UVSC's Toolson matures quickly

OREM — Barely five months removed from his LDS mission to Guatemala, Utah Valley State guard Ryan Toolson poured in 26 points Monday to lead the Wolverines to a 74-57 win over visiting Montana.

Coming off the bench, Toolson shot 9-for-14 from the field and 5-for-6 on 3-point attempts.

"Toolson has just got to get his missionary dust off him," UVSC coach Dick Hunsaker said. "There's no question he was able to get some shots, find some shots tonight. Frankly, I expect he will continue to get sharper (as he gets) his ball skills down, gets his legs all back with him."

The Wolverines (2-0) trailed 17-9 midway through the first half when Toolson entered the game for the first time. Sparked by two quick 3-pointers from the 6-foot-3 sophomore, though, UVSC's offense quickly got on track.

"I was just real pleased that we were able to fight through some adversity," Hunsaker said. "The game didn't start out real well for us, (but) finally we got a little offensive flow going and started making some shots."

It was Toolson's 3-point play off a Chris Bailey assist with two minutes left before halftime that gave the Wolverines their first lead of the game. Bailey got a steal, raced upcourt and delivered a behind-the-back bounce pass to a streaking Toolson for a layup and foul. The ensuing free throw put the Wolverines ahead 29-27, and they would not trail again the rest of the game.

UVSC led at halftime, 31-27.

After ending the first half on a 10-2 run, the Wolverines outscored the Grizzlies 14-5 in the first five minutes following halftime. Bailey sparked the early second-half surge with aggressive play on both ends of the court. At one point, the 6-foot point guard even ventured underneath the basket on defense to block a Montana shot. On the fast break following his block, Bailey found Matt Peterson on the right wing for a 3-pointer that put the Wolverines ahead 45-32.

Thereafter, the UVSC lead which several times peaked at 18 points never dipped below 10.

Peterson finished with 16 points for the Wolverines. As a team, UVSC shot 69.2 percent (9-for-13) from beyond the arc.

Montana power forward Andrew Strait gave the Wolverines fits all night with an efficient, workmanlike performance that included 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The Wolverines travel to Berkeley to take on Cal at 7 p.m. Wednesday.