," point guard Luka Drca explained. "So we concentrate on punching the ball inside, and Luke executed every play."
Pretty much, yeah.
And the Cowboys didn't have anything new with which to stop him. Nevill had 29 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks in the first meeting of the regular season, and 15 points and 12 rebounds in the second. The Utes won both, easily.
"When he can drop step over both shoulders, he's dominant," Boylen said. "And when he can throw his hook, you saw what that does. It's an unblockable shot. ... And when he makes his hook, in my opinion, it's like some of the teams in our league when they make a three. You know, when BYU makes a three, they kind of raise up a level. New Mexico makes a three, their team kind of [raises up]. When Luke makes a hook, our team gets jacked up, and I thought you saw some of that tonight."
Said Nevill: "That's our goal, to throw the ball inside. That was our first option, from the get-go, and I was open, so I was making plays, making shots. When the ball gets thrown into me and it's a one-on-one situation, I'm going to score -- I'm going to try to score -- every time."
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