Utah Valley basketball: Toolson and Co. close out UVU careers in style

By James Davis

Deseret News

OREM — With 1:45 remaining in the second half of Utah Valley's 80-42 win over Houston Baptist on Wednesday night, Ryan Toolson stepped off the court at the McKay Events Center for the last time as a Wolverine.

It seemed Utah Valley coach Dick Hunsaker could barely bring himself to take his star player — as well as fellow seniors Josh Olsen and Brett Ravenberg — out of the game for the final time. Each was greeted by an ovation from the crowd of nearly 4,000.

"I don't want to take them out and I don't want to graduate them," Hunsaker said. "I'd like to have them back, but that's now how it's played and that's not how it's done."

In his final performance in the green and gold, Toolson scored 24 points while adding six rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal. Olsen shot 3-of-7 behind the 3-point line on his way to 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Ravenberg grabbed a team-high eight boards while chipping in five points.

"I liked the purpose we played with, the determination we played with to send those three seniors out as winners," Hunsaker said. "I thought that Josh, Ryan and Brett all had outstanding games."

The 38-point victory marked the ninth Wolverine win in the team's final 12 games of the season and closed the door on Utah Valley's six-year Division I provisional status. Starting next season, the Wolverines will be eligible for postseason play while competing in the Great West Conference.

"It will not change one thing about our program, how we do things, how we play," Hunsaker said. "I have a special place in my heart for those players through this provisional period and how their play will go unrecorded."

Most glaring of the unrecorded stats will be those of Toolson, who has practically rewritten the record books at Utah Valley. His 2,163 career points are tops, he holds every free-throw record but one — including a 93.6 career shooting percentage from the charity stripe — he holds nearly every 3-point record, and his career field-goal totals are at the top in most every category.

"All the emotions you can think of are all just crammed into your head right now," Toolson said. "It's kind of a big sigh of relief in one sense."

During an 11-point second-half run, a handful of treys by Olsen and Jourdain Scoubes pushed the Wolverines' lead to 63-28 with just under nine minutes to play. The Wolverines essentially had the game in hand from the get-go, racing to a 13-2 lead in the early minutes and a 34-14 lead at halftime. Utah Valley shot 50 percent from the field as a team for the game and held the Huskies to just 27 percent shooting.

"I'll definitely miss it," Olsen said. "But I'll miss it down the road. I'll enjoy it right now, but I'll definitely miss it a lot."

E-MAIL: jdavis@desnews.com