Feb. 16, 2007

Orem, UT- The Utah Valley State men's basketball team returns to the court on Saturday to host South Dakota State at 7 p.m. in the McKay Center. The game can be heard live on 1400 KSTAR.

This is the second meeting of the season between the two schools. Utah Valley defeated South Dakota State, 66-54, in Brookings, S.D., on January 25. Jordan Brady had a career high 17 points and 13 rebounds in the victory. The Wolverines hold a 2-1 lead in the overall series.

Utah Valley is 18-7 and they have won a season-high five straight games after defeating North Dakota State on Thursday, 66-64. Thursday's victory puts the Wolverines in first place in the United Basketball League with a 5-1 mark.

Ryan Toolson is the top Wolverine scorer at 14.8 points a game on 47 percent shooting from the field. David Heck is second in scoring at 12.8 points a night. Jordan Brady leads the team in rebounding at 5.4 boards per game while shooting 57 percent from the field.

South Dakota State (5-20) comes into Saturday's game on a five-game losing streak after losing, 63-50, on Thursday at Texas-Pan American.

Matt Cadwell leads the Jacks in scoring at 13 points a game. He has started all 25 games and plays a team-high 33.6 minutes a night. Kai Williams is second in scoring at 10.9 points and he leads the team in rebounding at 6.4 per game. South Dakota State is averaging 61.2 points a game and shooting 42 percent from the field.

"South Dakota State is a team that is young, aggressive and has steadily improved through out the course of the season," Utah Valley State coach Dick Hunsaker said. "They play with great effort and we'll have to be emotionally prepared. South Dakota State has a variety of players that are capable of having big scoring nights, led by Matt Cadwell, who was named to the All-Independent team as a freshman."

Following Saturday's game, the Wolverines hit the road for two games at IPFW and New Jersey Institute of Technology next week.