Jan. 25, 2007
Box Score
Brookings, SD- The Utah Valley State men's basketball team earned a hard-fought 66-54 road victory over South Dakota State on Thursday. Jordan Brady sparked the Wolverines with a career high 17 points and 13 rebounds. Ryan Toolson added 17 points while Peter Brown also scored a career high 10 points.
The win ups the Wolverines record to 13-6 while South Dakota State dropped to 4-15. The Wolverines shot 43 percent from the field and held South Dakota State to 31 percent.
David Heck tied a career in blocks with five. He also had eight rebounds and nine points.
"It was a hard fought game," Utah Valley State coach Dick Hunsaker said. "We struggled handling their defensive scheme in the first half because we were stagnant and not having good ball movement. In the second half we did a better job of movement on the offensive end and a better job defensively. They are a tough team and a real battle for us."
The Wolverines led through out the majority of the game. There were seven ties in the first half and Utah Valley's biggest lead was six at 12-6 following a 3-pointer by Josh Olsen. South Dakota State's only lead of the half was at 22-21 and 24-21 with 3:07 left in period. Olsen quickly answered SDSU's run with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 24. Olsen scored eight first half points.
Brown followed Olsen's three with a dunk and Toolson then hit a 3-pointer to give UV a 29-24 lead with 1:15 to play in the half. South Dakota State scored the final four points of period to cut the Wolverines lead to 29-28 at the break.
Six minutes into the second half South Dakota State had its biggest lead of the game at 38-34. Brady then ignited a 21-5 run by scoring 11 points to give Utah Valley a 55-43 lead with 6:49 left in the game. Brown, Heck, and Toolson all contributed with baskets during the run.
"Jordan Brady played with a lot of energy and tenacity," Hunsaker said.
South Dakota State got no closer than seven points the rest of the game. Michael Loney led South Dakota State with 14 points.
The Wolverines return to the court on Saturday for a 6 p.m. contest at North Dakota State. North Dakota State beat Texas-Pan American on Thursday 88-58.
Saturday's game can be viewed on the web at www.GoBison.com for $7.95. Click on Multimedia and then live events to view the game.
