UVU has game for the books

Today is Groundhog Day, but four days ago the Utah Valley basketball team thought it was having one of those "Groundhog Day" experiences in its game at Chicago State.

You remember "Groundhog Day", the 1993 Bill Murray movie where he keeps experiencing the same day over and over.

That's the way the Wolverines felt last Thursday when they kept playing and playing and playing and playing. Finally after four overtimes, they eked out a 123-121 victory over the Cougars, on a goaltending call of all things.

"I've never experienced anything like it," said UVU coach Dick Hunsaker, who has coached hundreds of games on the college level. "It was just bizarre how the game unfolded. It was a spectacular game."

The most spectacular part of the game was the play of UVU senior guard Ryan Toolson, who scored 63 points on 18-of-31 from the field, 7-of-11 from 3-point range and 20-of-21 from the free-throw line. The 63 points is the highest total in college basketball this season even if the NCAA won't recognize it because Utah Valley is in the final year of its "provisional" status. Only 20 other players have scored more than 60 points in a Division I game, the last being Bradley's Hersey Hawkins back in 1988.

Toolson also had 12 rebounds and six assists, while playing the entire 60 minutes. His basket with 2.3 seconds left on a goaltend, was the game-winner.

"We ran basically two plays," said Hunsaker. "Ryan, get the d--- ball, and get the d--- ball to Ryan."

Toolson is the nephew of Danny Ainge, and a lot of people say he resembles Ainge the way he plays (although the most points Ainge ever scored as a BYU player was 40). However, Toolson isn't even a blood relative, as his dad, Mike, is the brother of Ainge's wife, Michelle. Ryan is also the cousin of former BYU and Utah Jazz player Andy Toolson.

Not only is Toolson's 63-point tally the highest point total in a collegiate game this year, but it breaks the Utah single-game record of 60 set by Utah's Billy McGill against BYU back in 1962 (in case you were wondering, the other school scoring records of local schools are 52 by Utah State's Wayne Estes in 1964, 47 by BYU's Bob Skousen in 1961 and 45 by Weber State's Stan Mayhew in 1977).