This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The past 24 hours have been unforgettable for BYU guard Craig Cusick, who learned shortly before the Cougars' 70-68 win over Utah State on Tuesday night that his father and hero, Randy, had been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his small intestine. Of course, Cusick is the reason BYU won the game. He caught Matt Carlino's missed jumper about 12 feet from the rim, and tossed it back in the hoop before his feet hit the ground with less than a second left. Cusick went on ESPN's SportsCenter at noon MST Wednesday and described the ordeal from BYUtv studios in Provo. Among the highlights of the interview was Cusick's description of visiting his father in his hospital bed around midnight after the game-winning shot. Some tears were shed, he said. "My dad is just incredible, and I told him and he looked into my eyes and he said he was going to be fine and that he was going to be able to fight through it," Cusick said, thanking fans for their support and prayers. Cusick said he did not mention his father's health condition in the postgame news conference because he wasn't sure whether or not his family wanted to make it public or not. After it leaked out, a BYU official entered the press room and informed reporters as they were working on their game stories and sidebars. "My dad was my coach growing up," Cusick told ESPN. "He is my hero." Randy is waiting to see a specialist at the Huntsman Cancer Institute near the University of Utah, where Craig Cusick started his college career as a walk-on at the U.