Dec. 2, 2006

Box Score

Portland, OR- The Utah Valley State men's basketball team was out scored by 21 points in the second half and lost a heartbreaking 71-69 game to Big Sky foe Portland State on Saturday.

The Wolverines trailed 71-69 with two seconds left in the game and had a chance to win or send the game to overtime but Jordan Brady had a fall away 3-pointer bounce off the rim as time expired to seal the victory for Portland State.

The Wolverines led the first 39 minutes of the game and by as many as 19 points. Portland State's Juma Kamara hit a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left to give the Vikings their first lead at 68-67. Ryan Toolson then hit a jumper with 19 seconds remaining to lift UV to a 69-68 lead.

But with 3.5 seconds left in the game Dupree Lucas hit a shot in the lane and Julius Thomas hit one free throw with two seconds left to give the Vikings the lead for good.

Utah Valley shot 51 percent from the field, led by Toolson's 23 points on four of four shooting from the 3-point line. David Heck had 17 points and five rebounds while Matt Peterson scored 11. The Wolverines had 19 turnovers, 12 coming in the second half.

Portland State had five players in double figures. Kamara led PSU with 18 points while Scott Morrison had 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Vikings shot 50 percent from the field for the game and 63 percent in the second half.

Utah Valley got out to a strong start by jumping out to a 10-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game. Heck and Toolson sparked the quick start by hitting 3-pointers. The two then hit back-to-back 3-pointers two minutes later to give the Wolverines an 18-3 lead with 13:09 left until halftime.

The Vikings got within six at 20-14 before Utah Valley went on a 15-6 run to lead 35-20 following a Peter Brown lay up with 2:15 left in the half. Toolson hit two 3-pointers and Bailey connected on two free throws in the final two minutes to give Utah Valley a 43-24 lead at halftime.

The Vikings quickly cut the Wolverine lead to 47-39 less than five minutes into the second half. UV then went on a 10-2 run to lead 57-41with 11:47 left in the game.

UV maintained its 10 point lead until the final five minutes of the game. Kamara hit a 3-pointer to cut the UV lead to 65-60 with 4:04 remaining. Over the final four minutes Portland State out scored the Wolverines 11-4.

Utah Valley returns to action on Tuesday when they play at UMKC at 6 p.m. (MST). The Wolverines then return to the McKay Center on Saturday for an in-state contest with Utah State at the McKay Center.