UVU basketball: Men host Troy in double-overtime rematch

OREM, Utah - Utah Valley University and Troy University will meet for the second time in the last two weeks Wednesday night at the UCCU Center. Tip is set for 7:05 p.m. MT with the game airing live on 960 AM the Zone and on UVU TV.

It's a rematch of the Wolverines’ 86-82 win in a double-overtime thriller on Dec. 8 in Alabama. In that game, Holton Hunsaker set a new career high with 32 points, while Ben Aird scored 18 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked a school-record seven shots.

The Wolverines (5-7) got a put-back at the buzzer in regulation from Alfonzo Hubbard to send the game to overtime and a game-tying three from Hunsaker late in the first OT to extend it again. UVU then used an 8-0 run in the second OT frame to pick up the win.

Troy, which also enters Wednesday’s contest at 5-7, fell at Alabama State before picking up a 57-56 win over Georgia State last Saturday. Ray Chambers led the Trojans with 18 points against GSU. He also led Troy players in double figures with 17 points in the first game against UVU.

“We were very fortunate to win at Troy,” UVU coach Dick Hunsaker said. “They’re going to come in with renewed energy off of the win over Georgia State. We know we’re going to be in for a very tough game.”

Emil Jones leads the Sun Belt Conference’s Trojans with 10.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game under 31st-year head coach Don Maestri.

Aird leads UVU with 12.4 points and 7.6 rebounds with Hunsaker at 11.3 and Hubbard at 10.4 points per game.

Utah Valley will finish up the pre-Christmas schedule Saturday against North Carolina Central at 4:05 p.m. MT in the UCCU Center. It will be a rematch of the Nov. 27 game in Durham, N.C.

Clint Burgi is the assistant athletic director for sports information at Utah Valley University. For more information on Wolverine athletics, visit WolverineGreen.com.