CEDAR CITY, Utah—Mitch Bruneel scored a career-high 27 points and Zach Nelson added a career high 24 to lead Utah Valley to an 85-75 road win over in-state rival Southern Utah Saturday night at the Centrum Arena.
 
Utah Valley improves to 2-1 overall with the win. The Wolverines also even up their road record at 1-1. The game against Southern Utah marked Utah Valley's second of seven straight road contests.
 
"It was Southern Utah's home opener and they were energized, played hard and played with a lot of heart," said Utah Valley head coach Dick Hunsaker. "It was a good team win for us tonight. Mitch and Zach loaded us up on their back and did a sensational job. I thought Marcel did a good job of guiding and directing the team out on the floor tonight."
 
The Wolverines and Thunderbirds went back-and-forth as the game produced six lead changes and eight ties.
 
Bruneel scored his 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field, including a 2-of-3 clip from long range. He also knocked down 3-of-3 shots from the charity stripe. Bruneel also pulled down six rebounds.
 
Nelson scored his career-high 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. He also hit 2-of-4 three-point field goals and went 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Nelson pulled down a game-high seven rebounds and dished out four assists.
 
Marcel Davis also reached double digit scoring with 10 points to go along with six assists, three rebounds and a steal. Jaden Jackson and Chad Ross each scored seven points.
 
Both teams were impressive from the field as the Wolverines connected on a 56.4 percent clip and Southern Utah hit 51 percent of its shots. Utah Valley hit 7-of-13 shots from the beyond the arc, while Southern Utah made 9-of-19 shots from long range.
 
Utah Valley continues road play on Wednesday as the Wolverines travel to Pocatello, Idaho to take on Idaho State. The game will tip-off at 7 p.m. (MT) and will be broadcast live on 960 AM The Zone.