Utah Valley enjoys success on road

MACOMB, Ill. — The Utah Valley State men's basketball team had four players in double figures and fought off a feisty Western Illinois team to earn a 77-75 road victory on Saturday.

"This is a good win and I am happy for our players," Utah Valley State coach Dick Hunsaker said. "I knew it would be a fight. All road games are tough. We battled enough to earn the win. Coach (Derek) Smith's teams are always going to compete hard."

Ryan Toolson led Utah Valley (4-1) in scoring with 16 points. Joe Walker and David Heck each had 14 points and Chris Bailey added 11. Richard Troyer came off the bench and played 24 minutes, grabbing a career-high nine rebounds. Nine different players scored for UV.

"Everybody played well and battled," Hunsaker said. "There was a lot of fight tonight."

Western Illinois was led by David Jackson's 21 points. Sammy Hunter had 19. "They are terrific players," Hunsaker said. "Their quickness and speed was definitely a factor. They are tough combo guards to defend."

Utah Valley shot 46 percent from the floor and had 20 assists. Bailey and Matt Peterson each had five.

The Wolverines trailed 13-9 with 10:34 left in the first half. UV then went on a 22-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 31-15 lead following a Bailey lay up. Bailey, Toolson and Troyer all hit 3-pointers during the Wolverine run. Western then cut the lead to 37-28 at halftime. Western Illinois made runs through out the entire second half but the Wolverines never allowed WIU to take the lead. Before the final minute of the game WIU cut the UV lead to three points at three different times. UV led 68-58 following a Troyer 3-pointer with 5:33 left in the game. With 2:43 left Heck hit one of two free throws to give the Wolverines a 75-66 lead. WIU then cut it to 75-72 with 1:31 left following two free throws by Mahamoud Diakite.

Western Illinois whittled the Wolverine lead to 75-74 and put Bailey to the three throw line with 11 seconds left. Bailey proceeded to sink both foul shots to seal the victory. Utah Valley State returns to action on Wednesday when they play Southern Utah. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.