UVSC hoops team savors great season, improvement

OREM — When Ronnie Price reflects on his team's recently completed season, the first thing he thinks about is the improvement of each player.

"I'll never forget how each guy improved," Price said. "We've improved so much as a team collectively. More than any team I've been apart of, I could see each guy's improvement throughout the season."

That was evident in UVSC's season finale, an 81-80 overtime, win at Florida Gulf Coast, a strong Division II school. UVSC led 61-48 in the second half before Florida Gulf Coast went on a 15-0 run to take a 63-61 lead with 4:51 left in regulation.

During that stretch, Price fouled out with a game-high 26 points. When he exited, other teammates stepped up to spark the Wolverines to the win.

Jon Bell finished with 15 points and 18 rebounds, while Toolson — who hit the game-winning 3-pointer as time expired in overtime — scored 11.

"It made everything feel right," Price said of Toolson's game-winning heroics. "It felt real good. It showed the character of our team."

Pierre Thomas also added 10 points in the win.

Following the last-second win, Wolverine coach Dick Hunsaker couldn't even begin to express himself to his team.

"He was speechless," Price said. "He would say one word here and one word there. It was really emotional for him. I've seen him emotional before, but never have I seen him as emotional as he was after that game."

UVSC finished its season with a 23-5 marks and is still holding out a slim possibility of an NIT berth.

"We're not dwelling on it," Price said. "It's not like we are sitting around waiting for it. If it doesn't happen, we will still be happy with our season."

TOUGH ROAD: Wolverine baseball has gotten off to a rocky start in its Division I debut. Utah Valley is 1-7 after going 1-4 in a tournament at Lewis & Clark. UVSC's one win was a 5-4 decision over Portland. The eight losses have been rough, as the Wolverines have been outscored 117-21.

UVSC is also only batting .220 while opponents are hitting .388 off UVSC pitchers. Dan Bulow leads Utah Valley in hitting with a .462 average. Josh Hinckley is hitting .361 and Canyon Vance is batting .346 with one home run. Jason Ward has UVSC's only win.

UVSC's next game is March 10 against Central Michigan, at SUU.

SOFTBALL: UVSC is off to an impressive 8-5 start this year. On Sunday, the Wolverines lost to Simon Fraser 5-4 in the championship of a tournament hosted by Central Washington. UVSC got to the title game by beating Southern Oregon, ranked 19th in the Division II ranks, 5-0.