Utah Valley men's basketball: Wolverines drop duel to Georgia State

Three Utah Valley players scored in double figures Wednesday night in the first round of the South Alabama Thanksgiving Classic at Mobile, Ala., but it wasn't enough in the 59-52 loss to Georgia State in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

Corey Claitt, in the first start of his career, led the Wolverines (1-3) with 13 points, while Justin Baker and Jordan Swarbrick added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Utah Valley took its largest lead of the game at 20-13 with 7:43 left in the half after six straight points by Claitt. The Panthers (3-3), however, answered with a 17-2 run to lead by eight with 1:54 left in the half.

Aaron England, who had five points in the game, knocked down a jumper and Claitt added a three-point play to cut the deficit to three, 30-27, at the break. Georgia State led by as many as 12 with seven minutes left. UVU wouldn't pull any closer than seven after that.

UVU shot 32.2 percent from the field and Georgia State shot 39.5 percent. The Wolverines outrebounded the Panthers 39-34.

Tyray Petty led the Wolverines with seven rebounds, while England finished with six boards and Baker tallied five.

The Wolverines close out the Classic this afternoon when they play Alcorn State at 1 p.m. MST. Utah Valley returns home Saturday when it hosts Northern New Mexico at 2 p.m.