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Greeley, CO- The Utah Valley State men's basketball team secured a winning season by beating Northern Colorado 75-61 in Greeley on Saturday. The win ups the Wolverines record to 15-13 with one game to play next Saturday at Longwood. The win also gives the Wolverines a 7-0 series record against Northern Colorado.
Utah Valley shot 57 percent from the field and tied a school record with 12 steals in the 14 point win. Northern Colorado shot 37 percent from the field and had 14 turnovers.
Chris Bailey led five Wolverine players in double figures with 15 points, six steals and three assists. David Heck had 14, Pierre Thomas 12, Sylvester Allison 11 and Ben Devoe 10. Thomas was a perfect five-of-five from the field.
"Everybody gave a tremendous effort," Utah Valley State coach Dick Hunsaker said. "We played with terrific energy and a lot of competitive spirit. This was a great bounce back game following a tough loss to Idaho State. This was a collective team effort."
After a see-saw battle in the first four minutes of the game, the Wolverines took control of the game and took the lead for good at 6-5 four minutes into the game.
Behind a strong defensive effort Utah Valley built a 24-15 following a Richard Troyer jumper with 8:39 left until halftime. During that stretch the Wolverine defense came up with seven steals.
Northern Colorado followed the Wolverines run with an 8-0 spurt of their own to come within one point at 24-23 with four minute left in the first half. That would be the closest the Bears got the rest of the way. UV quickly built a six-point lead and led 31-29 at halftime.
Northern Colorado hung with the Wolverines for the first five minutes of the second half. Leading 42-39 five minutes into the second half, Utah Valley went on a 10-0 run to extend its lead to 52-39 following a 3-pointer by Thomas with 11:35 to play. Utah Valley's biggest lead of the second half was a 62-44 lead with 6:09 left in the contest.
