CHICAGO—Conner Toolson scored a game-high 17 points and Isaac Neilson recorded a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double to lead the Utah Valley University men's basketball team to an 87-54 road win over Chicago State on Saturday afternoon at the Jones Convocation Center.
 
The win snaps a three-game skid for Utah Valley, which improves to 11-13 overall and 3-6 in WAC play. Chicago State falls to 6-21 overall and 1-9 in league play.
 
"I'm really happy for my guys and am really proud of the kind of effort and toughness they showed tonight," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Pope. "We got a great effort from everyone today. I thought our shot selection was really smart tonight. We played with tremendous force. Our guys executed with great force making plays for each other. We didn't win this game because we hit shots. We won this game because we executed our defensive game plan. We probably shot a little better tonight because we were just a little more aggressively getting better shots for our teammates."
 
Chicago State took a 6-3 lead to open the game before a Jared Stutzman three-pointer with 16:22 to play in the first half sparked a 15-2 UVU run capped off by an Andrew Bastien dunk and a Conner Toolson three gave the Wolverines an 18-8 lead with just under 11 minutes remaining in the half. Leading by seven points, 23-16, with 4:17 left to play in the opening half, Utah Valley went on a 14-2 run to take a 19-point, 37-18, advantage into the break. 
 
Chicago State couldn't get any closer than 20 points in the second half as the Wolverines used an 11-2 run to extend their lead to 30 points, 60-30, with 11:16 left to play. The Cougars were able to cut the lead back to 21 points, 72-51, with 4:20 to play, but UVU hit five three-pointers over the final four minutes to finish the game on a 15-3 run to secure the 87-54 victory.
 
Utah Valley recorded its best shooting performance of the season against a Division I team, knocking down 53.3 percent (32-of-60) of its shots. The Wolverines connected on 43.3 percent (13-of-30) of its shots from beyond the arc. UVU held Chicago State to just a 19.0 percent (11-of-58) shooting mark—the team's best defensive field goal percentage effort of the season.
 
Toolson scored his game-high 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-6 clip from long range. The sophomore guard also pulled down five rebounds with two blocks, two assists and a steal in 29 minutes of play.
 
Jordan Poydras dropped in 12 points, while Stutzman and Neilson were also in double figures with 10 points apiece. Poydras knocked down 4-of-9 shots from the field and went a perfect 4-for-4 at the stripe. He also dished out three assists and pulled down a pair of boards.
 
Neilson recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The junior forward also had a pair of steals and a block in the win. Stutzman hit 3-of-5 shots from long range and knocked down 1-of-2 free throws for his double-digit performance.
 
Ivory Young and Kenneth Ogbe each scored nine points, while Andrew Bastien helped with eight. Brandon Randolph dished out a game-high eight assists to go along with five points, three rebounds and two steals.'
Utah Valley out-rebounded Chicago State 45-35 on the day. The Wolverines also out-scored the Cougars 34-8 in the paint.
 
Fred Sims Jr. led Chicago State with 16 points while Tayvon Palmer helped with 15.
 
The win over Chicago State wraps up a three-game road stretch for the Wolverines. UVU returns to the UCCU Center to host CSU Bakersfield and Grand Canyon this next week on Thursday and Saturday night, respectively. Tipoff for both games is set for 7 p.m. (MST).