UVSC loses close one to Sacramento State

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Utah Valley State lost a tough 71-69 game to Sacramento State on Thursday.

The Wolverines (4-8) led by as many as 10 points inthe second half but Sac State went on a 19-5 run late in the game to earn the win.

Utah Valley still had a chance at the win late in the game. The score was tied at 69 with under a minute left in the game. Alex Bausley scored the winning basket for Sac State with 28.6 seconds left in the game.

Utah Valley's attempt to send the game into overtime fell short when they missed a five-foot basket with two seconds left.

Ronnie Price led the Wolverines with 26 points and four steals. For the first time this season the Wolverines finished with three other players in double figures. Matt Peterson, Pierre Thomas and Sylvester Allison all added 10 points. Allison's 10 points was a career high. He also played a season-high 37 minutes and had five steals and four assists.

The Wolverines shot 55 percent from the field and had 11 steals. After trailing the entire first half, Utah Valley scored the first sixpoints of the second half and led 44-40 less than two minutes in following consecutive buckets by Thomas and two free throws by Allison. David Heck then hit a 3-pointer with 14:48 left in the game to give the Wolverines a 54-48 lead. They extended their lead to 58-50 with 11 minutes left following a lay up by Allison.

A basket by Price upped the lead to 60-50 with 10:08 remaining. Sac State then went on a 19-5 run to take a 69-65 lead with 2:33 left in the game following a 3-pointer by DaShawn Freeman. Price ended the run by scoring four straight points to tie the game at 69-69 with 1:21 left in the game.

The Wolverines kept the game close in the first half trailing by no morethan eight points. Sac State led 25-17 with eight minutes left in the first half. Utah Valley cut the Hornets lead to 28-26 with 4:35 left in the halffollowing a basket by Ben Devoe and a free throw by David Heck.Utah Valley stayed within striking distance and cut the Hornet to twopoints two other times in the final minutes of the first half. They trailed 40-38 at halftime. Price had 15 first half points for the Wolverines. Utah Valley shot 46 percent in the first half. Utah Valley continues its road trip when they play at High Point (North Carolina) on Monday Jan. 3 at 5 p.m.