Dec. 22, 2006

Box Score

Orem, UT- The Utah Valley State men's basketball team held Southern Utah to 27 percent shooting in the first half and with stood several T-Bird runs in the second to earn a 64-55 victory on Friday at the McKay Center.

The win ups the Wolverines record to 7-5 while SUU dropped to 8-5. The victory also avenges a 68-60 loss to SUU back on November 29 in Cedar City.

David Heck led Utah Valley with 20 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Richard Troyer had 11 points and six rebounds while Jordan Brady had 10 points and six rebounds. Joe Walker led the Wolverines in rebounding with eight in only 12 minutes of play.

As a team UV shot 40 percent from the field and out rebounded the T-Birds 33-30.

Steve Barnes led Southern Utah with 16 points while Justin Allen had 13 and Nurudeen Adepoju had 12. Brad Kanis came off the bench to grab 12 rebounds and block 10 shots.

"This was a hard fought game," Utah Valley State coach Dick Hunsaker said. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for Southern Utah. They played with a spin and were very competitive tonight."

The Wolverines never trailed in the game and got off to a strong start by jumping out to a 22-9 lead following a Peter Brown dunk with 6:01 left until halftime. During that stretch SUU was two of 14 from the field and shooting 14 percent.

Utah Valley led 32-17 at halftime while shooting 48 percent from the field.

The Wolverines fended off several Southern Utah runs through out the second half. Orlando Griego cut the UV lead to 36-28 four minutes into the second period but Heck quickly countered with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 11.

With UV leading 52-39 with 8:39 left in the game, SUU scored eight straight points to cut the Wolverine lead to 52-47 following a lay up by Barnes with 6:27 left on the clock.

The Thunderbirds would get no closer the rest of the way as the Wolverines hit six straight free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.

"I was pleased with the way we competed in the first half and how we with stood rallies in the second," Hunsaker said.

The Wolverines return to the floor on December 30 when they host Albany at 7 p.m. in the McKay Center.